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.