Devin Neal on taking on larger role, pass protection | New Orleans Saints

you know, now that the moment’s here, you know, all that preparation just becomes that much more important. So, you know, the the time that I wasn’t necessarily getting as many reps, I was still in the meetings, still taking practice reps and taking them as serious as, you know, if I was out there. So, um, that that’s super important to me. And, you know, like I said before, I’m I’m really prepared for the moment. I’m just excited to get out there. when every opportunity you get, look, obviously winning is paramount, but even when the general manager says we are in a developmental situation, how important is that knowing that you’re always going to be on film and it’s going to be judged, but it’s even more important with an organization that is figuring out what it’s doing going forward? Yeah, I mean, not necessarily to just put so much pressure on myself, but I think, you know, everyone still needs to continue to get better. And that that’s the way I view it is, you know, getting better each and every day and focusing on your craft cuz that’s all you can control, right? And so, you know, getting out on the field in the game day is just another opportunity for to get better and, you know, to keep practicing my craft and, you know, obviously do whatever it takes for, you know, this team to win. You know, that that’s my job ultimately and like I said before, I’m excited to do that. Excited to show what I could do on the field and, um, I’m just glad the the opportunities here. You had a really nice blitz pickup in the game. Um, how much do you pride your that aspect? Because not all running backs are are as fluid in this pickup. I mean, how much do you pride yourself on that? Yeah, I mean I definitely pride myself a lot on that because, you know, it’s it’s one of our most important tasks as a running back, you know, to ultimately keep the uh quarterback protected and I take a lot of pride in taking off hits of Spencer and um you know, that that was another opportunity for me to, you know, prevent that and yeah, it came last second looked kind of crazy, but you know, whatever you have to do is kind of my mindset in getting it done. You just have to get it done. And um we we preached that in our room and you know, that’s just kind of things that stick with me for sure. I think Spencer said that was an unscouted look. You know, was it was it kind of did it surprise you like that? You know, I think it kind of surprised everyone. You know, I just think just based on how our rules are and um you know, for me to have to start on my side and to scan all the way back and just see a guy running full speed, you know, I just had to I had to make the choice, you know, just kind of lay out at him and, you know, just ultimately make the play and, you know, continue to hopefully, you know, at that time I was thinking, hey, let Spence just get the ball off and let’s get a first down, you know, especially on third and long. So, you know, I was glad that Spence trusted me enough to not, you know, pull the ball down and try to scramble or, you know, he it looked like it was a normal day in the office for him and he just threw threw the ball and I know it wasn’t complete, but you know, those are things we have to do. Do you uh follow other like rookie running backs from this draft class, you know, like Scataboo, just some of the other guys, or is it kind of like I don’t care that like the race is only with me at this point. I don’t necessarily I mean, if you’re talking from a, you know, a comparison thing, no, I don’t compare myself to them. But I am quite close with a lot of other running backs. And you know, I’m wishing for their successes as well. You know, I’m like I said before, I’m really close with them. I I worked out with them. I trained with those guys. And you know, I’m glad to see those guys taking advantage of their opportunities and making the most out of them for sure. But no, I’m not sitting here comparing myself to them. And why am I not doing this? Why am I not getting the same opportunities? No. So, how do you describe your style overall as a running back, you know, the balance of power versus getting out and catching checks and all that stuff? Yeah, I I mean I kind of just describe myself as all around, you know. I think I can, you know, really do it all in the field. Um I can pass, block, I can catch, I can run routes, and I can run it in between and outside the tackles. You know, I just think that’s kind of how I pride my game. That’s how I’ve always done it. And um you know, I think it’s going to be shown this Sunday, you know, with whatever opportunities that I do get. And you know, it’s my job to be efficient in in the run game and in the pass game as well. So, you know,

New Orleans Saints running back Devin Neal speak with the media from the Ochsner Sports Performance Center on Wednesday, October 22, 2025 ahead of Week 8 vs. the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
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