Saints' Position Battles to Watch Ahead of 2021 NFL Season

All eyes are going to be on the New Orleans Saints’ quarterbacks when training camp opens up.

Jameis Winston is expected to be the preferred option over Taysom Hill to replace Drew Brees under center.

Even if the drama is taken out of the decision-making process, most of the preseason talk will surround Winston and what he can do in his second NFL starting job in the NFC South.

Other positional battles could take center stage in training camp, especially at wide receiver and defensive back, where the Saints need players to step up to ensure a successful 2021 campaign.

Jameis Winston taking over for Drew Brees should excite and scare Saints fans at the same time.

The 27-year-old has experience as a NFL starter from his time with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but one of the non-Tom Brady reasons he lost that job was his high turnover rate.

Even though it appears Winston will be the Week 1 starter for New Orleans, there will be some cause for concern that he reverts back to his old form.

That is why training camp is so important for Taysom Hill, whose legs were trusted more than his arm when he started for an injured Brees in 2020.

If the 30-year-old shows off an improved passing prowess in training camp, he could put some pressure on Winston. He may not do enough to win a starting job in August, but he could generate buzz about his play.

If anything, an improved Hill in the aerial attack could help head coach Sean Payton work up trick plays, especially in the red zone, where the BYU product has been a rushing threat for most of his NFL career.

The Saints need to figure out which wide receivers they can trust behind Michael Thomas to catch balls from their new starting quarterback.

Emmanuel Sanders' departure left a hole in the team's receiving production. Thomas and Alvin Kamara will still catch balls at a high volume, but they need support beneath them to compete in the NFC South.

Tre'Quan Smith is the first name that should be mentioned in the fight for the positions beneath Thomas on the depth chart. He earned career highs in catches, targets and receiving yards in 2020, but he was still beneath the 500-yard mark.

The 25-year-old needs to set new career bests in at least two of those categories in 2021, so that the Saints can provide enough support for their starting quarterback.

The competition beneath Smith will be even more intriguing, with Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harris and Lil'Jordan Humphrey among the names fighting for more snaps.

There is always a chance that the Saints add an experienced wide receiver through free agency if they get cut during training camp, but that is the group they have to work with for now.

If the younger wideouts show improvements throughout August, New Orleans should be better equipped to run with the loaded offenses in Tampa, Carolina and Atlanta.

The starting spot opposite Marshon Lattimore appears to be up for grabs between Patrick Robinson and rookie Paulson Adebo.

Robinson, 33, is a familiar face within the Saints organization, but he hasn't played a full 16-game slate in the last three seasons.

Adebo comes into the NFL off an injury-plagued 2019 at Stanford and an opt-out in 2020, so he hasn't seen a ton of first-team snaps at a high level in the last two years.

If the third-round pick shakes off any potential rust, he could challenge Robinson for a starting spot. At one point in his collegiate career, he was deemed to be a potential first-round prospect.

There is also a worst-case scenario in play where neither player does enough to win the starting gig. In that situation, the Saints may look to potential free agents to fill the void.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.