But it’s clear they like having as many of those alpha types in the room as possible. As linebackers coach Mike Nolan put it, they consider it “a good problem to have.”

“You know, when we use the term ‘green dot’ sometimes, people think about the helmet on the field,” Nolan said of the green sticker that identifies which player is wearing the communication device on game days. “But we also talk about it in the way of, ‘This guy is a leader.’ We have a number of guys with leadership skills [and Davis] does have that. That did make his stock and his value greater.

“What’s nice is we have about four or five guys that could wear it. Some teams sit there and they’re fighting over two guys or they’re thinking, ‘We really don’t have a guy that takes charge.’ In our case, I think we’ve got five guys that can wear it, if not six.”

Of course the Saints’ linebackers are all saying the right things about how competition brings out the best in everyone and they’re willing to play wherever the coaches ask — as you would expect from veteran leaders and captains.

But they also readily admit they take a lot of pride in being counted on as that quarterback of the defense who never leaves the field.

“You know, all of us want that headset,” said Te’o, who wore it with the San Diego Chargers before Klein primarily wore it in New Orleans last season when healthy. “I think it’s not just to have that responsibility, but to have that trust [from coaches and teammates].”

“You know, how I’m built, I guess at the core of me I’ve always been ‘the’ guy. But that’s not why I’m here,” said the 29-year-old Davis, who said he was drawn to the Saints because of their history of success and great offensive play after he didn’t get to experience much of either in six years with the New York Jets and Cleveland Browns. “This team has been in a great place for years, and I’m here to win. So wherever the coaches need me, I’m here to serve, I’m down with it, I’m 100 percent cool with it.”

Davis and Klein, however, stressed that it’s very important to them to prove they are an “every-down linebacker” one way or another.

That will come down to proving they can be an asset in coverage, which is more important than ever in the modern NFL.

Davis hasn’t played much Will linebacker in his career. But the Saints think he has the traits to do it, and Davis said he has worked hard in recent years to become a better coverage linebacker.

“That’s what you always want to be. I’ve always taken pride in being a three-down linebacker,” said the 6-foot-2, 248-pound Davis, who admitted he didn’t pay enough attention to detail in coverage early in his career, but now considers it one of his strengths.

“I think I got beat a lot more than I was wanting to, especially my third and fourth year in the league. I was thinking because I’m fast and I can run in space that I can guard these guys. But it’s not [that simple],” Davis continued. “It’s a lot more technique that goes into it. And when I started spending my offseason focusing on detailing my coverage, and adding that to being effective blitzing and effective in the run game, it helped me to have more of an all-around game.

“And I try to pride myself on being one of the most elite cover ‘backers in the league.”

Davis just had the best season of his career with the Jets in 2017, playing all 1,115 snaps with career highs of 135 tackles and five sacks.

Klein and Te’o acknowledged that coverage is an area of their game they’ve tried to constantly develop, since they weren’t asked to do it a lot in college or early in their careers.

“That’s a big thing. It’s important [to be considered an every-down linebacker],” said the 6-1, 240-pound Klein. “Obviously I came here to be playing — to play every down. And I know I can be that type of linebacker.

“We’re versatile, and I know from week to week, game plans change. Last year I got moved around, Craig got moved around, Manti got moved around. That’s just the nature of the game that we’re in. That’s 2018. That’s the NFL nowadays. You have to be versatile.”

Last year in New Orleans, Klein played the strongside (Sam) position on base downs, then moved inside to Mike in nickel packages.

Anzalone was the primary weakside linebacker (Will) in both base and nickel packages before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury in Week 4. Robertson primarily took over that Will role after that. Te’o played Mike in base packages.

All of this makes the breeziness of their interactions all the more striking. At one point Thursday, on the last day of minicamp, Wentz, Foles and the rest of the quarterbacks had a friendly accuracy competition to see who could hit the crossbar in the fewest amount of throws, the group smiling — and maybe busting some chops — along the way. A beat earlier, Wentz and Foles stood side-by-side as Nate Sudfeld worked the offense and simultaneously raised their arms above their heads like twins when Sudfeld dropped a dime into the corner of the end zone. They’re sharing a locker wall, sharing reps, and in some ways, sharing the allegiance of their teammates, and yet signs of any tension in their relationship are hard to detect.

“I think the big thing is we’re honest with one another, and our friendship has always come first,” Foles said. “I know at times when he’s injured and watching me play, that’s difficult, but at the same time, he’s always been extremely supportive.

“It’s definitely a different dynamic, but at the same time, it wouldn’t work if him and I weren’t such great friends and understanding of each other. That’s a big piece of it that people don’t probably understand, because it gets a little tricky — but not for us because we’re handling it like men in the locker room. At the end of the day, we want the team to be successful whoever is back there at quarterback.”

Sudfeld likened the quarterbacks to brothers. They bust each other’s chops and are highly competitive, whether they’re throwing darts, playing Pop-A-Shot in the locker room or out on the practice field.

“Nick is kind of the older guy, a little more laid back than Carson,” Sudfeld said. “We can joke with each other and talk about music or talk about just random stuff.”

They also share a mutual faith, which Wentz believes has been the key to keeping their bond strong in unique circumstances.

“That kind of just breaks down every barrier, every wall,” Wentz said. “We realize there’s so much more to this life and such a bigger purpose out there than arguing over a lot of little things.”

Wentz was a top candidate for league MVP last season before tearing the ACL and LCL in his left knee against the Los Angeles Rams in December. He finished second in the NFL with 33 touchdown passes and led the team to an 11-2 record, positioning the Eagles as the No. 1 seed in the NFC. After a rocky start, Foles caught fire during the playoffs, completing 73 percent of his passes and throwing six touchdowns to one interception, including three TD strikes in Super Bowl LII.

Foles is now an icon in Philadelphia. He recently joked about the awkwardness of meeting a fan who had Foles’ face tattooed across his entire back. He’s held in high esteem by owner Jeffrey Lurie and the front office and has the full respect of his peers. Starting right guard Brandon Brooks even restructured his contract so the Eagles could give Foles a new deal this offseason.

Still, there is no haziness when it comes to whose team this is.

Wentz opened some eyes during offseason workouts. He looks more mobile and participated more than expected. The goal for a return remains Week 1.

Foles can earn $500,000 per game under his restructured contract, which includes $14 million worth of incentives and a mutual option for 2019. He’ll be rewarded if he does end up playing a significant amount this year and will have the opportunity to find a starting gig next season.

“You want what’s best for the team,” Foles said. “Ultimately, Carson is getting ready to play. He’s getting healthy. But at the same time, I’m ready to go out there and play. I think I’ve shown that. But it takes more than one person to make a team. That’s what’s beautiful about this team.

“Everyone puts their egos to the side when they walk into this building. They’re all working for the Philadelphia Eagles. I think that’s why we have something so special here.”

“It’s crazy because after my rookie year, everything off the field that happened is because of everything on the field would happen,” Smith-Schuster said. “You take care of business on the field; everything will take care of itself off the field. Marketing, we’re doing appearances, just doing stuff around the community and charity — it’s awesome we can do all that.”

Smith-Schuster is frustrated because a knee injury is keeping him from working with teammates on the practice field. He expects to be a full go for training camp but is limited to individual work this week.

That hasn’t stopped him from mentally preparing for an expanded role in the Pittsburgh offense. Smith-Schuster expects more chances to play inside and out as the clear-cut No. 2 receiver following the trade of Martavis Bryant to the Oakland Raiders.

Smith-Schuster will be tasked with winning up the middle and stretching the field vertically. He’s eager for the challenge, vowing to carry “whatever they put on my shoulders.”

“Super excited about this year,” Smith-Schuster said. “To be on the side with [Antonio Brown] and all those other guys, it’s going to be fun.”

Turns out Smith-Schuster is giving second-round rookie receiver James Washington the same advice that helped him produce 917 receiving yards and seven touchdowns in 2017: Learn both receiver spots, block linebackers and safeties, win “in the trenches” and catch balls over the top.

Smith-Schuster showed he could do all those things, and the next step is consistently beating elite man coverage (see: playoff game against Jacksonville, which held Smith-Schuster to 5 yards on three catches).

“That is impressive, I can’t believe he said that,” Thielen said. “It’s been really good. When you have a locker room the way we do, guys that just want to work, and they want to study, and they love coming out to practice, you can get a lot accomplished in a few weeks. We’re off to a great start, but we’ve got a long way to go.”

Thielen said much of the verbiage and other base concepts remain the same from former offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur’s scheme to DeFilippo’s.

“Every offensive coordinator, they have their wrinkles, the things that they like to do,” he said. “[DeFilippo’s personality] is a lot different, but that’s what keeps it fresh. That’s what keeps it fun. We’re excited to keep learning from him.”

The overarching constant? DeFilippo’s approach to putting his personnel in the best positions appears to mirror the democratic approach Shurmur had with his playmakers, thus helping aid in that smooth transition while it’s still early.

“No. 1, [DeFilippo’s] able to adjust,” Thielen said. “He loves the game of football and he loves to see guys succeed; so he’s not a stubborn guy that’s going to only do it his way. He’s going to listen to other guys’ advice and try to make it the best offense possible. The other thing is we have the players that are willing to adapt as well. Guys that are willing to study, which, sometimes this time of year, it’s not easy to open the playbook when you’re at home. But we have the guys that are willing to do that.”