Saints LB Pete Werner constantly picks the brains of teammates. 'He's thinking 2 steps ahe

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Pete Werner just has a couple of questions.
Of course he seeks input from his fellow New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis. That’s a player with a decade of high-level NFL experience, someone whose voice is trusted by many in the locker room. It’d be weird if Werner wasn’t as close to Davis as possible, testing some theory of football osmosis.

“You’ve just got to pick his brain and do whatever you can to make yourself a better player,” Werner said.

And you better believe he’s in journeyman linebacker Eric Wilson’s ear, too. That’s a player who’s been around — now on his fourth team in three seasons — one who has experienced the NFL’s highs and lows.

“He’s very, very talented,” Werner said. “He’s been around the league. I’m trying to pick his brain and ask any questions that I have for him.”

The point is Werner is not especially discerning when it comes to who he asks those questions, as long as it’s someone he thinks can further his football knowledge. He is not only a copious note-taker, but someone who goes back to revisit those notes, turning the ideas around in his head to see if something clicks.

“I mean, that’s what you have to do,” Werner said. “If I’m fortunate to play in this league for a long time, I’m still going to be asking those questions, even if it’s a guy younger than me, because he might have a different perspective on a certain play than me.

“You’re constantly trying to be coachable, you’re constantly trying to learn, because that’s what it takes at this next level — every little piece or tidbit you can get to create an advantage for yourself.”

The Saints love this side of Werner. It’s part of what made them comfortable letting Kwon Alexander walk this offseason.

“The upside is very, very high for that player,” linebackers coach Michael Hodges said of Werner.

New Orleans watched as Werner comported himself well between the lines while he shared time with Alexander last season (62 tackles while playing 35.7% of the defensive snaps), but it was also thrilled with the way his play aligned with his inquisitive approach away from the field.

The hardest part for the Saints coaching staff is figuring out the best way to challenge Werner. When Hodges walks into the position room, he said, “I have to have the answers, because the dude comes with questions that aren’t coming from everybody else.”

It’s been like that since Hodges showed up for rookie minicamp last year, Hodges said. The Saints defensive staff has to be prepared to match Werner’s football curiosity.


“He’s just thinking two steps ahead, which is really why you see him playing two steps ahead so often,” Hodges said.

Right now, the priority is to get Werner’s body caught up to his brain. The second-year linebacker entered training camp on the non-football injury list and missed the first four practices with what he described as a groin injury.

New Orleans has been bringing him along slowly since, progressing toward Wednesday’s high watermark, when Werner took a handful of snaps next to Davis in the full team periods.

That was a welcome sight for Davis, who called Werner the player he’s most excited to see this year.

“A smart football player, a tough football player, he knows how to make plays on the ball,” Davis said. “It’s just exciting to see the next step he’s able to make in his progression of his game. Our team needs it.”

While the team waits for Werner to be fully back in the swing of things, it can go ahead and bank on the second-year linebacker taking mental notes as he’s watching from the sideline.

“As far as my situation right now, not getting as many reps, I’ve got to have that mental piece — watch film, ask questions, everything along that area to be 100% when my name is called,” Werner said.

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