Matthew Hinton-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
The preseason is usually filled with basic offensive play that only represents a small portion of a team’s foundation. While only so much can be taken away from the exhibition games, some changing trends are notable.
Under their new head coach, Kellen Moore, the New Orleans Saints showed a bit of a changing tide on the offensive side of the ball. This was especially noticeable when tracking the NFL’s most popular personnel grouping: 11-personnel.
A Look Back At 2024
For reference, the Saints showed during the 2024 preseason that certain personnel groupings were going to be the focus in the regular season while others would fall below typical NFL standards.
In the 2024 preseason, the Saints used 11-personnel (one running back, one tight end and three wide receivers) at the league’s fifth-lowest rate. In the regular season, they did so at the second lowest rate. Context here is important. New Orleans saw its wide receiver room stricken with major injury, which led to more two-tight end sets than three wideouts.
But even through the first eight weeks, while top receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed were mostly healthy, New Orleans used three wideouts at the league’s third-lowest rate.
The schemes run in the preseason may be considered “vanilla,” but they are representative of the foundations of a team’s offensive approach.
The 2025 Preseason
Under Moore, the Saints’ preseason 11-personnel usage leapt from 52.9% (No. 28 in the NFL) to 74.9% (No. 13). That’s quite the increase. This tells us early that the Saints and Moore will be looking to challenge defenses by keeping its wide receivers active and on the field. With the amount of speed accumulated at the position, this is hardly a surprise.
Expect the Saints to lean in on three receiver sets in 2025, assuming the room stays healthy. That should mean a lot of opportunity for wideouts Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed especially.
