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How does each team look at wide receiver, and what still needs to be done?

Atlanta Falcons: The Falcons have one of the best starting combinations in the league in Roddy White and Julio Jones, and that’s not going to change anytime soon. White and Jones are as good as most No. 1 receivers, and that creates matchup problems for opposing defenses, especially when you factor in the presence of tight end Tony Gonzalez. What has been mildly disappointing is that the Falcons haven’t gotten more out of their third receiver. Harry Douglas was used primarily in the slot last season. He has big-play potential but was limited to 38 catches and one touchdown. There is no serious challenger to Douglas on the current roster. That means the Falcons could look for an upgrade in what remains of free agency or in the draft.

Carolina Panthers: The team might not be sitting still at this position. It’s very possible the Panthers could use an early draft pick on a receiver because it’s time to start grooming an heir apparent to Steve Smith. He still is the No. 1 receiver, but his age is due to catch up with him at some point. Brandon LaFell has established himself as the No. 2 receiver but doesn’t look as if he’s a candidate for anything more. The No. 3 receiver spot is wide open after Louis Murphy departed via free agency. The team has some young options in Kealoha Pilares, Joe Adams and Armanti Edwards. But the Panthers recently signed Ted Ginn Jr. He primarily was a return man in San Francisco the past three seasons. But he contributed as a receiver in Miami before that. Ginn has a chance to win the third receiver job.

New Orleans Saints: There could be change on the horizon in New Orleans’ wide receiver situation. Veteran Devery Henderson is a free agent, and it appears unlikely the Saints will bring him back. The Saints still have veterans Marques Colston and Lance Moore, but several young players are going to have a chance at significant playing time because the Saints use a lot of three- and four-receiver sets. Joseph Morgan flashed potential at times last season. But the player to keep an eye on is Nick Toon, who missed his rookie season because of injury. Toon might have the inside track on the third receiver job and eventually could develop into a starter.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: The Bucs are well set with Vincent Jackson and Mike Williams as their starters. But the real competition should be for the No. 3 receiver spot as the team continues to try to give quarterback Josh Freeman everything he needs to succeed. Tiquan Underwood emerged as the No. 3 receiver last season, and he has a chance to stay in that role. But the Bucs brought in Kevin Ogletree to compete with him. Ogletree did some good things in Dallas last season and might be just starting to reach his potential.

Some quick observations from the Saints' 10-6 loss to the Tennessee Titans in Thursday night's preseason finale:

• Assistant head coach Joe Vitt went almost exclusively with backups, which isn’t at all surprising when you consider the Saints were playing their fifth preseason game, including the Hall of Fame Game. The Saints started third-string quarterback Sean Canfield. He is a long way from being Drew Brees and even backup Chase Daniel, but Canfield looked better than I’ve ever seen him in practice and previous preseason games. Canfield did turn the ball over a couple of times, but I think he at least made a case for the Saints to keep him around.

• I think a lot of people thought third-round defensive tackle Akiem Hicks would be a project because he played his college football in Canada. I think a lot of people might have sold Hicks short. He continues to impress. He sacked Jake Locker in the first quarter. It’s pretty obvious Hicks has earned a spot in the rotation behind starters Brodrick Bunkley and Sedrick Ellis. You could even look a year ahead and perhaps picture Hicks as a starter because Ellis’ contract is up after this season and the Saints will have a tight salary-cap situation in 2013.

• Receiver Joseph Morgan continues to look good. I think he probably holds the edge on rookie Nick Toon for the No. 4 receiver spot (I count Courtney Roby, a return man) as the fifth receiver. That makes you wonder if the Saints will keep six receivers on the roster. My guess is they will. Toon’s a guy they were high on before his preseason got interrupted by an injury. Toon’s healthy now and I don’t think he’s a guy you want to risk losing by releasing him and hoping to get him back on the practice squad.

• The competition for the fourth running back spot remains close between Chris Ivory and Travaris Cadet. But I think Ivory might have gained a bit of ground in this game because Cadet lost a fumble.

• A lot of people were stunned when safety Isa Abdul-Quddus made the team last year. I was one of them, but I’m starting to see why now. Quddus knocked a ball loose in the second quarter and Elbert Mack recovered the fumble. Quddus already has established a role as a special-teams player. But I think he’s turning into a solid backup at safety, and somewhere in the future he could end up starting.

METAIRIE, La. -- As he prepares for his third NFL season, it sounds as if New Orleans tight end Jimmy Graham has figured out the secret to NFL success.

"I was told to never tug on Superman’s cape," Graham said.

He was talking about quarterback Drew Brees. Graham noted how the quarterback challenged him to a sprint race at the start of training camp and said he let Brees win. Graham was partly joking, but there was some deep wisdom in his words.

More than ever, the Saints are Brees’ team. They’ve been through an offseason unlike one any other team has faced. They’ve been through the painful drama of the bounty scandal and they’ll move forward without coach Sean Payton, who is suspended for the season, and general manager Mickey Loomis, who is suspended for the first eight games.

Brees, the league's highest-paid player, is coming off a season in which he set a NFL single-season record for most passing yards. No, let other teams try to tug on Brees’ cape. If the Saints really are going to endure all this adversity successfully, they need Brees’ skill and leadership more than ever. They need to ride the coattails of the most positive thing they have at the moment.

Brees knows this high-flying offense as well as anyone, including Payton. The Saints remain loaded at offensive skill positions. There’s little doubt this team still is going to score a lot, and that alone will keep it competitive.

But Brees can’t do everything by himself. Even before the word "bounty" started flying in March, the Saints knew they had to overhaul their defense. That became clear in last season’s playoff loss to San Francisco. That’s why defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was hired. Predecessor Gregg Williams had a gambling philosophy, going all-out to produce turnovers. The negative side effect was that the Saints gave up too many big plays.

Spagnuolo brings a more balanced philosophy. Sure, he wants turnovers, but he also wants to be able to shut down offenses from time to time. A big theme of this camp is the installation of Spagnuolo’s defense. Even though that’s not his side of the ball, Brees shows a lot of interest in the defense. Even in camp, the Saints are implementing game plans.

“[Spagnuolo] is going to try to find every flaw, just like we are going to do to them,’’ Brees said. “Along the way, I am certainly going to be picking his brain as to what he is seeing with our offense, how we can improve. That is how you help one another. That is a habit that we got into, me talking to the defensive guys, even if it is just the secondary guys, saying, 'You give away that blitz whenever you do this.' We are competing against each other, but in the end we are on the same team. I want them to be able to go out and have as much success as possible, just like they want us, on game day, to have as much success as possible.”

Maybe that’s the best way to improve the New Orleans defense. Practice against Superman every day. After you’ve been through that, everything else should be easy.

THREE HOT ISSUES

1. Mark Ingram’s playing time. Fan expectations for Ingram might be significantly higher than the team's. That’s somewhat understandable, because the Saints traded back into the first round in 2011 to draft Ingram. He played at a college powerhouse (Alabama) and won a Heisman Trophy. Instant stardom was expected by fans, but it didn’t turn out that way in Ingram’s rookie season.

He finished with 122 carries for 474 yards and five touchdowns. Injuries were part of the reason his numbers weren’t bigger. But even before the injuries, Ingram shared playing time with Darren Sproles and Pierre Thomas, and Chris Ivory did a nice job joining the rotation after Ingram’s injury problems started. Ingram had a couple of offseason surgeries and said he’s completely healthy.

But that doesn’t mean Ingram suddenly is going to become a 300-carry guy. New Orleans’ offense is based on diversity, and that’s not going to change. The Saints aren’t going to take playing time away from Sproles, who set an NFL record for all-purpose yards last season, and Thomas is going to play because he has earned it with his performance.

Assuming Ingram stays healthy, I expect him to get more carries than last season, but a 200-carry season for about 800 yards is a reasonable expectation.

2. Will the linebackers be better than last season? I think they’ll be markedly better. Many believe the season-long suspension of Jonathan Vilma is going to hurt the Saints. If this were two or three years ago, I’d agree. But Vilma was bothered by knee problems last season, and his age seemed to be catching up to him. I think free-agent addition Curtis Lofton is an upgrade over Vilma in the middle. In fact, I think Lofton is pretty similar to what Vilma was two or three years ago. The Saints will be just fine in the middle.

Plus, the Saints didn’t sit still at outside linebacker. They signed free agents David Hawthorne and Chris Chamberlain. It looks as if Hawthorne is well on his way to winning a starting job. That leaves Chamberlain competing with Scott Shanle, Will Herring and Jonathan Casillas for the other starting job. There’s no true favorite here, and Shanle is the fallback option as the safe choice because he’s smart and dependable. But Chamberlain, Herring and Casillas are more athletic and at least come with the possibility of producing big plays. The hope is that one of those three can step forward to win the starting job.

3. Can the offensive line, minus Carl Nicks, be as good as last season? Nicks took the big money and left for Tampa Bay in free agency. Losing a player many scouts consider the best guard in the NFL must take a toll. But the Saints already had Jahri Evans, who might be the closest thing to Nicks. Loomis did a nice job getting Ben Grubbs to replace Nicks. Grubbs isn’t quite on the Nicks/Evans level, but he’s an above-average player and came at a much lower salary than Nicks. The Saints build their offensive line around the interior, and Evans and Grubbs will form a very strong guard tandem.

Brian de la Puente did a nice job taking over at center last year and should be fine with Grubbs and Evans surrounding him. The tackles are more of a question. The Saints are sticking with Jermon Bushrod on the left side and Zach Strief on the right. They’re serviceable, but Bushrod and Strief aren’t all-pros, and the presence of Evans and Grubbs should be enough to keep this offensive line among the better ones in the league.

REASON FOR OPTIMISM

Spagnuolo’s history. There is legitimate concern about the pass rush, because Spagnuolo likes it to come mostly from his front four. Aside from defensive end Will Smith, who will serve a four-game suspension at the start of the season, the Saints don’t have a proven pass-rusher. Many fans are worked up about the potential of Junior Galette and converted linebacker Martez Wilson. Those guys could turn into something, but maybe fans aren’t looking in the right direction.

Second-year pro Cameron Jordan might be a big factor. Yeah, I know that sounds like a stretch because Jordan had one sack as a rookie, but he was a first-round pick and still has plenty of untapped potential. There’s more than that, though. Look at Spagnuolo’s past. When he became defensive coordinator for the New York Giants in 2007, Justin Tuck had gone through two NFL seasons with one sack. In Spagnuolo’s first season, Tuck had 10. In 2008, Tuck recorded 12.

If Spagnuolo can get anything close to double-digit sacks from Jordan, he may have short- and long-term answers for his pass rush.

REASON FOR PESSIMISM

How much adversity can one team take? The Saints will use all that happened to them in the offseason as a rallying cry, providing strong motivation. But it’s tough for any team to ride one emotion (anger, in this case) for an entire season. This franchise has been through a lot, and you have to worry about that taking a toll at some point.

You also have to worry about the Saints being a target for opponents, especially those who spent the past few months hearing that the bounty program had targeted some of their own players. Then throw in the fact that assistant head coach Joe Vitt, who has run the team in Payton’s absence, must serve a six-game suspension at the start of the season. At that point, the Saints are expected to make another of their assistants the acting head coach. Yes, this is a veteran team with outstanding leadership, but it sure looks like a lot of things are stacked against the Saints.

OBSERVATION DECK

• There was a lot of buzz about cornerback Marquis Johnson in the first few days of camp. He made some nice plays and usually was around the ball. The Saints hope second-year pro Johnny Patrick can be their No. 3 cornerback after starters Jabari Greer and Patrick Robinson. But Johnson has a chance to compete with Patrick and may have one slight advantage. The third-year player spent his first two seasons in St. Louis, where Spagnuolo was the coach. Johnson knows the system, and that might be why he’s off to a fast start in camp. If he can sustain it, he’ll have a chance to move past Patrick. At worst, Johnson has a chance to be the fourth cornerback and a key player on special teams.
• The Saints have almost an embarrassment of riches at kicker. They have Garrett Hartley back from an injury that kept him out last season and veteran John Kasay, who filled in nicely for Hartley. Hartley and Kasay each have made a lot of big kicks in their careers. Although Kasay is 42, he’s not showing signs of slowing. Hartley has the stronger leg, but Kasay has been a model of consistency throughout his career. The Saints will let this competition play throughout camp. If it ends in a dead heat, it might be the toughest call of all when it’s time to trim the roster. Brought in by Loomis, Hartley has earned a spot in franchise history with some clutch kicks. But Loomis and Kasay go all the way back to the early 1990s, when they were together in Seattle.
• There’s been a lot of talk about New Orleans’ young wide receivers early in camp. Adrian Arrington, Nick Toon, Joe Morgan, Andy Tanner and Chris Givens have made spectacular catches. But let’s keep that in perspective. Those catches came before the Saints put pads on and before defenders could hit. The Saints are looking for fourth and fifth receivers, but let’s not anoint any of these guys yet. The preseason games will determine who wins the final roster spots at receiver. Arrington’s entering his third season, and it’s time for him to start showing something. Toon comes in after a solid career at Wisconsin. They probably are the favorites to make the roster at this point. But Morgan, Tanner and Givens might be able to change the pecking order if they can make catches in traffic in preseason games.
• The Saints thought they might get an eventual starter when they drafted Charles Brown in 2010. There was even hope that he might turn into the long-range solution at left tackle. That hasn’t come close to happening. Bushrod has settled in nicely at left tackle. The Saints hoped Brown at least would be able to start at right tackle. But that hasn’t happened, either. Strief beat out Brown for the starting job last season. When Strief was injured, Brown got playing time, but his play wasn't pretty. (If you don’t believe me, look at the tape of the loss to the Rams.) The Saints still say that Strief and Brown are competing for the starting job this season, but Strief has received all of the first-team work, and I didn't hear any buzz at all about Brown from coaches. As a matter of fact, I’m not sure Brown even will be on the roster when the regular season starts.
• Speaking of offensive linemen who could be on the bubble, don’t forget Matt Tennant. The Saints drafted Tennant in 2010, thinking he'd be the heir apparent to Jonathan Goodwin at center. It hasn’t worked out that way. When Goodwin left via free agency last year, the Saints took an early look at Tennant and quickly signed Olin Kruetz, the former Bears star. When Kruetz abruptly decided to retire, the Saints didn’t turn back to Tennant. They turned to de la Puente, who now has a strong grip on the starting job. Like Brown, Tennant could be fighting for a roster spot. The Saints used to have a good reputation for finding offensive linemen beyond the first round of the draft (Evans, Nicks and Bushrod), but Brown and Tennant may have eroded that trend.
• The Saints appear set with Graham and David Thomas at tight end. Graham is a great pass-catcher, and Thomas is a jack of all trades. But keep an eye on Michael Higgins, who spent much of last year on the practice squad before getting promoted to the regular roster late in the season. Higgins already has demonstrated he can block, and showed signs of being a good receiver early in camp. Thomas has had injury problems, and the Saints may not want to overuse him. Higgins could provide another alternative.
• There has been talk that strong safety Roman Harper might not be a great fit in Spagnuolo’s defense because he isn’t known for great coverage skills. But I believe Spagnuolo will find a way to make this defense work for Harper. There’s really not an alternative behind him. His backup is Jonathon Amaya, whose only claim to fame is that he was part of the Reggie Bush trade.

Three thoughts as training camps open around the NFL:

One thing I’m certain of: The New Orleans Saints will be coming to camp on a mission. They’re not happy about what has happened this offseason and they’ve taken on the mindset that the world is against them. That’s going to lead to an increased focus across the board, which is not a bad thing.

This team will miss suspended coach Sean Payton, but the Saints have some very strong veteran leadership. Quarterback Drew Brees has spent his career playing with a chip on his shoulder. After recently becoming the NFL’s highest-paid player, he’ll be out to show the world he deserves it. This team always has fed off Brees’ work ethic and leadership. That’s going to be needed more than ever.

One thing that might happen: I still think there’s a decent chance the Saints will add a pass-rusher at some point in the preseason. They’re putting in a defense, with new coordinator Steve Spagnuolo, that will rely on the front four more than ever. Aside from Will Smith, who is suspended for the first four games, the Saints do not have a proven pass-rusher among their current crop of defensive linemen.

There are high hopes that some young players, such as Junior Galette and Martez Wilson, can emerge as threats. But the Saints don’t have a history of sitting around and waiting for young players to develop. More than any team in the NFC South, they’ve shown a willingness to bring in veterans in recent years. They couldn’t do that early in the offseason because of salary-cap concerns. But now that Brees’ deal is done, the Saints have some cap space to work with. If an experienced pass-rusher is released elsewhere or becomes available via trade, I can see the Saints pouncing.

One thing we won’t see: A rookie in the starting lineup. The Saints didn’t have a pick in the first two rounds of this year’s draft. But this isn’t a team that has even asked many of its first-round picks (see Malcolm Jenkins, Patrick Robinson and Robert Meachem) to start right away. The Saints did a nice job of addressing their needs through free agency.

Defensive tackle Akiem Hicks, a third-round pick, and receiver Nick Toon, a fourth-round choice, might be the only rookies you’ll see much of this season. Hicks has chance to work his way into the rotation with Sedrick Ellis and Brodrick Bunkley. Toon has a chance to be the fourth receiver, behind Marques Colston, Devery Henderson and Lance Moore. At best, Hicks and Toon will be role players this season. But the hope is that those two and the rest of this draft class can make a bigger impact down the road.

It’s pretty obvious what fourth-round draft pick Nick Toon can expect in a contract from the New Orleans Saints.

As the only unsigned New Orleans draft pick, Toon is looking at a deal that can’t be worth over $491,900 thousand this season and can’t exceed $3.18 million over the life of the contract. Those are the numbers for what the Saints have in their rookie pool for this year and for the life of the contracts for this year’s draft class.

The Saints already have used up $1.78 million of their league-low $2.272 million rookie pool for this year. They also already have committed $9.317 million over the course of their rookie contracts. Third-round pick Akiem Hicks got a four-year deal worth $2.68 million. Fifth-round pick Corey White's four-year deal is worth $2.276 million. Sixth-round pick Andrew Tiller's four-year contract is worth $2.212 million, and seventh-round pick Marcel Jones has a deal that could be worth as much as $2.148 million.

The Carolina Panthers and Atlanta Falcons long ago finished signing their draft classes. That leaves only Toon and Tampa Bay first-round pick Mark Barron as the only unsigned NFC South draft picks.

Since it’s been a few weeks since we touched on what the Bucs have left to offer Barron, let’s do a quick refresher course. The Bucs can pay Barron as much as $2.63 million this season and as much as $19.1 million over the entire course of his contract.

METAIRIE, La. -- A few quick notes on the Saints, who had a much calmer practice Wednesday afternoon than they did in the morning session. The practice was moved indoors and essentially amounted to a walkthrough.

• Rookie wide receiver Nick Toon has made some nice catches through the first two days of minicamp. Offensive coordinator Pete Carmichael responded positively when asked about Toon’s progress -- "Still impressed with his hands, runs good routes, so we're excited about him."

• Michael Silver reports that when filmmaker Sean Pamphilon visited the NFL office several weeks ago, league officials seemed particularly interested in the portion of an audiotape where former defensive coordinator Gregg Williams discussed $200 rewards for “whack hits’’ by safety Roman Harper and former New Orleans linebacker Jo-Lonn Dunbar. Although Dunbar and Harper have not been disciplined, Silver’s source said the revelation could be significant as further evidence that the Saints ran a three-year bounty program. However, that seems to be open to debate. Two sources told Silver that “whack hits’’ are forceful and clean plays with no intention of hurting an opponent.

• There’s no indication that anything is imminent, but there are reports that suggest quarterback Drew Brees and the Saints are only about $1 million apart on yearly average for a long-term contract. As I’ve said all along, this thing may drag on a bit longer, but I have no doubt Brees will be signed before training camp.

• Running back Mark Ingram described his recent knee surgery as “as minor as it gets’’ and said he’ll be ready for training camp.

• Second-year pro Martez Wilson, who is making the move from linebacker to defensive end, said he believes he someday can be a Hall of Famer. If he can be anything remotely close to that, I think the Saints, who really need to improve their pass rush, will be more than delighted.

The fourth round is just about over. It's down to the compensatory picks and those can't be traded, so this round will end with only three picks made by NFC South teams.

But this still was a relatively eventful round for the division. Carolina was the star in this round as the Panthers used back-to-back picks to get Oklahoma defensive end Frank Alexander and Arkansas receiver Joe Adams. I don’t think either is a candidate to start right away, but they give the Panthers some depth at positions where they needed depth.

Charles Johnson is Carolina’s big threat at defensive end and Greg Hardy hasn’t really produced the way the Panthers had hoped. They still have hope Hardy will emerge, but Alexander provides another option behind him.

I like the Adams pick even more. Carolina has one certainty at receiver. That’s Steve Smith. After that, the Panthers are hoping Brandon LaFell can continue to develop and David Gettis can come back strong from last year’s season-ending injury. But there are no guarantees LaFell and Gettis will become stars, so it makes sense to add another guy to this mix. Adams could end up being used as a slot receiver fairly early on. He has the potential to be explosive and, with Cam Newton’s arm, the Panthers could use someone besides Smith that can get open down the field.

Speaking of wide receivers, the Saints got one with the only other NFC South pick in the fourth round. They took Wisconsin’s Nick Toon. A lack of top end speed and questions about his durability are the main reasons Toon slid to the fourth round. But this is a polished player from a big-time program. In New Orleans’ offense, wide receivers tend to produce more than their draft status would suggest. Just look at what Marques Colston and Lance Moore have done.

The Saints did lose Robert Meachem in free agency. They still have Colston, Moore and Devery Henderson. Toon should have a chance to compete with Adrian Arrington for the fourth receiver spot.

INDIANAPOLIS -- Quick thoughts after a second session watching quarterbacks and receivers at the NFL scouting combine in Lucas Oil Stadium:

• Who did not throw: Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin III, Ryan Tannehill and Brock Osweiler were among the more highly regarded quarterbacks opting not to throw Sunday. I was watching receivers more than quarterbacks in this session. Kellen Moore, Darron Thomas and Brandon Weeden were among the quarterbacks throwing.
• Who did not catch: Alabama receiver Marquis Maze struggled holding onto the ball. He caught only 9 of 14 passes while running through the gauntlet drill with quarterbacks firing passes at him in rapid succession, seven per drill over two drills. He dropped one pass on a hitch route and watched another go through his hands without making contact.
• Running the gauntlet: Overall, receivers were much more effective in the first of the two gauntlet drills. Nineteen of the 24 receivers I charted caught all seven the first time through, with Maze dropping three, Miami's Tommy Streeter dropping two and two players, Arizona State's Gerell Robinson and Fresno State's Devon Wylie, dropping one apiece. Only 11 of the 24 receivers in this group caught all seven the second time through.
• Who showed surest hands: Washington's Jermaine Kearse, Iowa's Marvin McNutt, Penn State's Derek Moye, Stanford's Chris Owusu, Toledo's Eric Page, Appalachian State's Brian Quick, Rutgers Mohamed Sanu and Baylor's Kendall Wright did not drop passes during the gauntlet drills or when I was watching them in other drills. The ball barely made a sound when McNutt caught it.
• Sitting out: Wisconsin's Nick Toon did not participate in receiving drills with this group. He's been dealing with a foot injury. Toon did run 40-yard dashes, running in the 4.5s, and he participated in the vertical jump.

This was the second of two trips inside Lucas Oil Stadium as part of groups organized by the Pro Football Writers of America. I'll remain here until Monday morning, working from the media room at the stadium.