NEW ORLEANS, LA — The New Orleans Saints are quietly building something special in the NFC South, and national NFL insiders are officially taking notice. As franchises prepare for the grueling 2026 regular season, The Athletic’s premier film analyst Ted Nguyen has spotlighted New Orleans as one of five offenses primed for a massive breakout year. Following an aggressive, calculated offseason focused entirely on protecting their young franchise cornerstone, the pieces are finally falling into place in the Big Easy.
At the absolute center of this offensive resurgence is sophomore quarterback Tyler Shough. Selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, Shough turned heads across the league during his rookie campaign.
He finished a close second in the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, primarily due to a spectacular late-season surge where he rallied the Saints to victory in four of their final five games. Now entering his second full season under brilliant offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, Shough’s comfort level, pre-snap reads, and command over the playbook are expected to skyrocket.
However, any quarterback is only as good as the five men blocking for him. Last season, the Saints’ front unit crumbled under pressure, finishing a dismal 29th in the league in pass-block win rate. This lack of protection exposed Shough constantly, leaving him ranked 41st among qualifying quarterbacks in pressure-to-sack rate.
To fix this glaring issue, the front office used a masterclass draft strategy to lock down elite bookend tackles. They paired 2024 standout Taliese Fuaga with this year’s highly touted rookie left tackle, Kelvin Banks Jr. The interior of the line also received an instant upgrade with the free-agency signing of veteran guard David Edwards, widely considered the best interior blocker available on the market this spring. If this newly constructed wall can keep Shough clean, film analysts believe the young signal-caller has a legitimate chance to produce like a Tier 2 NFL quarterback.
The upgrades don’t stop in the trenches. The Saints added elite, explosive firepower to their receiving corps by drafting Arizona State star wideout Jordyn Tyson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft. Possessing legitimate No. 1 receiver upside and a rare vertical threat, Tyson will line up opposite superstar Chris Olave.
This duo will force opposing defensive coordinators to abandon double-coverage strategies, opening up the entire field. While fans need to closely monitor Tyson’s health due to a lingering hamstring issue that limited him during organized team activities (OTAs), his long-term ceiling remains incredibly high.
While the Saints’ roster may lack flashy, top-heavy superstar names at every single skill position, the front office has successfully assembled a deep, well-rounded supporting cast with zero obvious weaknesses. If the offensive line lives up to its immense draft pedigree, New Orleans is fully primed to shake up the division standings and make a serious, unexpected postseason push this winter.
