Tag: Ryan Nielsen

Report: Saints send a coach for personal meeting with Jadeveon Clowney

The New Orleans Saints have sent a member of the coaching staff for a last-minute recruiting pitch with Pro Bowl DE Jadeveon Clowney.

[jwplayer WkTvfr5F-ThvAeFxT]

With training camp nearly wrapped up, the New Orleans Saints have been working hard to make one big splash before the start of the regular season: a deal with free agent pass rusher Jadeveon Clowney. While Saints coach Sean Payton has reportedly been involved in several conversations with Clowney, the Saints have had to contend with rival offers from other teams like the Tennessee Titans.

On Friday, ESPN’s Dianna Russini reported that the Saints stepped up their efforts by sending a coach to Houston, where Clowney has lived since being picked first overall by the Texans back in 2014. The hope is that a one-on-one pitch could be what it takes to push this recruiting effort over the finish line. This follows an earlier report that players and coaches from the Saints and Titans had been reaching out to Clowney privately to try and win him over.

It’s unclear which member of the coaching staff is making the trip; if it were Payton himself, that would have probably been indicated in the report. Other options may be defensive coordinator Dennis Allen or well-respected line coach Ryan Nielsen, who worked as North Carolina State’s recruiting coordinator before joining the Saints.

The Saints are holding their final training camp practice session on Friday, so the coach’s absence could be noted by media on the scene. While driving can take more than five hours, flights from New Orleans to Houston average about 75 minutes, so it’s just as possible that the Saints could have all hands on deck for practice before this brief business trip.

It’s a bold move, and we’ll just have to wait and see if it pays off. Stay tuned.

[lawrence-related id=37497]

[vertical-gallery id=37484]

Saints coaches talk up Marcus Davenport: ‘He’s really turned the corner’

The hype is building at New Orleans Saints training camp for third-year defensive end Marcus Davenpot, who has his own lofty goals to reach.

[jwplayer b7VcnCYu-ThvAeFxT]

There’s high hopes for Marcus Davenport in 2020, but the New Orleans Saints defensive end might have loftier expectations for himself than what anyone could project onto him. He wants to outplay his All-Pro teammate Cameron Jordan this year, and while his coaches agree that’s a lot to hope for, they’re encouraged by the work Davenport has put in to chase that goal.

“You’re seeing a bigger, stronger, (but) still athletic player out there,” said Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen after Wednesday’s practice. Nielsen clarified that Davenport has gotten his weight up to around 280 pounds, a 15-pound gain from his rookie year, and that Davenport’s 6-foot-6 frame carries it well.

Nielsen continued: “So he’s able to do some things — striking blocks and holding the point and the edge in the run game, create some knock-back and some more power in the pass rush. With that weight and keeping that athleticism, that’s where he’s really turned the corner of like, ‘I really can do the things that they’re asking me to do.'”

Davenport took a big step forward in 2019, ranking second-best on the team in both sacks (6) and quarterback hits (16) while leading the Saints defense in forced fumbles (3). If he can rebound from a season-ending Lisfranc injury and progress even further, as he and his coaches expect him to, there’s no telling how great he can be.

Sean Payton was also pleased by how Davenport started the summer, especially considering how much time he had to spend in the trainers’ room recovering from surgery last year.

“I like how he’s put together right now, his weight’s up, and I think his strength is up,” Payton said in his media conference call after practice. “So, so far, so good. In this camp, I think he certainly understands the defense now. And putting practices together like he’s doing and working on his technique, it’s good to have him back out there.”

[vertical-gallery id=37025]

Saints reunite DL coach Ryan Nielsen with one of his N.C. State proteges

The New Orleans Saints signed free agent DT T.Y. McGill, reuniting coach Ryan Nielsen with one of his former students at N.C. State.

[jwplayer ZnzdqH8F-ThvAeFxT]

A huge part of the New Orleans Saints’ recent success was the wave of changes to the coaching staff back in February 2017, when Saints coach Sean Payton made the tough but necessary decision to part ways with longtime assistants like linebackers coach Joe Vitt and defensive line coach Bill Johnson. Other developments followed as Payton scoured his staff looking for areas that needed improvement, even though many of the coaches he had to fire had been with him since he first came to New Orleans.

In their place, he went looking for teachers. And he found a great one in defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen, who had held that post with the North Carolina State Wolfpack since 2014. He was twice nominated for the Broyles Award, which recognizes the nation’s top assistant coach; former Saints coach Joe Brady won it this year for his impact on the LSU Tigers offense.

Nielsen recruited and coached up a unit that included multiple future NFL players, including four who would be picked in the first four rounds of the 2018 NFL Draft: Bradley Chubb (Denver Broncos), B.J. Hill (New York Giants), Justin Jones (Los Angeles Chargers), and Kentavius Street (San Francisco 49ers).

What all of these players have in common — and what Nielsen has instilled in the Saints’ defensive line — is sound technique that’s been refined after years of training. He teaches his players to engage opponents by striking them in their chest pads, translating skills from the weight room (specifically the bench press) to the practice field. It’s done wonders for inexperienced athletes the Saints have brought in over the last few years, like David Onyemata and Marcus Davenport (each of whom only really picked up playing football on defense in college).

On Wednesday, the Saints reunited Nielsen with one of his former students by signing journeyman defensive tackle T.Y. McGill. McGill was a senior on the 2014 squad Nielsen joined, functioning as the leading voice in the room that younger teammates like Chubb and Hill looked up to. McGill flourished under Nielsen’s coaching, racking up a career-best eight tackles for loss and three sacks before signing with the Seattle Seahawks as an undrafted rookie. He’s since spent time with nearly a dozen teams while trying to find his way in the NFL.

Now they’ll get the chance to work together again, and Nielsen can put his one-time protege through a week of practice in New Orleans before Monday’s game with the Indianapolis Colts. McGill will probably be competing with second-year pro Taylor Stallworth (who is on the practice squad after playing 365 snaps last season) to dress for this week’s kickoff, so he’ll need to rely on every tool and lesson Nielsen once taught him to keep his NFL career going strong.

[vertical-gallery id=24372]

Saints make four roster moves, send Rankins and Davenport to I.R.

The New Orleans Saints lost Sheldon Rankins and Marcus Davenport, but added free agents Noah Spence and Ty McGill in four roster moves.

[jwplayer ZnzdqH8F-ThvAeFxT]

Injuries forced the New Orleans Saints to make four roster moves on Wednesday, with defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins (ankle) and defensive end Marcus Davenport (foot) both landing on injured reserve. In their place, the Saints signed veteran free agents Noah Spence, a pass rusher, and T.Y. McGill, an interior lineman.

Spence’s addition isn’t very surprising given the interest the Saints have maintained in him, going back to the months before the 2016 NFL Draft. He met with the team several times and was put through a private workout, but the Tampa Bay Buccaneers sniped the Saints by picking Spence before they had the chance. A history of shoulder injuries and inconsistent play — plus coaching staff turnover — resulted in Spence getting released by Tampa Bay earlier this year.

As for McGill: he may appear like a random pickup, but Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen knows him well. Nielsen coached McGill at N.C. State when they were both members of the Wolfpack from 2013 to 2014, when Nielsen held the same position on that staff while doubling as their recruiting coordinator. McGill’s N.C. State career ended with 110 tackles and 10 total sacks after benefiting from Nielsen’s tutelage, and their reunion now gives Nielsen an opportunity to see how his protege has progressed after some time in the NFL.

McGill’s early-week arrival also gives him time to prove he can play, or is at least better than the depth the Saints already have. Second-year defensive tackle Taylor Stallworth is on the practice squad after logging 300-plus snaps last season, and the Saints can promote him on game day if they feel he’s shown more than McGill has in practice. If McGill impresses, they can hold onto both players.

Because the Saints play on ‘Monday Night Football’ with the Indianapolis Colts this week, their practice schedule and injury report rollout are going to be arriving a day later than fans are used to. So we won’t find out much more on any of these players until the first Saints injury report is released on Thursday, rather than the typical Wednesday.

[lawrence-related id=24363,24331,24340]

[vertical-gallery id=24372]