It S Hard To Deny The Talent New Orleans Saints Find Next Franchise

Bonisiwe Shabane

-Nov 16, 2025, 3:50 PM

it s hard to deny the talent new orleans saints find next franchise

It's not quite a full-blown makeover in New Orleans, but look around the Saints' locker room and the future has clearly arrived. The baby faces behind the helmets might still get carded at dinner, but they're already shaping what's next for this franchise. In a 2-8 season that blends hard lessons with hope, New Orleans' tomorrow is taking shape in real time. The Saints' two-deep rotation includes six rookies or second-year players who are either starting or have started at some point this season: offensive tackles Taliese Fuaga (first-round pick, 2024) and Kelvin Banks Jr. (first-round pick, 2025); quarterback Tyler Shough (second round pick, 2025); safety Jonas Sanker (third round pick, 2025); and cornerbacks Kool-Aid McKinstry (second round pick, 2024) and Quincy Riley (fourth round pick, 2025). Two other rookies, running back Devin Neal (sixth round) and linebacker Danny Stutsman (fourth round), have seen their game reps increase in recent games.

Shough, Sanker and Riley weren't opening-game starters, and Neal and Stutsman weren't forecast to be heavy contributors, but performance and injuries guided each from the sideline to the huddle. "There's a lot of guys that we're focused on developing here, and that's certainly my goal and aspiration, is to help these guys become the best players they can be," Saints coach Kellen Moore... "As we go we're going to keep developing, keep growing. The New Orleans Saints will be entering a massive rebuild during the 2025 NFL season. Kellen Moore is the head coach after being the Philadelphia Eagles offensive coordinator during the 2024 NFL season. Derek Carr retired after he was dealing with shoulder injury issues and this has New Orleans in a bad spot entering the 2025 season.

Tyler Shough or Spencer Rattler will be the starting quarterback for the Saints in 2025. There is a chance that New Orleans could be the worst team in the NFL and land the number one overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. If they were to land the number one pick, there is a chance that they would have a golden chance to find its next Drew Brees potentially and could it be Clemson Tigers quarterback... Pro Football Focus writer Mark Stolte created his latest 2026 NFL Mock Draft despite the 2025 NFL season not even beginning yet. Stolte thinks that the Saints will have the sixth overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft and select Klubnik from Clemson. It would be a surprise to see the Saints not have the worst record in the NFL in 2025, but it wouldn’t be a surprise to see New Orleans draft a quarterback in 2026.

It would be a surprise if Shough or Rattler impressed them during the 2025 NFL season. Stolte said about the Saints drafting Klubnik potentially, “The college football world has high expectations for Cade Klubnik with Clemson expected to dominate in 2025. While I personally have Klubnik as the fourth-ranked ranked QB in the class, it would be very easy for him to shoot up. His accuracy and play-making are solid and he has all the tools, he just needs to put it together with his decision-making on a more consistent basis. Week 10 of the NFL season is almost in the books, as the only game left this week is a pivotal clash between the Philadelphia Eagles and Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.

This week had a massive impact on the NFL season with the Trade Deadline turning teams into contenders and other teams into franchises looking to reset. This weekend saw a massive shakeup in the draft order as the New York Jets, New Orleans Saints, and Miami Dolphins all picked up wins, shaking the top of the draft. After the trade deadline, for disappointing teams, the rest of the year is all about jockeying for position in the upcoming draft. The Tennessee Titans spent the weekend on the bye, but it was a succesful weekend as they moved into position to have the first overall pick. This team needs an influx of talent, and they may trade out of the top pick when the draft rolls around. If the Titans stay at 1, Rueben Bain Jr would be a great pick as it would give the team an elite edge rusher to pair with their talent on the interior.

The Saints won their second game of the year on Sunday, and Tyler Shough showed some promise, but if the Saints are on the clock early, Kellen Moore will take his pick of quarterbacks. This season, no quarterback has been more impressive than Alabama's Ty Simpson, who continues to make NFL-level throws each week in the SEC. Even with all of the weapons the Giants have lost this season, the issue for this team isn't the offense, as Jaxson Dart's rushing ability has masked a ton of holes. The Giants' defense is one of the worst against the run, and the team needs to address the linebacker position this offseason. Arvell Reese is a dominant force like Abdul Carter who can make plays off the edge while also playing linebacker, and he'd be a great addition to help this team slow the run. The rising importance of the 2026 NFL Draft for several teams came into focus after last week's trade deadline.

With the New York Jets having dealt cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts, there are now four NFL teams that have multiple first-round picks in April. And with the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants having already fired their head coaches, several fan bases are probably ready to close the book on this season and enter offseason mode. But with the first-round order still shifting significantly week to week, there's still ample time for team's draft fortunes to rise or fall. With that said, here's USA TODAY Sports' latest first-round projection and 2026 NFL mock draft: There's a strong possibility for Tennessee to possess the No. 1 pick in consecutive years after the Saints' and Browns' victories left the Titans as the only one-win team remaining.

And that creates a bit of a mystery atop the order. An organization that's yet again rebooting would clearly stand to benefit from trading back and stockpiling more early selections to support Cam Ward. Yet this quarterback class doesn't seem particularly conducive to drumming up a bidding war for this choice. If Tennessee does end up in the slot and stands pat, it could supercharge its defense with Reese. Though he operates as a linebacker for the Buckeyes, the 6-foot-4, 243-pounder has Micah Parsons-like movement abilities that could be best put to use in a full-time edge rushing role. The Titans could pair him with Jeffery Simmons to create one of the league's most formidable inside-outside tandems and then use the rest of the draft – and free agency – to focus on...

A franchise with a decades-long habit of being trigger-shy when it comes to selecting quarterbacks might be hard-pressed to go this route, especially if Tyler Shough continues to exhibit the promise he displayed in... But unless the second-round rookie firmly establishes himself as New Orleans' answer at the position in the back half of the season, Mendoza might be massively alluring. The Heisman Trophy front-runner now also figures to be the favorite to be the first quarterback taken, with his game-winning drive against Penn State highlighting resiliency and a knack for operating out of structure... The 6-5, 225-pounder is the kind of precise thrower who could allow Kellen Moore to launch a new era for the organization in earnest. The New Orleans Saints had an impossibly shocking start to their offseason, thanks to the retirement of staple quarterback Derek Carr. With no lead signal-caller to speak of anymore, New Orleans did not make any drastic moves this offseason, instead allowing the roster to develop organically.

As a result, their best candidates for the QB1 spot are Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener, alongside second-round pick Tyler Shough. With that group of names, it is hard to anticipate the 2025 season going exceedingly well for the Saints. As a result, there is a possibility they have a high draft pick going into a loaded 2026 class as well. For some analysts, that is the perfect opportunity for New Orleans to reset their timeline and find their potential franchise quarterback. Taken in the second round, some reasonable expectations exist for Shough to blossom for the Saints. With their current quarterback room, there is a good chance that the Louisville product is the starter in New Orleans.

However, if he doesn’t grow over the season, the Saints could take a different approach to the 2026 NFL Draft. As a result, the latest mock draft from PFSN, curated by analyst Mark Stolte, has them choosing with the sixth overall pick in the draft. With that high of a draft pick, Stolte doesn’t see them skipping out on adding a quarterback, with Cade Klubnik out of Clemson as his choice for New Orleans. Taking over as a starter in 2023, his numbers exploded to 3,639 yards and 36 touchdowns, while he added seven touchdowns and 463 yards on the ground. The dust has barely settled on the 2025 NFL Draft, but it’s never too early to look ahead to 2026. In this early mock, I’ve got the Saints finally landing a franchise quarterback, half the top ten coming from the ACC, and a total of four quarterbacks coming off the board.

The Saints spent a second-round pick on Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough this year, but his extensive injury history makes it hard to see him as the long-term answer. That leads to New Orleans taking a quarterback in the top 40 for the second straight year, this time selecting LSU’s Garrett Nussmeier with the No. 1 overall pick. I expect rookie Shedeur Sanders to show enough this season to convince the Browns they don’t need to draft another quarterback in 2026. While Cleveland could end up picking lower than this, I’m sticking with Tankathon’s draft order. With this spot, they grab Clemson’s T.J.

Parker, a disruptive edge rusher who earned second-team All-ACC honors last season after posting 19.5 tackles for loss and 11 sacks. The Titans found their franchise quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft with the No. 1 overall pick, Cam Ward. Now they turn to the defensive side of the ball, where finding a top-tier pass rusher is the priority. Rueben Bain brings explosive get-off and stands out as one of the best athletes in this year’s edge class. With better health in 2025, expect his production to take a big step forward.

The Giants are another team that hope they found their quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft. For Jaxson Dart to succeed, though, they need to upgrade his protection. Kadyn Proctor has true left tackle feet and offers the highest upside of any offensive lineman in the 2026 draft class. The rising importance of the 2026 NFL Draft for several teams came into focus after last week's trade deadline. With the New York Jets having dealt cornerback Sauce Gardner to the Indianapolis Colts, there are now four NFL teams that have multiple first-round picks in April. And with the Tennessee Titans and New York Giants having already fired their head coaches, several fan bases are probably ready to close the book on this season and enter offseason mode.

But with the first-round order still shifting significantly week to week, there's still ample time for team's draft fortunes to rise or fall. With that said, here's USA TODAY Sports' latest first-round projection and 2026 NFL mock draft: There's a strong possibility for Tennessee to possess the No. 1 pick in consecutive years after the Saints' and Browns' victories left the Titans as the only one-win team remaining. And that creates a bit of a mystery atop the order. An organization that's yet again rebooting would clearly stand to benefit from trading back and stockpiling more early selections to support Cam Ward. Yet this quarterback class doesn't seem particularly conducive to drumming up a bidding war for this choice.

If Tennessee does end up in the slot and stands pat, it could supercharge its defense with Reese. Though he operates as a linebacker for the Buckeyes, the 6-foot-4, 243-pounder has Micah Parsons-like movement abilities that could be best put to use in a full-time edge rushing role. The Titans could pair him with Jeffery Simmons to create one of the league's most formidable inside-outside tandems and then use the rest of the draft – and free agency – to focus on... Credit: Cory Knowlton-Imagn Images TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY With a potential answer looming at quarterback, at least for 2026, the New Orleans Saints could find themselves in position to address other big needs around the roster this offseason. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough impressed in Week 10, securing the first win for a Saints rookie starting quarterback in 44 years.

While that doesn’t yet mean he can be the future of the franchise, he has provided promise for the team and hope for its fanbase. Assuming he indeed pans out over the next seven games, performing well enough for the Saints to feel comfortable going into the offseason without a search for their next starter, New Orleans could then... Here are a few of the team’s biggest needs beyond quarterback that consistent success from Shough could allow the Saints to attack aggressively this offseason. New Orleans has some promising young defensive talent. Rookie defensive backs Quincy Riley and Jonas Sanker have already seen quite a bit of game exposure becoming starters for the unit in their first year. Second-year back Kool-Aid McKinstry is trending up while nickel corner Alontae Taylor may have found his disruptive streak again.

It S Hard To Deny The Talent New Orleans Saints Find Next Franchise

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