Tag: Foster Moreau

Jake Haener dealing with a rare form of skin cancer

Jake Haener shared that he’s dealing with a rare form of skin cancer. He’s taken action to treat it, but says his work at Saints training camp is his focus:

New Orleans Saints quarterback Jake Haener was seen wearing a bandage on the right side of his face at Friday’s media availability after training camp practice, which he disclosed was due to treatment for a form of skin cancer.

Haener said it was rare skin cancer for his age group which developed as a “bump” on his cheek just before training camp began. He ultimately had it removed and biopsied. He will learn more from doctors on Aug. 1 and will form a treatment plan from then on out.

It is considered to be non-life threatening, which is a relief, and up to now has not prevented Haener from practicing in any capacity. However, it does need to be taken care of, and he is currently waiting to see how long he can go before it ultimately needs to be treated, as he will need to get another procedure done on his face.

Haener said that his family, the Saints training staff, and people in the building have been great about supporting him, and he is focused on what he needs to do “here” at training camp. He’s in good spirits despite the scary situation. As of right now, information regarding what type of cancer it is will remain confidential until Haener is ready to discuss it.

“I feel like I’m pretty young and healthy to be able to have something like that pop up,” Haener told local media on Friday. “But I want to take care of it, and I want to be responsible about it, and obviously not make it a distraction because I’m gonna be fine, everything’s gonna be taken care of. But like I said, I don’t wanna wait too long for something like this, and I wanna get it handled.”

The Saints experienced a similar situation last summer when tight end Foster Moreau signed with them after being diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma, which he was able to have treated early on. That quick action helped him recover rapidly and not miss a beat in his first season with his hometown team. Here’s hoping for good news for Haener, too.

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ESPN ranks Saints’ skills positions among NFL’s worst group of playmakers

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell isn’t impressed by the Saints’ skills positions. He sees few difference-makers at tight end and running back:

ESPN’s Bill Barnwell ranked every set of skills positions for all 32 teams, and while he didn’t put the New Orleans Saints at the bottom, it was a near thing. Barnwell sees few difference-makers supporting Derek Carr in the New Orleans offense at running back and tight end, and he’s skeptical about their ongoing youth movement at wide receiver.

Here’s why Barnwell argues the Saints have the 25th-ranked set of pass-catchers in the NFL:

Do the Saints have two playmaker standouts? Depends on how optimistic you are about Alvin Kamara. I’m confident in Chris Olave, but Kamara hasn’t been an efficient runner for three seasons now since Drew Brees retired. He has averaged 3.9 yards per carry and generated minus-277 rush yards over expectation during that stretch. New Orleans’ other backs have been about as disappointing over the same time frame, but Kamara is being paid a premium to be something more than Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller. His top-end speed is also down from where it was three years ago.

Does this group go as far as Kamara can take it? That seems to be what Barnwell is suggesting. It’s true that Kamara’s numbers have fallen off in recent years as many of the factors around him turned from strengths (like an elite offensive line, intuitive play caller, and rare talent at quarterback) to weaknesses for the team as a whole. But Kamara has lost a step, too. Of the 35 running backs who had at least 166 carries last year (50% of the league leader), Kamara ranked 30th in runs that gained 10 or more yards (15). He’s never been a home-run threat like other guys around the league, but that extra gear he did have has gone away.

What about wide receiver? There’s a lot of optimism surrounding Shaheed as the No. 2 with Chris Olave, but he must prove he can stay on the field when the Saints need him to block someone out on the perimeter. He lost snaps to backups like Lynn Bowden Jr. and Keith Kirkwood last year because of that concern. And after those two, it’s a total projection for A.T. Perry, who hasn’t yet won the WR3 job from Cedrick Wilson Jr. It would be nice to add another veteran to the group who has experience drawing a lot of targets in case one of those young players stumbles.

That brings us to tight end. Johnson isn’t out indefinitely, but he may as well be with the Saints not expecting him back from foot surgery until September. Foster Moreau’s first year with his hometown team left a lot to be desired, and much of that can be chalked up to poor coaching decisions. He followed Derek Carr to New Orleans after catching 63 passes for 593 yards and 5 touchdowns their last two years together with the Las Vegas Raiders. Pete Carmichael miscast him as a blocking specialist and Moreau tied for the second-fewest targets (25) of his pro career. He has some receiving ability, and he has a strong connection with Carr. Klint Kubiaak must do a better job than Carmichael of tapping into it.

Still, the group is what it is. This is their lowest ranking (No. 25) in three years of Barnwell’s series, having risen to No. 14 last offseason after starting out at No. 21 the year before. Moving on from Michael Thomas without investing in a credible replacement is worrisome. So is a running backs room that lacks big-play potential, and a group of tight ends that don’t exactly move the needle. Kubiak can change the perception with better play calling but at the end of the day it’s on these players to make plays.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Jesper Horsted is the Saints Player of Day 79

There isn’t a No. 79 on the Saints right now, but Jesper Horsted just signed and chose his jersey number. He’s our Saints Player of the Day as we count down to kickoff:

We’re counting down the days until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2024 regular season with the Carolina Panthers, and while normally we’d be highlighting the player of the day in the corresponding jersey number (or a fan-favorite from the past who used it, when one isn’t available), we’re doing things a little different today.

Tight end Jesper Horsted has chosen to wear the No. 88 jersey with the Saints, and because he signed so recently he’s our pick; no one had taken it when we reached Day 88 in our countdown, and he had yet to sign with the team. Coincidentally, there also isn’t currently a No. 79 on the roster. We’ll take this opportunity to highlight Horsted, so let’s get to know him a little better.

  • Name (Age): Jesper Horsted (27)
  • Position: Tight end
  • Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 237 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 4.70
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $985,000
  • College: Princeton
  • Drafted: Undrafted in 2019 (Chicago Bears)
  • NFL experience: 5 years

Horsted’s connection to the Saints runs through tight ends coach Clancy Barrone — who held the same position in Chicago when the Bears signed him as a rookie free agent. He’s primarily played special teams in the NFL (527 career snaps, including a career-high 216 last year with the Las Vegas Raiders) and that might be his path to making the team.

But the Saints signed Horsted after a foot injury sidelined Juwan Johnson for much of the summer. Like Johnson, he’s known as more of a pass-catching tight end than a blocker, so expect him to pick up the slack in receiving drills once training camp begins in late July. Guys like Michael Jacobson and Dallin Holker are ahead of him on the depth chart, but this is also an opportunity for Foster Moreau and Tommy Hudson to show the coaching staff they have hands, too.

Ultimately it’s on Horsted to prove he can handle a range of assignments and win the job as their third tight end behind Johnson and Moreau when roster cuts are decided at the end of August. He may have joined the team as a temporary fill-in because of an injury to another player, but that doesn’t  have to define his time on the team. Let’s see how he chooses to write his story.

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Countdown to Kickoff: Foster Moreau is the Saints Player of Day 87

We’re continuing our kickoff to the regular season with Foster Moreau. The veteran tight end is the Saints Player of Day 87:

The 2024-2025 NFL season is getting closer and closer, with only 87 days left until the New Orleans Saints kickoff against the Carolina Panthers in Week 1. As we count down the days until that first matchup, we look at the corresponding jersey number to the remaining days, which today is tight end Foster Moreau.

The number 87 is not foreign to Saints fans either, with wide receiver Joe Horn wearing it back in the early 2000s, as well as tight end Larry Hardy in the late ’70s and early ’80s.

With that said, let’s take a look at Foster Moreau’s background up to this point, as well as what we should or can expect from him this upcoming season.

  • Name (Age): Foster Moreau (27)
  • Position: Tight end
  • Height, weight: 6-foot-4, 250 pounds
  • Relative Athletic Score: 9.45
  • 2024 salary cap hit: $4,367,059
  • College: LSU
  • Drafted: Round 4, Pick 137 (Oakland Raiders)
  • NFL experience: 5 seasons

The tight end spot on the roster is an intriguing one for the Saints, as Juwan Johnson has suffered an injury that could hold him out through to Week 1, and Jimmy Graham as of this moment is not on the team anymore. This leaves a ton of snaps to be grabbed between Moreau, Taysom Hill, Tommy Hudson, Dallin Holker, and Michael Jacobson.

Moreau was primarily used as a blocker by Pete Carmichael last season for some reason, despite being a reception-heavy player. He had a career high 342 run blocking snaps last season, and only 160 routes run (less than half the total he ran the prior two seasons). Ultimately, his chance to break out could come now, with a wide-open tight end room and room to grow under a new offensive coordinator who prioritizes tight ends in his scheme. Klint Kubiak could be a difference maker for Moreau, and this could be a return to form for the former Raiders tight end.

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Undrafted Saints rookie Dallin Holker given good odds of making the team

Undrafted Saints rookie Dallin Holker was given good odds of making the team. Between his contract guarantees and strong scouting report, he might make the cut:

It’s a hard life for undrafted free agents — about 500 rookies sign with NFL teams after the draft each year, but maybe 50 of them will make the cut and earn a spot on the 53-man roster for Week 1’s kickoff games. And one stands apart when looking at the New Orleans Saints’ undrafted crop: former Colorado State tight end Dallin Holker.

Wide Left’s Arif Hasan studied the rate of undrafted rookies who made the cut for teams over the last three years, and found a good correlation between two factors determining their changes. NFL teams show us how they regard undrafted free agents by guaranteeing a portion of their contracts. And draft analysts’ rankings in Hasan’s consensus board can play a part, too.

We’ll let Hasan explain his methodology:

When accounting for the high correlation between Consensus Big Board rank and guaranteed money (a correlation of -0.48) one can construct a simple model that projects likelihood for undrafted free agents. The base make rate is about nine percent, and a higher consensus board rank and/or a higher guaranteed salary have an equal chance of helping or hurting those odds in the model, from a maximum of 33 percent to a minimum of 4 percent.

So even if a best-case scenario for an undrafted rookie gives them a 33% chance of making the team (not counting practice squad slots; just those who start out on the 53-man roster outright). Keep that 33% number in mind, because this is all relative. Hasan’s model gave Holker a 23.7% chance of making the cut with the Saints this summer, which is seventh-best among the hundreds of undrafted players who signed with NFL teams a few weeks ago.

The Saints guaranteed $235,000 of Holker’s contract. That’s more than any other undrafted free agent they signed this year by a considerable margin, and it ranks among the highest guarantees for these players around the league.

While saying that Holker’s odds of making the team is less than 24% may not be too inspiring, it’s still better than the dozen or so other undrafted rookies who came to New Orleans this offseason. But this is all speculative. At the end of the day it’ll be Holker’s performance at practices and training camp and preseason games that determines whether he joins Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau on the 53-man roster.

And the early returns have been positive. He has clean feet and great movement skills in a small space. Teams aren’t allowed to do many blocking drills or full-contact work this early in the offseason calendar, but Holker has helped himself by catching the ball cleanly and turning upfield in a hurry. He was known as a run-after-catch threat at Colorado State and those skills appear to be translating, though of course defenders aren’t allowed to tackle him with a head full of steam just yet.

Holker needs to keep that momentum going into the summer. He’s competing with veterans like Tommy Hudson and Michael Jacobson, both of whom were on the practice squad last year. Jacobson has stood out in passing drills early on and he won’t make Holker’s quest for a roster spot easy. There’s room for a third tight end with Jimmy Graham training to row across the Arctic Ocean, and the lackluster production the Saints got out of Johnson and Moreau last year should open up a real role for someone like Holker or Jacobson. This might shape up for an entertaining training camp battle after all.

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Saints made a hefty investment in rookie free agent Dallin Holker

The Saints made a hefty investment in rookie free agent Dallin Holker. The former Colorado State tight end has mile-high potential:

Don’t say the New Orleans Saints aren’t willing to spend big to get the players they covet. The Saints guaranteed $235,000 of their contract with rookie Dallin Holker, per ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, making the former Colorado State tight end their highest-paid undrafted free agent this year. The deal includes a $10,000 signing bonus. He’s essentially guaranteed a spot on the practice squad, but the expectation should be for him to make the 53-man roster outright.

So why is he such an appealing prospect? The raw numbers aside (Holker caught 64 passes for 766 yards last season, scoring 6 touchdown receptions), he’s dangerous with the football in his hands. Pro Football Focus charting found that Holker drew an average depth of target at 8.9 yards, while gaining 5.9 yards after the catch per reception. He forced 15 missed tackles and picked up 38 first downs.

Holker’s times in agility drills at the NFL Scouting Combine were also impressive, with the second-best numbers in the short shuttle (4.21 seconds) and three cone drill (6.83). There aren’t many players this light on their feet at 6-foot-3 and 241 pounds.

But back to on-field performance. Here’s how each of the Saints’ non-Taysom Hill tight ends stacked up in those same per-target and per-catch stats:

  • Juwan Johnson: 8.0 ADOT, 4.0 YAC/R (58 targets)
  • Foster Moreau: 4.7 ADOT, 4.8 YAC/R (25 targets)
  • Jimmy Graham: 8.3 ADOT, 0.7 YAC/R (7 targets)

The jump to the NFL from Colorado State is significant, but he has the physical gifts to succeed. Holker is an early favorite to take Graham’s place as the team’s third tight end. He’ll need to earn bigger opportunities over the summer, but the Saints could use more production out of the position.

Johnson was late to the party last year with Derek Carr under center and didn’t make a consistent impact until the last four games, catching 19 of his 37 passes and gaining 216 of his 368 yards while scoring 3 of his 4 touchdowns and converting 15 of his 23 yards. Moreau was miscast as a blocking tight end and averaged his fewest routes run per game (10.7) since his rookie year.

It’s worth noting both Moreau and Johnson dealt with injuries during the season, but they didn’t make the most of their opportunities, either. If Klint Kubiak has a better vision for the players, great, but they still need to execute when their numbers are called. They can’t afford to slip up with Holker waiting to get his chance.

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Dennis Allen says Saints aren’t finished adding pass catchers, and not just at WR

Dennis Allen says the Saints aren’t finished adding pass catchers, and not just at wide receiver. Does that imply big-time Georgia tight end Brock Bowers is in play at No. 14?

Could the New Orleans Saints make their offense more multidimensional by adding more pass catchers? Almost certainly. They’re still shorthanded at wide receiver, and they didn’t get enough production out of the tight ends last year. The question is where those new additions might be lining up.

When responding to a question at NFL owners meetings about the addition of veteran wideout Cedrick Wilson Jr. to the receivers room, Saints head coach Dennis Allen shared an interesting nugget on the team’s overall approach to reloading on offense.

“I certainly think that’s something, an area in terms of a pass catcher — not necessarily a wide receiver, but a pass catcher, is something we’re going to continue to look at,” Allen mused. “I feel better about our depth now than I did a month ago, but I think that’s still probably a position we’ll look at somebody to add.”

The Saints signed Wilson and Stanley Morgan early in free agency, adding them to a group that includes Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, and A.T. Perry. The depth is better than it was in February before Shaheed was re-signed, when Olave and Perry were the only players under contract, but there are still eight spots open on the training camp roster at wide receiver. They’re hardly close to capacity.

But as Allen pointed out, we shouldn’t limit focus to wide receivers. If they can find a tight end who can outplay Juwan Johnson (37 catches for 368 yards) or Foster Moreau (21 receptions for 193 yards), the Saints shouldn’t let those veterans’ presence stop them.

Big-time Georgia Bulldogs tight end Brock Bowers has become a favorite of Saints fans who have watched him tear up the SEC the last few years: Bowers has scored 26 touchdowns in 40 games while finishing the last three seasons with ridiculous stat lines. He had 56 receptions for 882 yards as a freshman in 2021, and improved in 2022 with 63 catches for 942 yards. His production in 2023 was a comparative letdown, but his 56 grabs and 714 yards were better than many tight ends manage in a career.

His skills are obvious as a run-after-catch threat who can force a missed tackle and set up poor pursuit angles by the defense. What’s unclear is whether Bowers will test well enough athletically for the Saints’ college scouting department to approve. They maintain strict standards for the timing and agility drills, and Bowers pulled out of testing at the NFL Scouting Combine at the last minute. He also declined to participate in Georgia’s pro day, citing a a hamstring injury, and plans to work out individually for scouts on April 10. The deadline for teams to host draft prospects like Bowers at their headquarters is April 17, and no contact is permitted after April 24. The first round begins April 25.

The Saints overlooked Kendre Miller’s lack of athletic testing to draft him in the third round last year, but there’s a big difference between the 14th overall pick and the 71st selection they used on Miller. It’s tough to see the Saints ignoring an incomplete scouting report on such a risky pick, at a position known for being slow to develop in transition from the college game to the NFL. But you never know. What’s clear is they feel the offense needs more weapons, and that a young player like Bowers could have a lot to offer.

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Saints free agent report card: Was Foster Moreau a good veteran signing?

Our New Orleans Saints free agent report card series continues with Foster Moreau. Was signing the veteran tight end a good move?

There weren’t many outside observers expecting the New Orleans Saints to be active in free agency last season, but they were able to add veterans at positions of need like Foster Moreau.

And it made a lot of sense to sign him: Moreau was a favorite target of Derek Carr’s when they were together on the Las Vegas Raiders, he added some much-needed experience to the tight end position, and he was popular among fans as a New Orleans local who played college football at LSU.

But that’s all behind us now. It’s time to keep this series going and evaluate his first season in black and gold, just as we did with running back Jamaal Williams. Here’s Moreau’s 2023 report card:

Report: Saints retaining tight ends coach Clancy Barone for 2024

Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson reports that tight ends coach Clancy Barone will stay in New Orleans on Klint Kubiak’s staff for 2024:

This is a good move: Locked On Saints host Ross Jackson reports that tight ends coach Clancy Barone will stay on board with the New Orleans Saints, joining incoming offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak’s staff for 2024.

Barone, 60, previously worked with him on the Denver Broncos when his father Gary Kubiak was head coach; Barone coached the offensive line while the younger Kubiak was an offensive assistant. Their paths diverged from there, with Barone most recently coaching tight ends for the Chicago Bears before coming to New Orleans.

So it makes sense to keep someone with familiarity to the system Kubiak is installing. Hopefully Barone can sustain the success the Saints’ tight ends found late in the season. Juwan Johnson finished strong by catching three touchdown passes and averaging 54 yards per game in the final four weeks. Taysom Hill was impactful throughout the season but they should be getting more out of Foster Moreau. Still, if the opportunity is there to add a game-changing talent like Georgia tight end Brock Bowers in the 2024 NFL draft, the Saints should consider it as an upgrade.

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Saints shock the Bucs in Dennis Allen’s first signature win

The Saints shocked the Buccaneers in Dennis Allen’s first signature win. It’s their first complete effort against a quality opponent:

Credit where it’s due: Dennis Allen and the New Orleans Saints finally turned the narrative around with their first signature win. We all said Allen couldn’t beat a good team with a winning record. We doubted Derek Carr’s ability to make plays with the weapons available to him. We surveyed 52 different expert game picks going into this game, and everyone but Bleacher Report’s Maurice Moton sided with the Bucs.

And the Saints pulled it off. They won 23-13 and it wouldn’t have been even that close if linebacker Pete Werner hadn’t gotten matched up with star wideout Chris Godwin on the Bucs’ final possession. The Saints dominated in all three phases by making big plays on offense, defense, and special teams.

The defense intercepted Baker Mayfield three times (thanks to Alontae Taylor, Johnathan Abram, and Paulson Adebo on the penultimate two-point attempt), also recovering a pair of fumbles (one forced by Abram and recovered by Demario Davis, the other picked up by Isaac Yiadom). Running backs Rachaad White and Chase Edmonds were limited to a combined 58 rushing yards.

Offensively, Derek Carr finally got into rhythm with his tight ends; Juwan Johnson set new career-highs in catches (8) and receiving yards (90) while Taysom Hill and Foster Moreau both chipped in with some much-needed first downs and a Hill touchdown catch of their own. Jamaal Williams had his best game of the year after Alvin Kamara exited the game with an ankle injury, running for 58 yards.

Blake Grupe nailed all five of his kicks (three field goals from distances of 45, 28, and 38 yards; plus a pair of extra point tries) and Lou Hedley dropped three of his six punts inside the Tampa Bay 20-yard line. The game was sealed by Moreau recovering the Bucs’ attempted onside kick.

This is a big win. It isn’t the end of the road, and the Saints have not clinched a playoff berth. There’s plenty of work left to do and they still need a lot of help from other teams. But it’s encouraging, and it’s the kind of performance that the Saints will point to in the offseason when trying to sell Allen’s vision of the team to a disgruntled fanbase. But today, a win is a win.

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