Carolina Panthers

New Orleans Saints: Ted Ginn Jr. highlights start of minicamp

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:29 p.m. ET

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Fansided, Rebecca Mills/FanSided via NFL Spin Zone

The New Orleans Saints minicamp started today and there's a lot of talk about Ted Ginn Jr. who might be the Saints most beneficial free agent.

New Orleans Saints' minicamp kicked off on June 13. While many were expecting Adrian Peterson to break out, another Saints free agent pick up did. Even before the season begins, Ted Ginn Jr. is showing how valuable he is and can be.

It originally began when Ginn was running during their offseason program. According to ESPN, Sean Payton got a text from their strength and conditioning coach with the word "TGIF," which translates to Ted Ginn Is Fast. Since then, the Saints have watched him run circles around players younger than him and make up for the loss of Brandin Cooks.

His speed isn't the only thing the Saints love about him, though. He's aging like a fine wine and has only gotten better with age. It was repeated again and again by the Panthers and still rings true for the Saints. The main difference here, though, is who is throwing to Ginn.

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Instead of Cam Newton, he'll be catching passes from Drew Brees. Ginn caught multiple bombs from Newton. If anything, playing with Brees will help lengthen his career and rejuvenate him. Hopefully, the two are able to find their own tandem before the season begins.

Ginn brings experience to a relatively young wide receiver group. He'll be a great asset for Michael Thomas and Wilie Snead to utilize. That's the only problem I really saw with their unit last year. Cooks had been there longer than the others, but was still only 23. Ginn has been in the league for 11 years and will bring that veteran knowledge and experience.

The other reason Ginn is getting noticed is his propensity to make big plays. What might be a 10- or 15-yard play for someone could be a 30- or 40-yard gain for Ginn. He's such a dynamic player who can handle adversity and make his presence known. Making big players with Brees throwing to him should be a piece of cake for the 32-year old.

While Peterson brings the star power, Ginn is more behind-the-scenes. Ginn runs his routes, makes plays and still finds times to run circles about the younger players. Peterson will no doubt make a huge impact, but Ginn's will be more than that. He's the stand-in for Cooks and the veteran receiver the team has been waiting for.

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