There won’t be much time between when the New Orleans Saints wrap up their [final preseason game](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/33df4d83-5acf-4d3f-95da-a48f37cf7253/) against the Denver Broncos on Saturday and when they trim their roster down to 53 players.
New Orleans currently has a 90-man roster. By Tuesday afternoon, that number must be down to 53, with a 16 (or potentially 17)-man practice squad to follow. The Saints will have plenty of interesting decisions to make — and it sounds like they’re willing to manipulate the roster as much as they can.
“The unique thing is the roster is such a moving, dynamic fluid thing,” said coach Kellen Moore. “With the veterans that can be on the practice squad, what our initial 53 looks like is going to be moving, especially during the first three or four weeks of the season, just because you have some flex to move guys up and down and veterans that don’t have to go through (waiver) claims.”
Moore said the Saints have “a roadmap” for how they’d like to construct their roster — which likely includes target numbers for specific position groups. But the team is also using every bit of information it can before it makes some decisions at the bottom of the roster.
The final evaluation point is Saturday’s game against the Broncos.
“It is the last stage of this training camp journey, so a lot of opportunities to be had for all these guys, for every level of the roster,” Moore said. “There’s opportunities throughout this thing. We’ve got so many guys with a path to the 53, and it’s exciting to let them play this whole journey out.”
Here are several players who could be on the roster bubble who may need big performances Saturday in the Superdome.
**RBs Devin Neal, Velus Jones and Clyde Edwards-Helaire**
Alvin Kamara is a 100% lock to make the roster, and it looks like Kendre Miller has seized the primary backup role in training camp. That leaves at least one and maybe two more spots for several other backs vying to make the team.
Start with Neal, who missed a significant chunk of training camp with a hamstring injury and has not yet appeared in a preseason game. The sixth-round pick in this year’s draft has not been able to yet show what he can do in a live-action setting.
Neal just returned to practice this week, and it’s not certain he’s been cleared to return to the field this weekend, but this will be an important evaluation for the Saints staff. He would be an obvious practice squad candidate, but New Orleans would have to risk sending him through waivers — sometimes a dicey proposition for draft picks, as teams spent most of the spring evaluating them.
Edwards-Helaire and Jones both have had plenty of opportunities to show what they can do, and each brings a different skillset to the table.
Edwards-Helaire, the former first-round pick out of LSU, offers a bit more of a balanced toolbox — he’s not especially explosive, but he’s been a willing pass protector and has shown solid hands throughout training camp and the preseason.
Jones is a converted wide receiver who is still somewhat raw at the position, but he brings home-run speed and also adds value as a returner.
**WRs Dante Pettis and Cedrick Wilson**
Both of these veterans are suddenly in tenuous positions after the Saints acquired receiver Devaughn Vele [in a trade](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/f1a1bfb2-9f98-4f35-8e8f-a6e27cb20752/). New Orleans now has five receivers who should comfortably be on the roster in Vele, Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Brandin Cooks and Mason Tipton. Will they keep a sixth?
Pettis has offered more as a receiver — and he also brings some value in the return game — but he’s a similar body type to four of the aforementioned receivers. Wilson has positive prior experience with Moore, having spent some of the best years of his career with him in Dallas, and he brings the added benefit of another big body who can block. But he’s shown little as a pass-catcher, either in camp or the preseason.
**Tight ends Treyton Welch and Moliki Matavao**
While Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill recover from late-season knee injuries, the Saints need to figure who is going to round out their depth at tight end. Jack Stoll will likely join Juwan Johnson on the 53-man roster, but it will be interesting to see how the Saints treat the rest of the position room.
Welch has closed training camp on a strong note, and he flashed in last week’s preseason game against the Jaguars, making a tough 28-yard catch in tight coverage. He spent most of last season with the Saints on the practice squad, as well.
The Saints selected Matavao in the seventh round this spring. He hasn’t had much chance to show what he can do as a pass catcher in the preseason, with one catch for 6 yards, but he’s a big body who can add value as a blocker.
**Edge Jasheen Davis**
Barring something unforeseen, Davis will probably get caught up in the numbers game along the edge. New Orleans can only keep so many, and three of the spots will be locked up by Chase Young, Carl Granderson and Cam Jordan.
But Davis is also an interesting case. He had a string of a few practices where he looked nearly unblockable — including one where he recorded at least three sacks. Then, like Neal, he suffered an injury that cost him a few weeks of practice and the first two preseason games.
Davis recently returned to practice, and this weekend will be the first time the Saints see him in a live setting. He still faces an uphill climb to make the roster — with veteran Chris Rumph and draft pick Fadil Diggs likely ahead of him — but he will be an interesting one to watch at a premium position.
**LBs Jaylan Ford, Nephi Sewell and Isaiah Stalbird**
Linebacker has sneakily become one of the more interesting positions on the roster.
With Demario Davis and Pete Werner sitting out the first two preseason games, the Saints have been able to show some of their depth at the position. Rookie Danny Stutsman has made some plays, and he’s been lined up next to D’Marco Jackson with the first team.
But the rest of the group has popped as well. Ford made a key interception last week and also pressured the quarterback several times as a blitzer. Sewell has been a core special-teamer for several seasons now, but Stalbird is pushing him there, making four special-teams tackles in the preseason so far.