New Orleans Saints Offseason Progress Report

Will the Quarterbacks on the roster do enough to hold off the 2026 Draft Questions?

Saints Linebacker Demario Davis

Overview

2024 Record: 5-12

General Manager: Mickey Loomis

Head Coach: Kellen Moore

Starting Quarterback: Spencer Rattler

Key Extensions:

EDGE Chase Young (3 years, $51 million, $33 million guaranteed)

Key Additions:

S Justin Reid, S Julian Blackmon, WR Devaughn Vele, DL Davon Godchaux, OT Kelvin Banks Jr, QB Tyler Shough, DL Vernon Broughton, S Jonas Sanker

Key Departures:

S Tyrann Mathieu, EDGE Payton Turner, LB Willie Gay Jr, CB Paulson Adebo, S Will Harris

Offense

Offensive Coordinator: Doug Nussmeier

2024 Ranks:

EPA/play: 22nd Success Rate: 24th PPG: 24th (19.9ppg)

Projected Starting Offense (11 personnel):

QB Spencer Rattler

RB Alvin Kamara

WR Chris Olave

WR Rashid Shaheed

WR Devaughn Vele

TE Juwan Johnson

LT Kelvin Banks Jr.

LG Trevor Penning

C Erik McCoy

RG Cesar Ruiz

RT Taliese Fuaga

Offense Notes:

Following back-to-back weeks of 40+ points scored to start the season, hopes were high that the Saints might have moved back to league-wide relevancy. Those hopes were quickly dashed, and the Saints offense would only produce 28 or more points in one other game. Derek Carr, who is usually a steadying presence, waned throughout the season and eventually sat due to injury. The quarterbacks who replaced him didn’t show much flash either. It was all downhill after those first two blowouts.

Instead of acting rashly, the Saints did the sensible thing to kick off their draft, adding a young tackle to pair with second-year starter Taliese Fuaga, bookending the offensive line. Beyond Banks and a reunion with Brandin Cooks, however, the Saints offense projects to be more of the same from last season. The big question will be if 25 year old rookie (will turn 26 during Week 4’s game) can show some immediate competency and upside. Shough wasn’t the most refined in college, but he has a live arm and hopefully can use his experience to be a steadying hand.

Defense

Defensive Coordinator: Branden Staley

2024 Ranks:

EPA/play: 24th Success Rate: 19th PPG: 19th (23.4ppg allowed)

Projected Starting Defense (Base 4-3):

DE Nathan Sheppard

DT Davon Godchaux

DT Bryan Bresee

OLB Chase Young

OLB Carl Granderson

LB Demario Davis

LB Pete Werner

CB Kool-Aid McKinstry

CB Alontae Taylor

S Justin Reid

S Julian Blackmon

Defense Notes:

Defensively, the Saints weren’t much better. While they can hang their hats on good 4th down and redzone defense, this unit didn’t provide much else. The veteran players on the squad were able to provide reinforcements on select plays, but the days of Demario Davis and Cam Jordan being stars have long since passed. The bright spots of the defense last season were some of the younger players like Alontae Taylor and Pete Werner, who should be able to lead this unit going into next year.

Don’t anticipate much change in terms of personnel this season. While two new starting safeties have been brought in, the front seven largely remains the same as last season. The key addition in my opinion, is new defensive play-caller Brandon Staley. Staley has his bad reputation as a head coach, but has been an effective coordinator, and hopefully can string together more consistent play than Dennis Allen was able to get out of this group.

Outlook

Overall, while this team has veterans that will fight every down, the talent level for this team just isn’t there to compete with the top teams in the division. After posting a 2-4 division record last season, it’s hard to believe that this team will do any better in 2025.

For the most part, that might be okay. I think most people expect the Saints to be gearing towards the future, so winning the division may not be the priority this year. If the team can get flashes from the young players on the roster, including Tyler Shough, there will be something to look forward to in the future.

The final piece I haven’t mentioned yet is the new Head Coach, Kellen Moore. Moore has a reputation for bringing the best out of quarterbacks, and just captained his offense to a blowout win in the Super Bowl. If Moore lays out the vision for his group, the Saints are only a few pieces away from getting back to contention - not this season, but for the future.

Expectation/Goal for 2025: See if Tyler Shough has anything

2025 Schedule

\(\begin{array}{c c} \textbf{GameWeek} & \textbf{Opponent} \\ \hline \text{Week 1} & \text{vs. Arizona, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 2} & \text{vs. San Francisco, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 3} & \text{@ Seattle, 4:05pm} \\ \text{Week 4} & \text{@ Buffalo, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 5} & \text{vs. New York Giants, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 6} & \text{vs. New England, 4:25pm} \\ \text{Week 7} & \text{@ Chicago, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 8} & \text{vs. Tampa Bay, 4:05pm} \\ \text{Week 9} & \text{@ LA Rams, 4:05pm} \\ \text{Week 10} & \text{@ Carolina, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 11} & \text{-- BYE WEEK --} \\ \text{Week 12} & \text{vs. Atlanta, 4:25pm} \\ \text{Week 13} & \text{@ Miami, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 14} & \text{@ Tampa Bay, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 15} & \text{vs. Carolina, 4:25pm} \\ \text{Week 16} & \text{vs. New York Jets, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 17} & \text{@ Tennessee, 1pm} \\ \text{Week 18} & \text{@ Atlanta, TBD} \\ \end{array} \)

Primetime games are BOLDED, all times EDT/EST