Arthur Maulet loves his family. Don't, for a minute, take anything said or written hereafter as an indication that he doesn't.

But the free agent rookie cornerback doesn't want all the levels of his family's love to show in the near future – at least, not in a few, select cases.

See, the Kenner native and former Bonnabel High standout is trying to earn a job with the hometown New Orleans Saints. And the reality for Maulet is that for the time being, the fewer distractions he has, the better.

So when New Orleans eventually has some open practices, during which family, fans and media can watch the team work during minicamp and training camp at the training facility in Metairie, Maulet might not want to see all of his family come marching in with the other Saints fans.

"I'll probably tell them to stay away from practice, because I need to focus," he said, laughing. "My family is kind of a loud family, let's put it that way. I'll probably tell them to stay away and on game day, you can come and make as much noise as you want to."

Kidding aside, there's a ways to go before he reaches the point of being on the field for the Saints on game day. But the 5-foot-10, 190-pounder, who played two seasons at Memphis after two years in junior college, believes the Saints will give him the fairest shot and best opportunity to make an NFL roster.

And that's fine by his family.

"It's kind of wild," said his father, Donald Cox, a New Orleans native who has served as the national defensive backs coach for Under Armour for more than a decade. Cox works with elite prep cornerbacks at Under Armour camps and combines, and he currently is coaching at a high school in the Washington, D.C., area.

"It's such an opportunity and a dream for him to be back home, playing in front of friends and family, playing for a New Orleans Saints organization that he grew up watching," Cox said. "You never really think that a kid will get an opportunity to play for the hometown; most of the time when he gets a chance to play in the NFL, most of the time it's away from their hometown. So it's really a great blessing."

Said Maulet: "I felt like this was the best opportunity for me to play right away."

He felt that way because he did his homework.

First, Maulet knows the Saints have proven to be a franchise that stocks its roster with players based on merit, rather than how they were acquired. Play well, and there's a really good chance you'll stick. Seven undrafted rookies – offensive linemen Jack Allen and Landon Turner, cornerbacks Ken Crawley and De'Vante Harris, kicker Wil Lutz and receivers Jake Lampman and Tommylee Lewis – were on the 53-man roster at some point last season.