Saints turn up the heat on Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener in backup QB battle on depth chart

The New Orleans Saints made some waves on social media on Tuesday afternoon. They decided to release their first Week 1 depth chart for the 2024 season.

The Saints will face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at noon central time. There were not many surprises on the first depth chart for the black and gold, but a few things stood out, undoubtedly.

Saints unveil first unofficial Week 1 depth chart

Many of the starters were expected on both sides of the football. It's a veteran starting lineup for New Orleans with two rookies listed as starters. Taliese Fuaga will start at left tackle, while rookie Punter Matthew Hayball gets the nod there.

Lucas Patrick and Trevor Penning listed as starters on OL

Penning was locked into a competition with Oli Udoh for the starting RT job. It looks like the young tackle with plenty to prove will get that chance to begin the season. There's plenty of pressure on him as a former first-round pick. He must stay healthy and continue to develop in pass protection.

Patrick was the best option for their LG spot, and he gets that opportunity to show that to start the season. He impressed during camp after being a free-agent addition.

Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener remain in backup competition

New Orleans noted an "OR" between the two backup options behind Derek Carr. That means they are not technically signaling a backup quarterback publicly yet.

The Saints will have to note a backup on Sunday for headset purposes, according to Nick Underhill. Therefore, there will be a winner from the competition to begin the regular season.

That being said, that role could change based on practices throughout the year. Only time will tell regarding that position battle.

Foster Moreau listed as starting TE over Juwan Johnson

This decision may be due to Johnson's recent return to injury. Taysom Hill is also listed as a starting tight end of Klint Kubiak's offense.

We will see if Johnson reclaims his starting spot after a couple of weeks to begin the season. I'd expect that to be the case if he looks healthy.

Overall, the depth chart certainly points to Saints football that counts approaching quite quickly. Let's see how it shakes out over the first month of the season.

Related: Saints make notable move with Taysom Hill on their first unofficial depth chart for 2024 season