CARSON, Calif. — It took only a few plays into a competitive period of Thursday’s between the and Los Angeles Rams for to make his presence felt.
The Rams were trying to set up a receiver screen to the left side of their formation — a design that in theory should eliminate talented edge rushers like Young from the play’s equation. Except Young quickly recognized what was happening and got his hands up in the air, batting the pass away.
That was one of three passes Young broke up against the Rams — two knocked down at the line of scrimmage, and another when he crunched a tight end as he was in coverage. And that’s not even getting into what Young did rushing the passer.
“He’s looking all-world right now,” said defensive tackle . “It’s been great to work with him. His motor, his energy … is unbelievable, bar none. He’s relentless getting after the quarterback; I think he probably had like six sacks today. And we’re going to need that.”
Six sacks is overstating Young’s impact in Thursday’s scrimmage, but it’s not that far off. Young was a near constant presence in the Rams backfield, either killing plays outright or forcing rushed throws.
The Saints defense did not get a chance to test its mettle against the Rams’ true A-team, because quarterback Matthew Stafford continues to miss practice with a back injury. Still, with players like Young playing at a game-wrecking level, it’s not hard to see the Saints defense being an improved unit this season.
“He has an ability to make a huge impact on this game for us,” coach Kellen Moore said. “We expect a lot of things out of him; it’s awesome to see him getting after people.”
And Young wasn’t the only one making plays.
Three in a row
Interceptions are fairly notable things during training camp practices because they don’t happen very often.
Unless your name is Julian Blackmon.
The Saints’ safety, signed at the outset of training camp after Tyrann Mathieu’s surprise retirement, picked off a Jimmy Garoppolo pass in Thursday’s practice, giving Blackmon at least five interceptions in training camp and one in each of the last three practices.
Blackmon has consistently made plays when the ball is in the air throughout training camp, which isn’t surprising when considering his résumé: He’s intercepted 10 passes since his 2020 rookie season, ranking 13th among NFL safeties in that span.
It’s the rest of his game that he’s brought along with his playmaking skills that has been such a pleasant surprise. In addition to the interception, Blackmon made several plays as a run defender, crashing hard from his place in the deepest part of the secondary to support the run. He also showed his physicality as a pass defender, again crashing hard from his deep safety position to hit receiver Davante Adams right as the ball arrived, jarring it loose and incomplete in the process.
“Julian is the ultimate pro,” Moore said. “A quick transition for him, and I’m really impressed with how quickly he was able to acclimate himself to the system, to the team. He’s just doing an exceptional job.”
Odds and ends
With Alontae Taylor sidelined by a groin injury, the Saints let both Ugo Amadi and Terrell Burgess take first-team snaps as the slot cornerback, with Amadi taking the first crack at it … Young and Carl Granderson were the first edge rushers to take the field, but Cam Jordan and Chris Rumph also took first-team snaps. That’s probably the rotation they’ll start the year with … The second-team run defense didn’t have a great showing in the preseason game, and that was true again Thursday. Jarquez Hunter, the Rams’ fourth-round rookie back, broke free for several big plays against the backups, including one that would’ve likely gone for a roughly 60-yard touchdown … A 2-minute drill to close things out was the only non-scripted part of Thursday’s practice, and it was easily the worst part of the day for the Saints defense. The first team allowed Adams and Puka Nacua to get free for big chunks of yardage on the first two plays, while the second team did the same for rookie receiver Konata Mumpfield.
