Derek Carr says his son’s little league team cares more about Sunday’s Saints-Falcons matchup than their own game:
Derek Carr is in his second year with the New Orleans Saints, and he is fully aware of how the rivalry with the Atlanta Falcons expands beyond the team’s practice facility and into the city.
He was reminded of that this week at his son’s football practice. Carr came to the Saints with New Orleans native, and former Raiders teammate, Foster Moreau. The duo have a good relationship, and they coach Carr’s sons’ little league team together.
Carr shared a funny story about how the upcoming little league game was secondary to the Saints’ upcoming game with the Falcons: “Every parent and every kid knows what week it is.”
Not only do they know what week it is, Carr says “they didn’t care about the game we’re about to play, like ‘Hey, it’s Falcons week.'”
This is a great example of what the game means to fans within the city. Who cares who the little league team is playing? Coach Carr needs to understand the only thing that matters is Saints versus Falcons.
The New Orleans Saints added even more firepower to their offense in this 2025 mock draft. Michigan tight end Colston Loveland could be a major upgrade:
The New Orleans Saints have gotten off to a hot start in 2024, but we added even more firepower to their offense in this 2025 mock draft.
We used the PFF mock draft simulator and the 2025 draft order determined according to Tankathon (which had the Saints picking at No. 28 overall). And given the options available when the computer put us on the clock, we decided that Michigan tight end Colston Loveland could be a major upgrade.
A tight end could be in the cards for next year’s draft. The Saints would have seriously considered taking former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers had he made it to their pick this year, but they have to be pleased with what Taliese Fuaga has done for them instead.
Let’s take stock of the position. Foster Moreau is a good player but he has some limitations as a receiver. Juwan Johnson has been in and out of the doghouse with the coaching staff and he missed the offseason with a foot injury, which led to a reduced role in Klint Kubiak’s offense. He’s also going to be a free agent in 2025. Dallin Holker is an unproven rookie, and Taysom Hill splits too much time elsewhere to really be considered a tight end.
Which brings us to Loveland. He’s one of the youngest players eligible for the Class of 2025 (he’ll turn 21 a few weeks before the draft) but he’s already played a lot of snaps at a blueblood program. Loveland has run almost as many routes (527) as blocks he’s thrown (546) for the Wolverines, but he’s regarded as a high-upside receiver first and foremost. It’s important for the Saints’ tight ends to block well but so long as he’s willing to improve, they can work with him. It’s worth mentioning that Loveland is currently dealing with a minor injury but it isn’t believed to be a long-term concern.
And there aren’t many guys his size who move as smoothly as he does. Loveland is listed at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds but he’s already caught 80 passes for 1,071 yards in a run-first offense. He’s got nimble feet (averaging a solid 5.4 yards after the catch per reception) and good play strength on contested catches (having won 9 of his 17 targets, per Pro Football Focus charting). He’s the consensus TE1 in this upcoming draft class for good reasons.
So the Saints could have a need at tight end, and he could be available. Derek Carr is playing well enough to keep them from looking at early-round quarterbacks next year. The offensive line is always possibility, especially at left guard, and there’s also a chance they could draft a running back given Alvin Kamara’s contract situation; Boise State stud Ashton Jeanty was someone on our radar in this mock draft but he didn’t make it to the end of Round 1.
We also can’t rule out defensive end (if Chase Young doesn’t re-sign) or cornerback (should Paulson Adebo or Marshon Lattimore leave the team). Safety is a possibility, too, considering Tyrann Mathieu’s age. There’s a lot to like about the Saints’ 2-0 start. That doesn’t mean they can’t improve. They’ll have work to do in the offseason like everyone else and it’s worth taking time to explore draft scenarios like this to get an idea of how they could get better in the spring.
Tyrann Mathieu and Marshon Lattimore are listed as DNP’s, but Willie Gay Jr. and Foster Moreau return on Week 2’s initial Saints injury report:
For the second year in a row, the New Orleans Saints have nearly double the amount of players on the injury report as their opponents. This week it’s the Dallas Cowboys
The Saints had a couple of starters go out during the Week 1 romp of the Carolina Panthers. Willie Gay Jr. (undisclosed), Marshon Lattimore (hamstring), Foster Moreau (concussion) and Lucas Patrick (toe) all exited the game due to injury.
Of the three, only Gay and Moreau returned to practice on Wednesday. Gay wasn’t even on the injury report and Moreau was a limited participant. The Saints are likely to stay patient with Moreau because he left last week’s game with a concussion.
Tyrann Mathieu is another veteran who joined the injury report with a heel injury and didn’t participate. Other contributors Rashid Shaheed (finger) and Jamaal Williams (shoulder) were full participants despite being listed with an injury designation.
Tight end Dallin Holker (ankle) along with A.T. Perry (hand) and Jaylan Ford (hamstring) all returned to practice after not participating in any practice leading into Week 1.
Here’s the initial injury report from both teams for Wednesday Sept. 11:
The New Orleans Saints hired Klint Kubiak as offensive coordinator this offseason and changed schemes for the first time since Sean Payton was hired in 2006. The change in system directly impacts Derek Carr.
Kubiak’s system is most known for their run game concepts. We saw Alvin Kamara excel in Week 1 and easily could have toppled 100 yards rushing if he played the entire game.
Another new wrinkle is the emphasis on play action and pre-snap motion. This works hand in hand with the run game, and its effectiveness was on full display against the Panthers. Foster Moreau’s touchdown pass came off of play action. That’s a tool Carr has used well throughout his career but which Pete Carmichael was reluctant to embrace as the play caller last season.
In totality, Carr completed seven of his nine pass attempts after a play action fake for 58 yards. Most importantly, it resulted in four first downs and a touchdown. In Week 1, play action was used on 40% of Derek Carr’s dropbacks. That’s a huge jump from last year in which was slightly below 15%. It’s a prime example of how things are schematically different under Kubiak. Another one? Their use of pre-snap motion and shifts jumped by more than 38%. It’s a new day in New Orleans, and these changes might be enough to help them get back to the playoffs.
The New Orleans Saints are thriving. Foster Moreau was able to haul in a high-point touchdown reception at the back of the end zone to put the Saints up 17-0 in the first quarter of Week 1. This is the second touchdown of his Saints tenure, as he looks to improve off of his first season in 2023 and become the strong target he was previously for Derek Carr with the Las Vegas Raiders.
Louisiana native Moreau will be looking to cut into the tight end snap count, as Juwan Johnson and Taysom Hill have a decent amount taken up already when looking at last season. The touchdown reception in Week 1 is a great start, as he was able to catch a rifle of a pass by Carr to sneak it by the defensive back and get his feet down in bounds right in front of fellow tight end Juwan Johnson.
You aren’t getting these kind of interactions California. New Orleans Saints tight end Foster Moreau fulfilled an unusual request after Tuesday night’s open practice at Yulman Stadium. A Saints fan approached the local product when he was signing autographs and asked Moreau to sign his oyster shell.
“That’s sick,” Moreau laughed, happy to oblige, palming the bivalve. What message he penned is between him and the person who may or may not have shucked it.
It’s a fun moment. And it’s something that’s been badly missing since the Saints relocated their training camp from the team practice facility in Metairie to Irvine for the last month-plus. The Saints will host local fans for a second open practice at the Caesars Superdome on Friday, and free tickets are still available for the taking. Act fast and maybe Moreau will sign your oyster shell, too.
The Saints starting offense drove down the field on their final possession. Derek Carr described this drive as getting a monkey off his back:
The New Orleans Saints starting offense has struggled this preseason to get any rhythm. Over the course of two games and four drives, they were unable to generate more than one first down on any drive and totaled 29 yards over 15 plays.
Then the Saints responded with a 95-yard drive, capped by a Taysom Hill touchdown run. Derek Carr described this moment as a “monkey off the back.” After getting pretty much no movement versus the Cardinals or 49ers, Carr described the drive as “kind of like a relief. Like, alright we can score. It definitely felt nice to do that.”
Klint Kubiak comes to the team with a new scheme that wants to lean into running the football, and that’s exactly what they did. More than half of the plays on that drive were rushes. Jamaal Williams had a couple of big runs on the drive and the offensive line was getting better push up front.
The first play of the drive, however, was a pass play. That’s not abnormal, but the decision to pass from your own 5-yard line was more aggressive than the Saints have been recently. It was just a seven yard completion to Foster Moreau, but it gave the Saints breathing room and started momentum.
The Saints followed that play with three plays of more than 10 yards. It’s just one possession. It doesn’t mean they’ve figured it out, so we won’t overreact. It did feel good to see them drive down the field, opposed to another three and out.
A little fun never hurts anybody, especially during the rigors of training camp. And who doesn’t want bragging rights for having the strongest hands on the team?
The New Orleans Saints social media team brought out the grip test after a recent practice session, which allowed for some fun competition for the guys. It’s a viral trend going around the league; the Philadelphia Eagles havealso shared their results.
A variety of position groups competed here, starting with many of the defensive linemen all the way to kicker Blake Grupe, which brought some good laughs given his smaller stature. One thing that was interesting was tight end Foster Moreau getting the highest score reaching the 200 number. This surpassed guys like Chase Young, Willie Gay Jr., Carl Granderson and Bryan Bresee who we would assume due to their build and the nature of their position, would receive the higher numbers.
Of this exercise though, maybe the most enjoyable part was the players’ reactions. Hearing many of the guys screaming and yelling like they’re in the weight room is hilarious. Small things like this are what allows players to bond with each other outside of the game, and it’s great to see the many smiles on their faces at such an arduous time of the year.
New Orleans Saints tight end Juwan Johnson’s recovery from foot surgery is on schedule, and the team could have him back soon. They’ll need his help:
Here’s some good news on Juwan Johnson. The New Orleans Saints tight end’s recovery from foot surgery is “progressing on schedule” and he could return to the lineup soon, per NewOrleans.Football’s Nick Underhill. Johnson developed a stress fracture in his foot during minicamp practices in the spring and has been slowly ramping up at training camp to prepare for the start of the regular season.
The goal all along was for Johnson to return in time for the Saints’ Week 1 kickoff with the Carolina Panthers on Sept. 8, and it sounds like that’s still the expectation. And the team could use his help. Foster Moreau and Dallin Holker have taken most of the snaps at tight end through training camp but Holker sprained an ankle warming up for Sunday night’s preseason game with the San Francisco 49ers. Getting Johnson back out there would be good for everyone.
Johnson fell back to Earth a bit last year with Derek Carr at quarterback, totaling just 37 receptions for 368 yards and 4 touchdowns, but he finished the season strong and he projects favorably in Klint Kubiak’s offense. We just may have to wait until Week 1 to get a look at him in this new system.
