Expectations are high for Adam Trautman in his third season with the New Orleans Saints. The former third-round draft pick took a small step forward in 2021, improving from his rookie stat line (15 receptions for 171 receiving yards, converting 9 first downs and scoring 1 touchdown catch) to post still-modest production in an expanded role (totaling 27 catches for 263 yards, converting 13 first downs and scoring twice).
But that was hardly what was hoped after he stepped into Jared Cook’s vacant spot in the lineup. Trautman struggled to consistently impact the passing attack and took a step back on blocking assignments after nearly doubling his workload (going from 393 snaps played in 2020 to 642 in 2021). He was held catchless twice and only had five games with three or more receptions.
The good news is that he’s working to improve at Travis Kelce’s annual “Tight End University” summit. Trautman is one of two dozen pros listed in attendance for the event in Nashville, along with Kelce, George Kittle, and Greg Olsen, a retired three-time Pro Bowler and longtime Saints nemesis. That’s a pretty strong group to be working with and learning from. Hopefully Trautman picks up some tricks of the trade.
Tight end is one of the weaker position groups on New Orleans’ roster, but it’s also kind of stagnant. The contract statuses of Trautman and Nick Vannett mean the team saves little to no money in releasing them; cutting quarterback-turned-tight end Taysom Hill would cost an additional $9.9 million. With the Saints typically rostering just three tight ends, they’ll need to see a lot out of either Juwan Johnson, undrafted rookie Lucas Krull, or veteran backups J.P. Holtz and Brandon Dillon to justify keeping a fourth player on the active roster. They need improvement, but the only way they’ll find it is if the players already under contract start to develop.
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