PHOENIX -- If Travaris Cadet is going to become a significant factor in the New England Patriots' offense as part of plans to replace Shane Vereen as the team's primary pass-catching running back, his former coach pinpointed pass protection as the key.

"He was a receiver coming to us, so it’s a work in progress with regards to protection," New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton said Wednesday morning at the NFC coaches breakfast. "He’ll know who to have, but he just hasn’t had the snaps or the experience that so many of the other running backs have because he hasn’t played the position that long."

Cadet enters his fourth NFL season after making the Saints' 53-man roster in 2012 as an undrafted player out of Appalachian State. At 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, he could almost be viewed more as a receiver than a running back based on the way the Saints utilized him; in limited snaps, he was mostly part of the two-minute offense that featured five receivers. Because of that, Payton estimated that Cadet might have been asked to pass protect 10 to 12 times over the course of an entire season.

For a comparison, in the Patriots' offense a player like Vereen might be asked to pass protect 10 to 12 times in a single game.

Payton sees the potential for growth in that area with Cadet.

"He’s tough enough, he’ll know who to have, [so] that will be a technique and an ongoing skill and development [thing]," he said. "We felt like he definitely could become a protector because what keeps guys from being that third-down back is they don’t know who to block. That’s the first thing that keeps them from playing that position. They scan and see the guy that’s free; the problem with that is when the guy they are supposed to block doesn’t come and they’re in the backfield still and you have a flare-control issue – he’s supposed to be out in the route but he’s floating in the backfield before he leaves, it doesn’t work. So he’ll know who to block, it will just be a matter of technique.”

Overall, Payton raved about Cadet, whom he said the Saints probably would have re-signed had they not inked veteran running back C.J. Spiller in free agency.

"He’s a real smart player, exceptional as a receiver. His ability to run routes other than just from the running-back route tree; he is someone that can jump in the receiver line and run out-routes and run comebacks and actually has experience doing that," he said. "So when he came to us as a free agent in ’12, he came the first week or two and was in receiver meetings and receiver drills. He is exceptionally smart, a great teammate. I would say his hands and his football IQ are exceptional."