Going into the season, the New Orleans Saints were expected to perform poorly, so poorly that ESPN predicted that they would be the worst team in the NFL. So far that prediction has stood to be correct, as through the first nine weeks of the season the Saints are 1–8, and currently hold the first overall pick in the 2026 draft.
That was to be expected of a team that is finally beginning a proper rebuild after the departure of both Drew Brees and Sean Payton. The poorly planned Denis Allen and Derek Carr era went nowhere and doubled down on the need to rebuild.
This is not a total rebuild, as most teams in similar situations to the Saints would have fired their general manager along with their former head coach. While Allen might have gotten the boot, long time GM Mickey Loomis is still with the team, with this being year 23 since he took over the position in 2002.
In place of the defensive-minded Allen, the organization decided to bring in a young, offensive-minded, players coach. They hired former Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore fresh off a dominant win in Super Bowl LIX.
Moore had been an OC since 2019, taking over the job from the Dallas Cowboys before becoming the Los Angeles Chargers OC in 2023, then taking the Eagles job for the 2024 season. He is currently the youngest head coach in the league at age 37 and was picked up to reinvigorate an otherwise stale offense.
With him he brought Doug Nussmier to be his OC and Brandon Staley to be his defensive coordinator. Interestingly, Staley was the head coach for the Chargers when Moore was the OC.
Going into the season, the plan was to see what sophomore quarterback Spencer Rattler could do with a fully healthy team around him, as he spent much of his rookie year playing behind a battered offensive line and no receivers.
What was odd about this plan was the selection of Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 Draft. What makes the pick even stranger was that Shough was 25 at the time of the draft, and would be 26 at the start of the season.
Rattler showed flashes in his eight starts, making an occasional good play to wow fans. Yet despite decent play, the team was failing to score, with the Saints scoring 31 out of 32 for offense in the league through his eight weeks startings.
The decision was made following the Saints embarrassing loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23–3, that saw Rattler throw an interception and fumble, to bench Rattler for Shough.
Shough’s first start was poorly timed, as he would be asked to play against the Los Angeles Rams on the road. The game went poorly, and not just for Shough. In the 34–10 loss, the Saints only managed to hold possession for 16 minutes, seven seconds. Shough finished the game with 176 yards, one touchdown in garbage time and an interception.
The age is finally starting to show in some players as well. Safety Tyrann Mathieu retired before the start of the season. Cam Jordan and Demario Davis, both well into their 30s, are nearing the end of their careers.
Davis though is still proving to be able to play at a high level despite his age as he is on pace for his ninth straight 100+ tackle season.
Where the aging has been most prevalent is in pro-bowl running back Alvin Kamara. At age 30, this season has really begun to show his age. He is moving slower than ever, failing to evade tacklers and losing the balance he had for his entire life.
Then what about the younger players the Saints have? Well, things do not look too good on that front either.
While the Saints have added some good players over the past few seasons in the draft, they have not really filled in the holes that the Saints have.
Bryan Breese was taken in round one by the Saints back in 2025 out of Clemson. The hope was he could replace some of the fallen off production of Jordan while also reinforcing the porous run defense.
In the three seasons that Breese has played, he has looked great when rushing the passer and has even notched a blocked, what would have been a game winning, field goal. Yet he has been abysmal in the run game, he fails to fill up holes and can not seem to tackle running backs that run up his gap assignment.
The 2024 first-round tackle Talise Fuaga has been a great addition to the O-line. As a rookie he played at a nearly pro-bowl level and continued his good play going into 2025 before an ankle injury sidelined him.
Chris Olave has been the best player on offense since he was drafted in 2022, yet he has been dealing with injuries that have kept him sidelined. Many of those injuries were from hits to his head, many of them scary to see on field.
So far this season he has been performing well, racking up 560 yards on 55 catches through nine weeks, though he has dropped a number of crucial passes during games.
The Saints have, in preparation for a bigger rebuild, shipped off Rashid Shaeed and Trevor Penning in return for a handful of midround picks, which is just what the Saints need going into the 2026 draft.