The New Orleans Saints will trim their roster from 80 players to 53 on Saturday. Many of the choices will be easy, with the Saints expected to retain more than 40 players from a team that went 13-3 last season - including seven players on ESPN's NFLRank top 100 list. But they will have particularly tough choices to make at the fifth or sixth receiver spots. Remember that teams can also keep 16 players on their practice squads this year for added depth due to COVID-19 concerns. Here is a projection:
QUARTERBACK (3): Drew Brees, Taysom Hill, Jameis Winston
Obvious choices here, though it remains to be seen who will be the No. 2 quarterback on game days. Ideally Winston could fill that role so the Saints can keep using Hill in his vital role as a QB/RB/TE/WR. But New Orleans' choice would be tougher if Brees were to miss an extended period of time. I also project that rookie QB Tommy Stevens will make the 53-man roster, but he has been moved to tight end for now.
RUNNING BACK (4): Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Ty Montgomery, Dwayne Washington
Montgomery was one of my last additions to the 53-man roster when we did this exercise earlier this summer. But the veteran newcomer seems even more entrenched now after emerging as one of the standout players during training camp as both a runner and receiver. That still leaves room for Washington, who he has been a core special-teams player in New Orleans.
WIDE RECEIVERS (5): Michael Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, Bennie Fowler
This is by far the toughest position to handicap on the roster once you get past the first four names on this list. I went with the veteran Fowler, because he is a proven asset as both a blocker and special-teamer. And I kept only five since Montgomery can serve as a pseudo-receiver as well. But it's hard to leave off veteran Austin Carr and promising young receivers Emmanuel Butler, Lil'Jordan Humphrey, Marquez Callaway and Juwan Johnson. I wouldn't be surprised one bit to see the Saints keep one or two of those young guys, even if they wind up "redshirting" one as a weekly inactive.
TIGHT END (4): Jared Cook, Josh Hill, Adam Trautman, Tommy Stevens
Speaking of redshirts, that's what I envision for Stevens -- a seventh-round draft pick who was a dual-threat QB at Mississippi State. It's hard to imagine Stevens playing a key role as a rookie. But it's also hard to imagine the Saints exposing him to the waiver wire after they just traded a 2021 sixth-round pick to draft him and keep him away from the rival Carolina Panthers.
OFFENSIVE LINE (9): Terron Armstead, Ryan Ramczyk, Andrus Peat, Erik McCoy, Cesar Ruiz, Nick Easton, Will Clapp, Ethan Greenidge, Patrick Omameh
I went heavy with nine in this group since the NFL now allows an extra active roster spot on game days for an eighth offensive linemen. But it was a close call for those final spots between Clapp, Greenidge, Omameh, veteran Cameron Tom and undrafted rookies Calvin Throckmorton and Jordan Steckler. James Hurst will miss the first four games due to suspension, but he has looked promising enough in camp to keep on a reserve list.
DEFENSIVE LINE (10): Cameron Jordan, Marcus Davenport, David Onyemata, Malcom Brown, Sheldon Rankins, Shy Tuttle, Trey Hendrickson, Mario Edwards Jr., Carl Granderson, Malcolm Roach
Veteran Margus Hunt is one of the more recognizable names being left off this roster projection, but the depth in this group will be hard to overcome. That could also be an issue for Roach, but I decided to squeeze him in as the only undrafted rookie on my roster.
LINEBACKER (5): Demario Davis, Alex Anzalone, Zack Baun, Craig Robertson, Kaden Elliss
I may be one linebacker short here. And the Saints have plenty of candidates in veteran Anthony Chickillo and promising young developmental guys like Andrew Dowell, Chase Hansen and Joe Bachie. But I think the Saints can go thin here since they spend so much time in nickel and dime defenses. Kiko Alonso seems likely to start the season on the physically-unable-to-perform list after tearing his ACL in January.
SECONDARY (10): Marshon Lattimore, Janoris Jenkins, Marcus Williams, Malcolm Jenkins, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, P.J. Williams, Justin Hardee, J.T. Gray, Patrick Robinson, D.J. Swearinger
Second-year safety Saquan Hampton and undrafted rookie Keith Washington II were two of my final cuts. Either one could easily prove me wrong, especially if the Saints feel like they can help on special teams.
SPECIALIST (3): Thomas Morstead, Wil Lutz, Zach Wood
Undrafted rookie punter Blake Gillikin has shown promise. But it's hard to imagine the Saints splitting up one of the NFL's best trios.