Saints Roster Battles: Wilson and Swann Make Their Case

If New Orleans Saints cornerbacks Brandon Browner, Keenan Lewis, and Delvin Breaux had been healthy up to this point then we may have never seen past those three depth wise .

I’ll admit, it’s hard to look past the hopefully dynamic duo of Lewis and Browner as well as Breaux, who has a feel good comeback story combined with his skills on the field.

But that hasn’t been the case since all three corners have been absent from the preseason due to injury or just precaution.

Also the Saints 2015 third round pick P.J. Williams, once considered a first round talent, has been nursing an injury and likewise been largely absent from practice and not played in a preseason game yet.

That has given others like fellow cornerbacks Kyle Wilson and Damian Swann the chance to make their case for a roster spot as the first round of cuts approach.

Nov 24, 2014; Detroit, MI, USA; New York Jets cornerback Kyle Wilson (20) against the Buffalo Bills at Ford Field. Mandatory Credit: Andrew Weber-USA TODAY Sports

Wilson is in a sort of comeback mode himself after being selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft by the New York Jets with the 29th pick.

I’ve thought of Wilson along the lines of former Saints cornerback Patrick Robinson who was also selected in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the 32nd pick.

Both corners didn’t have the most outstanding rookie seasons but flashed in their second and third year with Wilson having a 89 total tackles, a forced fumble, three interceptions, and ten passes defended during 2011 and 2012 combined.

Wilson seemed to regress his final two seasons in New York and just like his former head coach Rex Ryan, the Jets decided to move on.

The Saints took a chance on him which was likely a move more so for depth a corner, a mistake they didn’t want to repeat from last year where that had very little at that time.

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To be honest I didn’t think Wilson would make it this far considering all the talent that the Saints had and most of the buzz coming from training camp was that he seemed to be getting scorched by receivers.

It appears though that the light has clicked on for Wilson in the past few weeks and he had a good performance against the New England Patriots, with a few bad moments granted, but mostly positive.

Immediately following Saturday night’s preseason game, Wilson carried the momentum into practice as he picked off Luke McCown.

I’m not 100% sold on Wilson making the final roster and he will have to remain consistent and actually up his performance a bit in the next two games to have a spot with the Saints.

Aug 13, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Damian Swann (38) intercepts Baltimore Ravens quarterback Matt Schaub (8) (not pictured) during the third quarter in a preseason NFL football game at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports

Swann has been quite a pleasant surprise in the secondary following all the injuries and filled in for Brandon Browner at right corner when he went out with an injury during the first preseason game.

He got his first interception on a play where he read the quarterback, recognized and jumped the route.

Swann’s physicality is evident and almost mirrors Browner’s somewhat which cost him two penalties against the Baltimore Ravens.

For the Patriots game Swann was put at the slot corner position and fared decently there as well and thwarted a pass to receiver Danny Amendola, which if he would have had a few steps on, could have possibly gotten his hands on as well.

Now Swann is still having his growing pains when it comes learning the game but he is showing that he has potential and can be molded into a viable option at corner.