3 players we’re watching at Day 3 of New Orleans Saints training camp

We are heading into day three of New Orleans Saints training camp and there has already been a lot of excitement. The return of wide receiver Michael Thomas, defensive end Payton Turner making highlights, those weird Guardian Caps cushioning helmet-to-helmet contact. Each day, we’re pinpointing three players to watch as camp rolls along. On Friday, we start by revisiting one player thanks to some interesting rotations surrounding the cornerback battle.

CB Alontae Taylor

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Taylor makes the list again after the Saints appeared to shuffle the cornerback rotation on Thursday. During the second day of camp, New Orleans shifted from Paulson Adebo to Bradley Roby as the starter opposite Marshon Lattimore. One can safely assume that day three of camp will see Taylor getting those first team reps.

It looks like there is potential for this to be a three-man race for Adebo’s 2021 starting role. So far, the second-year cornerback has been impressive with multiple pass break ups. Can Taylor make up some ground with more first team reps? Perhaps we find out today.

Of note, while Taylor did not get a lot of starting unit cornerback work on Thursday, he and Adebo took a healthy amount of snaps at gunner. The Saints ran a lot of special teams drills Thursday, including cycling through 18 different players at gunner, in addition to all-pro special teamer J.T. Gray. Taylor can be an elite gunner at the next level, but his sights are surely set for the starting cornerback role first and foremost. Hopefully he gets a shot there today.

LT Trevor Penning

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In his second day at Saints camp, Penning move into splitting first team snaps with veteran James Hurst. That is a good sign for the rookie, but not fully telling of his progress just yet. After all, the players are still practicing in shorts, no pads until Monday.

Continuing to keep an eye on the process for Penning will be most important for now. We’ll be watching him today to see if he continues ti be in the mix for first team reps, and how he handles matching up with a veteran pass rusher like Cameron Jordan or the camp’s top highlight producer thus far Payton Turner.

As many have noted the strides Penning must make in his transition to the NFL. Mostly signing pass blocking technique. With Doug Maronne, Zach Strief and now Jabril Evans in the building, he will be far from short of resources…