The New Orleans Saints concluded their final set of workouts, marking the end of their offseason activities ahead of preseason training camp. While the Saints take a break from football, Nola.com’s Saints coverage team of beat writer Terrin Waack and columnists Jeff Duncan and Rod Walker looked back on their offseason workouts and named their MVPs.
Jeff Duncan admitted it was challenging to choose an MVP from non-contact settings, but he was impressed by Chris Olave’s performance on the perimeter. Olave appeared confident and in sync with Derek Carr, making a significant effort to make competitive catches downfield. Duncan also acknowledged Blake Grupe, an undrafted rookie kicker from Notre Dame, for holding his own alongside veteran kicker Wil Lutz.
Terrin Waack gave Grupe a shoutout, confident that he might give Lutz a run for his money in the upcoming season. Despite being the shortest and lightest player on the Saints’ roster, standing at 5-foot-7 and 156 pounds, Grupe impressed Waack with his performance during the offseason workouts. Waack also praised Olave for his consistency on the field.
Rod Walker echoed the same sentiment and named Olave and quarterback Derek Carr as potential MVPs. He commended Carr’s accuracy during the offseason workouts and noted how Carr looked comfortable despite being a newcomer to the team.
In the next article, the Saints’ new quarterback Derek Carr’s performance will be under scrutiny. The team’s areas of improvement will be discussed the day after, wherein the Nola.com team will share one area the team needs to work on. Lastly, the overall grade for the offseason workouts will be given by the team.
The Saints’ first exhibition game is scheduled for August 13th against the Kansas City Chiefs.
