2026 NFL offseason preview: New Orleans Saints have the head coach, and maybe the QB too

4 days ago 2

The NFL offseason has begun, and Yahoo Sports is previewing the coming months for all 32 teams, from free agency through the draft and more.

New Orleans Saints

2025 season record: 6-11 (o 5.5 wins), fourth in NFC South, missed playoffs, 28th in DVOA

Overview

Framing the 2025 season as a success for the Saints would be a stretch, but there’s a lot more to like than would meet the eye. First-year head coach Kellen Moore laid a solid foundation for his offense, and the Saints’ defense reached the top half of the league in DVOA under coordinator Brandon Staley.

Focus will be on QB Tyler Shough, the second-round draft pick out of Louisville. Shough was old for a rookie at 26 years old and started the season behind Spencer Rattler, but he flashed enough once he got on the field that the Saints shouldn’t have to immediately think about replacing him. That should allow New Orleans to use a decent haul of draft capital to build the rest of their roster and get younger at key spots.

Shough was 22nd among quarterbacks in EPA per play but was in the top 10 over the final five weeks of the regular season when the Saints went 4-1. New Orleans might be the team in the division that feels the best about its quarterback going into the offseason.

Cap/cuts outlook

As always, the Saints are over the salary cap with a projected -$24 million in effective cap space, 27th in the league. There is $65 million in dead money on the 2026 cap already, led by $36.7 million from Derek Carr, and that’s before the voids for Cam Jordan ($18.8 million), Taysom Hill ($13.7 million) and Demario Davis ($14.3 million) hit the cap if none of those players are re-signed before the new league year starts. Still, it’s a better spot than where the Saints have started most offseasons in the Mickey Loomis era. New Orleans can restructure contracts to open up space, as is the franchise’s M.O., with Chase Young bringing the biggest savings. Extending Chris Olave could also lower the 2026 cap hit from his $15.5 million fifth-year option.

Key pending free agents

LB Demario Davis
DE Cameron Jordan
TE Taysom Hill
CB Alontae Taylor

Davis, Jordan and Hill have all been staples of this era of the Saints, and letting them leave could be a step in moving into the next era. New Orleans had the fourth-oldest defense by snap-weighted age. Davis played 98% of the defensive snaps and was still a top-20 linebacker in coverage by yards allowed per coverage snap. Jordan had his highest sack total since 2021; he ran hot by converting over 70% of his quarterback hits into sacks. Taylor was one of the most targeted cornerbacks on a per-snap basis and has struggled outside and in the slot, where he played more in 2025.

Positional needs

Cornerback
Wide receiver
Offensive line

Rookie fourth-round draft pick Quincy Riley had some flashes on the outside, but Alontae Taylor will likely be gone and Kool-Aid McKinstry was in the bottom third of corners, along with Taylor, in adjusted yards allowed per coverage snap on the season.

Olave broke out as an All-Pro-caliber receiver without much else around him. The team sent Rashid Shaheed to Seattle at the trade deadline, indicating an Olave extension would be coming. From the trade deadline on, Olave had the fourth-highest target share in the league while he ranked 12th in yards per route run. Adding another outside receiver would give Shough another reliable option and take defensive attention away from Olave.

New Orleans’ tackles had ups and downs, but the development of Kelvin Banks Jr. and Taliese Fuaga, the Saints’ two most recent first-round draft picks, is promising. Erik McCoy has been one of the league’s most talented centers, but has played seven games in each of the past two seasons. Luke Fortner stepped in to play well at center when McCoy was lost for the season. The Saints were 29th in ESPN’s pass block win rate metric and 22nd in run block win rate.

2026 NFL Draft picks

1st round, pick No. 8
2nd round
3rd round
4th round (SEA)
4th round (projected compensatory)
5th round
5th round (SEA)
6th round

Good draft fit

Arvell Reese, LB, Ohio State

Reese is a defensive weapon in the front seven who can impact the game off the ball as a linebacker or on the line of scrimmage as an edge defender. He is scheme-proof because of his excellent combination of athleticism and fiery play. He especially fits Brandon Staley’s scheme, particularly as their long-time stalwarts age out.

What could move the fantasy needle in 2026?

Playmakers for Tyler Shough

Tyler Shough strung together a strong end of the year for his rookie season. From Week 9 on he ranked 14th in EPA per dropback and 11th in adjusted yards per attempt. We’ll see how high the ceiling is on Shough but he absolutely looks like someone who can start in the NFL. Now that the Saints have that answer, it’s time to load up on some playmakers. Chris Olave is coming off a breakthrough season and is capable of being this team’s multi-year WR1 but let’s stock the cupboard around him. This is especially glaring at running back, where the team never found a stride with Alvin Kamara and wasn’t any better without him after his injury. — Matt Harmon

Betting nugget

Despite a 6-11 season and fourth-place finish in the NFC South, the Saints were good to bettors, going 9-8 against the spread this season (including their final six games). — Ben Fawkes

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