The Saints put forth a middling 2025 season, fitting right in with the mediocrity of the NFC South. Year one of Kellen Moore as head coach saw six wins, though a quarterback change to seasoned rookie Tyler Shough proved to yield promising results in the back half of the season.
2025 New Orleans Saints Stats (Rank)
- Points per game: 18 (28th)
- Total yards per game: 313.6 (23rd)
- Plays per game: 63.2 (11th)
- Dropbacks per game: 42.2 (7th)
- Dropback EPA per play: -0.03 (27th)
- Designed rush attempts per game: 24.1 (24th)
- Rush EPA per play: -0.16 (31st)
Tyler Shough and Kellen Moore enter year two
For a Saints team that was still trying to find a franchise quarterback and hired a rookie head coach last season, a six-win result is not out of the ordinary. Shough added some energy to Moore’s offense when he took over the starting role in Week 9. After going 1-7 to start the season, the Saints finished 5-4 to end the season. The offense showed a willingness to throw the ball, ranking No. 7 in dropbacks per game last season, though it came with a No. 27 rank in dropback EPA per play. The switch to Shough, his rapport with Chris Olave, and the addition of first-round pick Jordyn Tyson offer hope for growth in the second year under Kellen Moore.
Passing Game
QB: Tyler Shough, Spencer Rattler, Zach Wilson
WR: Chris Olave, Bryce Lance, Mason Tipton
WR: Jordyn Tyson, Ja’Lynn Polk
WR: Devaughn Vele, Barion Brown
TE: Juwan Johnson, Noah Fant, Oscar Delp
A Saints passing game featuring Chris Olave and Tyler Shough showed signs of life in the second half of last season. After Spencer Rattler started the first eight games of the season, Shough came in as a 26-year-old seasoned second-round rookie and delivered enough for a 5-4 record.
| Points per Game | Passing Yards per Game | Turnovers per Game | |
| Saints Weeks 1-8 | 16.0 | 201.4 | 1.5 |
| Saints Weeks 9-18 | 19.8 | 235.2 | 1.3 |
Shough pushed the ball downfield more, averaging 7.3 yards per attempt and 216.7 passing yards per game on the season, marks that were 1.1 yards per attempt and 40 yards per game higher than Rattler. Though his rushing ceiling isn’t quite in dual-threat territory, Shough added 186 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. A high floor makes him a worthwhile high-end QB2 for fantasy leagues.
The No. 1 target in the offense remains Olave. The 26-year-old caught 100 passes for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns last season but missed the season finale due to a blood clot in his lungs. Still recovering from the blood clot issue and having a history of concussions, Olave has some injury concerns around him. He is a target magnet, commanding a 29.4-percent target share last season. Shough targeted Olave 27 times in Weeks 16 and 17, winning fantasy managers championships. Olave’ target quality looked better in the second half of the season, averaging 9.0 yards per target with Shough while averaging 6.1 yards per target with Rattler. Though injury concerns may pop up with the Ohio State product, his arrow is pointing up exiting last season and worth a top-13 wide receiver ADP for fantasy purposes.
The Saints decided to add another top target to the mix and selected Jordyn Tyson No. 8 overall in this year’s draft. Coming out of Arizona State, Tyson has a physical skillset and was a high-volume perimeter receiver in college. Like Olave, the rookie also comes with injury concerns after entering the offseason with hamstring issues. When healthy, Tyson proved to be a quality separator and caught 61 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in just nine games last year. He projects to start across from Olave on the perimeter and is worth a shot as a WR3 in fantasy drafts.
The rest of the wide receiver groups consists of youth and spare parts. Devaughn Vele entered the picture last season after Rashid Shaheed was dealt. He caught 25 passes for 293 yards as a 27-year-old second-year player. The Saints drafted another tall receiver in Bryce Lance in the fourth round of this year’s draft, giving Vele some competition for WR3. Fellow rookie Barion Brown also joins Ja’Lynn Polk at the end of the rotation while Mason Tipton could also seems some opportunity, though he is primarily a kick returner. Vele is the best bet among this group as a dart throw in redraft leagues, though Lance is the better pick as a Dynasty stash.
Juwan Johnson was the Saints’ second-leading receiver last season, catching 77-of-102 targets for 889 yards and three touchdowns. The 29-year-old ranked No. 5 in routes run among all tight ends last season, also landing in the top-seven for receiving yards, receptions, yards after catch, and yards per route run. He is a valuable target over the middle of the field but will face competition from rookie third-rounder Oscar Delp. He doesn’t have much college production, but Delp’s athleticism was impressive enough for the Saints to take him early. Delp could possibly be a better NFL player than he was in college and may see more than just a limited role as a rookie. He is worth a dart throw in deep redraft leagues and is a good Dynasty stash target. Johnson, meanwhile, is a low-end TE1 heading into the season.
Running Game
RB: Travis Etienne, Alvin Kamara, Devin Neal, Kendre Miller
OL (L-R): Kelvin Banks Jr., David Edwards, Erik McCory, Cesar Ruiz, Taliese Fuaga
The Saints’ running game failed to pack much of a punch last season. A backfield led by 30-year-old Alvin Kamara ranked No. 24 in designed rush attempts last season while finished with a minus-0.16 (No. 31) rush EPA per play. Kendre Miller finally got a chance to split time with Kamara but tore his ACL before he could get fully off the ground. Devin Neal got a chance with both Kamara and Miller injured late in the season but suffered his own hamstring injury to end the season.
A myriad of injuries and mediocre play led to the Saints signing Travis Etienne in the offseason. He carried a heavy workload for the Jaguars last season, turning 260 carries into 1,107 yards and seven touchdowns, adding 36 receptions for 292 yards through the air. Kellen Moore has crafted good rushing offenses as an offensive coordinator with the Eagles but Etienne is no Saquon Barkley and the Saints’ offensive line is not the Eagles’ offensive line. Efficiency will be tough to come by but volume is what will elevate Etienne into a productive fantasy season.
A lucrative four-year, $52 million contract indicates Etienne will start and get the lion’s share of the touches. Fantasy managers should anticipate Kamara mixing into the passing game with Etienne leading the backfield. Etienne is a fantasy RB2 while Kamara is an RB4 shot in point-per-reception leagues and whichever back wins the No. 3 role is the handcuff.
2026 New Orleans Saints Win total
DraftKings Over/Under: 7.5
Pick: Over (-120)
If we are to believe a step forward is coming for a Kellen Moore offense that at least found some energy with Tyler Shough, then we will take the over. Defensively, the team gets year two of Brandon Staley as defensive coordinator, adding LB Kaden Elliss back to the middle of the defense after Demario Davis departed. Cam Jordan also returns as the veteran mainstay of a solid defensive line.
The NFC South is far from a powerhouse division and the Saints get a last place schedule. Given the improvements on offense and continuity at quarterback and in the coaching staff, eight wins is a good threshold to pick here. It might even win New Orleans the division title for 2026.
