By Ross Jackson
Over the last five seasons, the New Orleans Saints have seen tight ends lead the way in touchdown receptions three times.
Previous Season’s Receiving Touchdown Leaders
- 2024: TE Foster Moreau – 5
- 2023: WR Chris Olave/WR Rashid Shaheed – 5
- 2022: TE Juwan Johnson – 7
- 2021: WR Marquez Callaway – 7
- 2020: TE Jared Cook – 7
Going into the 2025 season with new head coach Kellen Moore at the helm, that has a good chance of changing. In every season of Moore’s career as a playcaller, a wide receiver has led his offense in receiving touchdowns, with a tight end (Dalton Schultz) tying once for the lead in 2021 with wide receiver Amari Cooper with eight.
That means that the Saints should have a shoo-in contestant to carry the crown by the end of Moore’s first season in New Orleans.
The Favorite
Wide Receiver Chris Olave
Olave will undoubtedly be the focus of the Saints’ passing game in 2025. While New Orleans added a few names to their wide receiver roster, none of them will challenge Olave for his placement atop the depth chart at the position. Truly, Olave leading the way will come down to two factors:
- Staying healthy
- Improved opportunities as a scoring threat
In 2023, Olave tied for the lead, but still only reeled in five touchdown receptions, a career high thus far. Last year, he had only one touchdown catch, notched in the third week of the season, and while he did battle injuries that shut down his year, that was his lone touchdown score in eight weeks.
Some of that comes down to his usage. Of his 44 targets in 2024, he was targeted only five times in the red zone, per TruMedia. His lone touchdown came in that area of the field as well.
Olave plays much bigger than he is and has been an outstanding route runner for as long as he’s been on a football field. Perhaps elevating his targets in the red zone could help him surpass his five-score career high and ascend his impact as the leading pass-catching option on the team.
2023: Only 11 of his 138 targets came in the red zone
2022: Just 10 of his 119.
The Sleepers
Wide Receiver Rashid Shaheed
Shaheed is only a sleeper in this category if he is still going to be treated as more of a home run hitter in 2025. If Moore’s offense utilizes him more in the short and intermediate areas of the field, his numbers all around could jump him to the favorite category. Sure, Shaheed can take the top off of a defense like a rare few in the league, and he still looks every bit as fast as ever returning from his season-ending knee surgery. But if he is given more opportunities to create with the ball in his hands and stress defenses laterally, his touchdown numbers could soar.
Tight End Juwan Johnson
Johnson led the way just three years ago and was only one score shy of creating a three-way tie in 2023. With his new contract and big-bodied frame, the athletic tight end could become a major focal point in the red zone. If that proves to be the case, he could easily become one of the sleepers to lead the way.
Tight End Foster Moreau
Moreau’s possibility hinges on the same as Johnson, being an active target in scoring distance. The biggest hurdle for him will simply be his timeline for return. Should he be able to go during training camp and therefore the beginning of the year, he’ll be one to watch in this area. But if he has to miss any time early in the season or is in a limited role while he gets up to speed conditioning wise of whatever may be necessary in that situation, then things will be slow to start and therefore hard to keep pace with the other opportunities that could go around.
The Longshots
Wide Receiver Brandin Cooks
Cooks has caught just three touchdown passes in two of the last three years. However, in 2023, he caught eight, which would have been enough to lead the Saints every year since 2019. Because of that, he deserves consideration. But it would likely take a slew of injuries ahead of him to truly be in contention to lead the team in scoring grabs.
Running Back Alvin Kamara
It honestly feels almost blasphemous to place Kamara as a longshot here considering how effective he is in the passing game. But it feels like the ground game for the back is going to take another major step forward under Moore. So, it’s easy to see his focus being there with a few key and well-timed opportunities taken advantage of in the passing game.
As for the red zone possibilities, being able to run the ball inside the 20s is incredibly important. Meaning that Kamara’s role may be more defined as a rusher in those situations rather than the middle of the field passing attack. However, with a young quarterback at the helm in 2025, that could change everything for Kamara as one of the safety blankets for young passers.
