“It’s not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get back up. Getting knocked down in life is a given; getting up & moving forward is a choice.”
– Vince Lombardi
Truer words may have never been spoken, Vince, & perhaps no sporting franchise embodies this more than the Saints. Their history began in 1967 with 20 straight losing seasons before reaching the playoffs in 1987 under HC Jim Mora & GM Jim Finks. Mora would step down in ’96 & the franchise would see little to moderate success over the next decade before Sean Payton & Drew Brees would debut in 2006 & usher in the greatest era of Crescent City Football in team history, peaking with the 31-17 victory over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl 44. One of the most prolific QB-HC duos in NFL history brought them to the mountaintop, & now they’ve installed a new Head Coach in Kellen Moore with the idea of finding their way back.
2024-25 Season in Review
The 2024-25 season served as the 58th for the pro football team in the bayou, the 48th hosting games in the Superdome & the third to be led by Dennis Allen. It’d also serve as Allen’s last.
The team came out of the gate guns blazing, starting off 2-0 with a 91-29-pt differential after knocking off the Carolina Panthers (47-10) & the Dallas Cowboys (44-19). They were hitting on all cylinders & looking like an early Super Bowl contender. The 91 points scored almost broke the record the (then Oakland) Raiders (95) set way back when in 1968. Excitement was beginning to permeate throughout the fanbase for the first time under the Allen regime. Collective eyebrows raised among the rest of the conference. Are the Black & Gold back?
Then disaster struck.
Chris Olave would suffer his 3rd & 4th documented concussions in Weeks 6 & 9. Rashid Shaheed needed season ending surgery after a left meniscus injury in Week 6. Paulson Adebo broke his right femur against the Broncos in Week 7. The injury bug would weave its way throughout the roster & clip the wings of a team seemingly ready to once again spread its wings. From Week 3 to Week 9, the offense put up 16.6ppg while the defense gave up 28.6ppg. They would lose the next seven consecutive games (their longest streak since 1999), culminating in Dennis Allen being relieved of his duties after 2 1/2 seasons & an 18-25 record. Darren Rizzi, special teams coordinator & assistant head coach, would step into the interim role but wouldn’t fare much better, going 3-5 to finish the season 5-12. With question marks at head coach & several key positions, the offseason in New Orleans was here.
A New HC Emerges
With the season finally over, February would feature the Saints taking the first step toward the future. On February 11th, the play-caller of the newly crowned Super Bowl Champion Philadelphia Eagles, Kellen Moore. Since becoming a coordinator in 2019, units headed by Moore have averaged a top-7 finish in total yards over 6 years, with four top-6 finishes in points per game, three playoff appearances & a Super Bowl ring. He’s worked with top Quarterbacks in Dak Prescott, Justin Herbert & Jalen Hurts, with Prescott having some of the best years of his pro career & Jalen Hurts getting a Super Bowl MVP trophy out of the relationship. After being spoiled for years with the marriage of Sean Payton & Drew Brees, New Orleans now looks to Moore to get them back on track.
Derek Carr Retires
In Week 14 versus the New York Giants, Derek Carr suffered a concussion & left wrist fracture, leaving him unable to finish the game. The Saints placed their signal caller on IR shortly after, ending his season. After rehabbing these injuries, Derek Carr would begin workouts again in March, marking the first time he’d thrown passes since leaving the field against New York. Carr would end up experiencing consistent pain in his right (throwing) shoulder, pain that would lead him to notify the team’s medical & coaching staffs. Tests would wind up revealing a torn labrum & degenerative rotator cuff damage, which would require surgery with a long recovery period. A period that would all but assure the gunslinger wouldn’t take the field in 2025, while also not guaranteeing a return to the level of play he’d been accustomed to.
With days passing & decisions needing to be made, Carr would decide to retire, citing his unwillingness to take money from the team while not being able to play. 11 seasons, 41,245 passing yards & 257 touchdowns later, Carr’s football journey had ended, & the Saints’ quest for a franchise QB had begun.
Free Agency
The defense ranked 27th against the pass & 24th against the run while giving up 380.2 yards per game, good for 28th. The offense didn’t fare much better, ranking 24th in scoring (19.9ppg), 23rd in passing yards per game (205.2) & 17th in rushing yards per game (114.9). Point to it, & the Saints could use it. They struck out on big names like Cornerback Charvarius Ward, & Aaron Rodgers stated he publicly had no interest in living in Louisiana, so there was no chance of the future HOF bridging the gap between the present & future of the QB position. They did, however, mix a few nice re-signings with some solid acquisitions on the market:
Signings
- Safety Justin Reid 3-yr, $31.5m ($22.25m guaranteed)
- Played all 17 games last year for the AFC Champion Chiefs, racking up 78 tackles, 2 interceptions & 8 passes defensed
- Ranked 19th out of 171 Safeties according to PFF
- 77.4 Coverage Grade (12th)
- 75.9 run d grade (30th)
- 44 REC ALLOWED (7th)
- Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks, 2-yr, $13m
- Drafted by team 20th Overall in 2014, played first 3 seasons with team
- Six 1,000-yard seasons with 4 different franchises
- Coming off career lows in yards (259) & catches (26)
- Tight End Jack Stoll 1-yr, $1m
- Cornerback Isaac Yiadom 3-yr, $9m
Re-Signings
- Tight End Juwan Johnson 3-yr, 34.5m
- 50 catches (18th among TEs)
- 64 targets (21st)
- 548 yards (15th)
- 3 Touchdowns (tied 18th)
- 71.3 receiving grade (16th)
- 111.5 passer rating when targeted (7th among TEs)
- Edge Rusher Chase Young, 3 years, up to $57M ($27M guaranteed)
- 9.5 sacks, 3 FF in 2024
- Receiver Dante Pettis, 1-year extension
- Center Will Clapp 1-yr, $1m
- Tackle Landon Young, 1-yr deal
While they were able to retain some guys & welcome some in, there were also those on their way out. Starting CB Paulson Adebo signed a three-year deal with the Giants. Marquez Valdes-Scantling headed for Seattle after having sort of a revival down south, posting career highs through 8 games played in Yards Per Catch (22.6) & Yards After Catch Per Reception (8.1). Others such as OT Ryan Ramczyk (retirement), RB Jamaal Williams (released), & Safety Will Harris (free agency) will either be playing elsewhere or embarking on the next chapter of their life after football.
Draft Day Highlights
With a handful of positions falling in the “needs” category & a high pick in tow, fans & analysts alike speculated on which players the Saints might be interested in, particularly at Quarterback. Tennessee, Cleveland, New York & Las Vegas were all teams picking in the top 10 with questions about who would be calling signals for them next season. Cam Ward was a universal lock to hear his name called first to the Titans. That left Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders & Ole Miss’s Jaxson Dart as the next two to presumably come off the board. The only questions would be where, & in which order?
Both Dart & Sanders would be available to New Orleans at 9, & as the city watched with their breath held, the team took Offensive Lineman Kelvin Banks. A pick that surely raised some eyebrows & upset some, it brings a unanimous All-American & winner of the Outland Trophy (best interior lineman in college) & the Lombardi Award (best lineman in college) to the bayou to protect the QB’s blindside & push last year’s first round tackle Taliese Fuaga to right tackle which might be a better fit for him in the league.
The second round would see Sanders still available, & after much anticipation, New Orleans selected a Q. It just wasn’t Shedeur. The Saints would take 25-year-old Tyler Shough out of Louisville 40th overall. Shough played two seasons at Oregon, three seasons at Texas Tech & his final year at Louisville. Standing at a prototypical 6’5″ with an arm touted as “NFL Ready”, the rookie prospect ended his college days with 7,554 yards, 54 touchdowns, & 24 INTs. He received high marks for being able to make throws to all levels of the field, exhibiting touch while showing more mobility than most at that size. While most wanted Sanders in black & gold, they have a prospect with upside that could succeed in the right environment.
The 3rd round would bring a disruptive interior DL with first-round talent in Vernon Broughton & a safety who could immediately provide depth while contributing on special teams (Jonas Sanker). The 4th would produce two potential starters, one an athletic sideline-to-sideline linebacker (Danny Stutsman) & a corner considered to be a steal this late (Quincy Riley). The final three picks would yield Kansas RB Devin Neal, UCLA TE Moliki Matavao, & Syracuse DE Fadil Diggs. Overall, the first Kellen Moore-led draft strictly from a draft analysis perspective could produce multiple starters & contributors at key positions in the next few years. You can’t ask for much more.
3 Players to Watch Entering Camp
Going into camp, I’ve identified three players I believe will be KEY to New Orleans building a foundation for the future & no, none of them throw the ball. While the hunt for the QB that’ll lead them into the future is high on the priority list, these players’ development & play isn’t far behind:
LT Taliese Fuaga
The 14th overall pick in 2024, Fuaga started all 17 games at LT. The 6’6, 324lb lineman out of Oregon State is the first rookie to start at LT for the club since injuries forced recent retiree Ryan Ramczyk into the lineup back in 2017. While he would have his ups & downs as the season progressed (6 sacks allowed, 39 pressures), he would grade out better in the run game (69.5 run blocking grade, 41st out of 140 eligible tackles). Growing pains are apart of professional sports, & while the rookie had some rough patches, he held Micah Parsons scoreless in the Week 2 demolition of the Cowboys (zero pressures or sacks) & blanketed the NFL’s current highest paid defender Myles Garrett (no pressures or sacks) later in the season as well.
His durability in his first season gives hope that he’ll stay relatively healthy in his 2nd season, which means he’ll be on the field for majority of the snaps this year, which means he should only continue increasing his play as the franchise LT & protecting whoever lines up under center this season, be it one or multiple QBs.
CB Kool-Aid McKinstry
The next pick following Fuaga in last year’s draft, McKinstry began the season providing depth behind the likes of Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, & Alontae Taylor. After battling a hamstring issue that would take him out weeks 3-5, injuries (Adebo) & trades (Lattimore) would pave the way for the rookie Corner to ascend to the starting lineup. He’d finish the season ranked 77th out of 222 qualified CBs by PFF while allowing a 91.6 Passer Rating. His season had its ups & downs but ended on a high note.
Facing the Packers, Raiders & Buccaneers in the final 3 games of the season, Kool-Aid allowed 5 catches on 17 targets for a whopping 29.4 catch rate. While it was the end of the season & 2 of those 3 teams were either gearing up for the playoffs already or clinching them (Packers beat the Saints 34-0 to clinch a wild card berth), having those types of numbers, they also featured two of the better QBs in the league (Love & Mayfield) with strong receiving corpses to boot. A year of experience, along with a full offseason, could see Kool-Aid burst through the ceiling and emerge as one of the better cover men in the game.
WR Chris Olave
Wait, so you’re saying a receiver is more important than not knowing who will be throwing him the ball? That’s EXACTLY what I’m saying. Whoever takes snaps under center this year will need all the help they can get, hence my number 1 player to watch being their blindside protector. Fuaga will need to give the trigger man as much time as possible in the pocket to be able to find his targets, & who better to throw to than a talented, bonafide No.1 receiver coming off an injury riddled season & heading into a year that could potentially determine if an extension is coming his way after this season or the next & at what number that potential deal will be.
Olave started 20 of the 31 games he played his first two seasons, amassing 159 catches for 2,165 yards & 9 touchdowns, great production for a player stepping into the shoes most recently filled by 2019 Offensive Player of the Year, Michael Thomas. While he flashed big-time ability & consistently found himself open, last year was anything but fun for the pass catcher. He’d only play 8 games due to suffering the 3rd & 4th documented concussions of his career, the latter ending his season in Week 9 against the Panthers. Olave would finish the season with 32 receptions for 400 yards & one score. The Saints lost seven straight after winning their first two games. Derek Carr retired.
Injuries are a part of the game, but with His fifth-year option exercised, Olave contractually has this season & next to show he’s the player the Saints got the first 2 seasons of his career & not the player that seemed in danger of being forced to retire due to head injuries. With a new offensive-minded head coach, a chance to show he’s QB-proof due to a possible carousel of throwers coming his way this season & a potential new contract on the horizon, my money is on Olave to have a healthy year, secure the bag, & firmly entrench himself as one of the best in the game today.
Schedule Prediction: 6-11, 3-3 in Division
On paper, the Saints have the second-easiest schedule in the league this season. They open the year with back-to-back home games against the Cardinals (W) & 49ers (L) before going on the road for two weeks with stops in Seattle (L) & Buffalo (L), a stretch I have them 1-3 coming out of. The next 3 out of 4 will be at home against the Giants (L), Patriots (L) & Bucs (W) with an away tilt against the Bears (L) mixed in. That takes us through Week 8 with a 2-6 record. Two battles against the Rams (L) & Panthers (L) remain before the Week 11 bye.
Coming off a week off owners of a 2-8 record & 7 games remaining, next up are the division-rival Falcons (L), Dolphins (W), Bucs (L), Panthers (W), Jets (L) & Titans (W) before closing it out on the road against the Falcons which I predict to be a win. A year more about pouring the foundation for seasons to come & less about instant gratification finishes with six wins & eleven losses. Is the QB of the future on the roster? Which players identified themselves as key pieces heading into 26′-27′? What does Kellen Moore’s imprint look like after the first year helming a team? Questions are in abundance & soon training camp will likely answer some, while revealing more.
