Losing out on Justin Simmons to the Atlanta Falcons was a swing and a miss. Sure, Simmons going to a rival made matters worse, but the Saints clearly felt there was a need there.

Simmons would bring an impact player to the secondary no matter who was at safety next to Tyrann Mathieu, so that isn’t a huge indictment on Johnathan Abram or Jordan Howden.

So far in camp, however, there's no separation between the two players. It's a tight race, and Dennis Allen affirmed this saying he is still waiting for a player to jump up and stake a true claim to this position.

Abram and Howden are both capable players. It feels like Abram's skillset fits better within this role. Physicality is his trademark. Allen named tackles and physicality as two attributes that are important for that position in his defense.

Because Simmons is no longer an option, Abram or Howden now have to step up and do what Allen is calling them out to do, stake claim to the job instead of winning by default. If it remains close, it feels like Abram would walk away with the starting spot. But Howden still has time to win this job.

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This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints need a starter to emerge at safety after missing on Justin Simmons