As day two of camp began, the excitement of New Orleans Saints wide receiver Michael Thomas was still permeating through the media room. Would there be another big surprise in store for day two? While there was no surprise player reveal awaiting us, a stand out performer who’s return from injury has flown under the offseason radar was. Here are the key observations you need to know from day two of Saints camp.
Biggest Story: Payton Turner turns heads
The second-year edge defender out of Houston had a disappointing rookie season. Not more disappointing for anyone though than for Turner himself. An immensely talented and physically imposing player, Turner is hard to miss on the field.
In 2021, he showed how disruptive he could be when on the field. Per Pro Football Focus, Turner produced 10 combined pressures on only 111 pass rushing snaps. Generating about a pressure per 10 snaps is a remarkable pace. Maintaining that over a 17-game season is unreasonable, but still, what he produced last year shows his potential.
Going into camp, a lot of attention was on veteran names returning from injury. Jameis Winston, Micahel Thomas, Tyasom Hill, and others dominated that narrative. Turner’s recovery went under the radar for most. Now, there’s nothing under the radar about his presence on the field because his play is demanding attention.
Play of the day: Payton Turner bulldozes Jerald Hawkins
Turner demanded the most attention with another big play in team drills. He lined up on the defensive-right side of the field at edge rusher, lined up across from Jerald Hawkins who was handling left tackle responsibilities. At the snap, Turner burst off the line of scrimmage, getting his hands up in time to absolutely run through Hawkins.
By the end of the rep, Hawkins was on his backside and Turner was beelining for quarterback Ian Book. Book was able to get the pass off in time, reeled in with a nice catch by Adam Trautman. But the rep was all about Turner and his bull rush.
He spoke with media after practice about working to better develop a pass rushing plan. If “run through the guy in front of you” is part of that plan, he’s on track.
Michael Thomas watch: Still moving smoothly
Thomas returned for day two of camp still looking smooth and without any kind of discernible limp or recession from his surprise appearance on Wednesday. All good news for the…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Saints Wire…