With a promising rookie QB and crucial draft picks, the Saints aim to ignite their offense and contend for the division.
The New Orleans Saints (6-11) completed their 2025 campaign against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday. They came up short against the Falcons, 19-17.
Like many of the Saints' games this year, New Orleans was competitive for the majority of the game. Yet a common theme for the team struck again as New Orleans was unable to produce enough offensive explosion to threaten the Falcons defense or score enough to win the game.
Where the Saints need to go to improve may be simple and straight forward and certainly more so than many would have thought after the team started 1-7 in the first half of the season. Fixing the offense could be the key to fixing the team.
New Orleans has its fair share of weaknesses, but rookie quarterback Tyler Shough is not one of them. Shough put up a memorable rookie season that will at least challenge for Rookie of the Year honors if not win it outright. Shough's statistics speak for themselves.
The New Orleans signal caller completed 69.6% of his passes in nine games as starter. He added 249.6 yards per game and a 97.2 passer rating to give his team five wins in nine starts. Given he had perhaps less weapons at his disposal than were afforded to the team in the first eight games because of injuries, his statistics are even more impressive.
The offensive line made strides over the year, and the receiving corps improved despite lacking much potential beyond star receiver Chris Olave. Still, improving those two units will be paramount for the team's continued improvement.
New Orleans' upcoming draft will need to hit on its first-round draft pick in a big way. Whether or not it's a wide receiver or offensive lineman, or an impact player elsewhere, the Saints need a player that will make an impact right away if they want to challenge for the NFC South. Then again, the team may not be that far from winning the division.
The Carolina Panthers took the NFC South division title with an 8-9 record this season. Needless to say, the Saints we saw in the final nine games could have eclipsed that record had Shough been ready or been given opportunity at starter in the first eight games. Still, improving the offense demonstrably at receiver and offensive line could be all the team needs to contend in 2026.
The Saints will look to make the necessary improvements over the next few months.