With the NFL offseason almost wrapped up and training camp coming to a close soon, it’s a good time to take a look at each NFL team’s offseason recap as we get just a few weeks away from the start of the regular season. Let’s take a look at the New Orleans Saints’ new team and analyze the team’s incoming and outgoing players as they shape up for the 2026 season.
The New Orleans Saints are coming off a lackluster 2025 season where they went 6-11 under first-year head coach Kellen Moore. The Saints have struggled to get back into serious contention ever since franchise legend Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season and head coach Sean Payton departed after the 2021 season. The Saints showed promising signs during stretches of the season, but after a strong draft and active offseason, they’ve positioned themselves to become a more competitive team within the NFC South going into year two with Kellen Moore and Tyler Shough at quarterback.
The Saints’ biggest offseason signing was bringing in running back Travis Etienne on a four-year, $52 million contract. Etienne had a strong season in Jacksonville last season, rushing for 1,107 yards and scoring 13 total touchdowns. Etienne will now be the lead back in New Orleans, taking the place of one of the franchise’s best running backs in Alvin Kamara. Kamara is still with the Saints and is currently listed as RB2 on the depth chart, but the Saints’ rushing attack struggled heavily last year, and the addition of Etienne should help fix that.
The Saints also made a big addition to their offensive line, signing guard David Edwards to a four-year, $61 million contract after spending the past three seasons in Buffalo. The importance of adding Edwards isn’t much of a surprise given how much focus the Saints have invested in their offensive line in recent years, with both tackles Taliese Fuaga and Kelvin Banks Jr. selected with the Saints’ first-round picks in 2024 and 2025, as well as guard Cesar Ruiz, who was picked in the first round of the 2020 draft, and Erik McCoy, a 2019 second-round pick.
The Saints also made a strong defensive addition by signing linebacker Kaden Elliss to a three-year, $33 million deal after spending the past three seasons in Atlanta, where he racked up 100+ tackles in all three seasons. Elliss was originally drafted by the Saints in the seventh round of the 2019 draft and played with the Saints for four seasons before departing for Atlanta. With Demario Davis leaving in free agency, Elliss will help shore up the Saints’ linebacker group and should form a competent duo with Pete Werner.
The Saints also traded for former 2023 first-round pick Tyree Wilson from the Raiders. Wilson was drafted seventh overall by the Raiders, but his college success hasn’t translated at the NFL level, only accumulating 12 total sacks in three seasons.
The biggest loss for the Saints this offseason was losing longtime linebacker Demario Davis to the Jets, where he signed a two-year, $22 million deal with New York in free agency. Davis spent the last eight seasons in New Orleans and was one of the leaders within their unit and earned five All-Pro selections as well as two Pro Bowl selections during his time with the Saints. Although it will be tough to replace Davis’ familiarity within the Saints’ system and his experience, Elliss will slide in and aim to replace Davis’ production.
The Saints also lost another notable defensive veteran in Alontae Taylor, who signed a three-year deal worth $60 million with the Tennessee Titans. Taylor was a former 2022 second-round pick by the Saints and was a reliable presence within their secondary, playing in all 17 games during the past three seasons.
Lastly, the Saints lost their longtime offensive chess piece in Taysom Hill, who they famously used in numerous roles and formations within the offense, acting as a quarterback, running back, receiver and tight end since 2017. Although Hill didn’t rack up a ton of all-purpose yards with the Saints in recent years, the Saints will surely miss his unique skill set and his ability to fill in wherever needed on offense.
The Saints entered the 2026 draft with eight selections and started their draft by selecting the electric wide receiver Jordyn Tyson out of ASU with the eighth overall pick. The Saints seemed committed to helping Tyler Shough succeed this season, and the addition of Tyson does just that. Tyson will figure to form a strong receiver duo with Chris Olave, but unfortunately, Tyson suffered a hamstring injury in training camp and is currently on injured reserve to start the season.
The Saints also drafted two Georgia players in defensive tackle Christen Miller (42nd overall) and tight end Oscar Delp (73rd overall). After Bryan Bresee’s season-ending ACL injury, the addition of Miller in the trenches will be much more important. Delp might not get a ton of chances as he’ll be behind Juwan Johnson and Noah Fant, but he’ll get the chance to learn from two competent veteran tight ends.
The Saints have made considerable efforts this offseason to support their quarterback Tyler Shough as he enters his first full season as the Saints’ starter. New Orleans has invested heavily in their offensive line in recent years, and the addition of David Edwards should help shore up a young offensive line group. The new additions of Travis Etienne, Noah Fant and Jordyn Tyson should help the Saints’ offense significantly in 2026, and they’ll all be vital towards Shough’s development going into his second year in the league.
Defensively, the Saints didn’t make too many changes over the offseason. Losing two valuable veterans in Demario Davis and Alontae Taylor are tough losses for the defense, but they did bring in Kaden Elliss and Tyree Wilson and also have a solid pass-rushing trio up front in Chase Young, Carl Granderson and Cam Jordan, who is returning for his 16th season with the Saints. There’s some uncertainty surrounding the Saints’ secondary unit, especially at cornerback, where there isn’t a ton of depth and will be relying on young corners Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley to perform.
The Saints should figure to get better than the 6-11 season they had in 2025, but how much they improve is the question. The squad will go as high as Tyler Shough takes them, and if he performs above expectations and meshes alongside his new offensive weapons, there’s potential the Saints could be a .500 team or even a fringe-playoff team.
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