The dominant storylines around the New Orleans Saints aren’t the only high-stakes conversations to be had around the team.
The future of running back Alvin Kamara and defensive end Cameron Jordan, wide receiver Chris Olave’s health and contract extension and what’s next for quarterback Tyler Shough are all among the biggest offseason stories.
But beyond those headlines, three forgotten questions could have undeniable impacts on the Saints’ 2026 season.
Did New Orleans Do Enough on the Offensive Line?
The offseason addition of offensive lineman David Edwards as the team’s new starting left guard is in line to be the team’s best investment of the 2026 offseason. However, whether or not the Saints did enough beyond that remains the question. Bringing back veteran offensive lineman Dillon Radunz and drafting promising young guard Jeremiah Wright helps to bolster the team’s interior depth. But depth at tackle is surprisingly thin.
The Saints did get a strong season from both tackle spots with left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. starting every one of his rookie year games and right tackle Taliese Fuaga starting 15. Aside from backup tackle Asim Richards, who was acquired via trade last year, the team can use some more help on the edges. That help could come in the form of new faces down the line or further development from the players already in the Big Easy.
With the departure of assistant offensive line coach Jahri Evans, the Saints added former backup interior offensive lineman Will Clapp to the coaching staff. His impact could be critical in that he has experience in head coach Kellen Moore’s offense as a player and already has an established relationship with much of the team’s offensive line room.
Can the Saints Continue Their Run Defense Surge?
From a volume perspective, the Saints ranked No. 19 in total rushing yards allowed per game with an average of 120.6. But on a per-rush standpoint, the team ranked No. 6 in the league, limiting ball carriers to just 4.0 yards per rushing attempt while facing among the most attempts in the NFL.
New Orleans also finished with the second-best defensive EPA per rush in the league and no matter how it’s sliced, held a high efficiency in that metric.
Without defensive end Chase Young for the first five games: No. 6 in defensive EPA per rush
With Young in the lineup for the last 12 games: No. 8
Before the bye week: No. 8
After the bye week: No. 4
The team’s No. 1 finish over the final four games in the metric propelled them to their strong positioning by season’s end. That included a strong performance against Atlanta Falcons back Bijan Robinson to close out the year.
While things were better than perceived for this phase of the defense, there are always still ways to improve. Doing so in 2026 will be a must in order to keep propelling the team into contention in the coming years.
Can Director of Sports Performance Ted Rath Continue Team’s Health Progress?
The Saints were a fairly healthy team in 2025. Toward the end of the season, things were a little tricky due to the limited time for injury recovery and focus shift away from postseason play and to youth evaluation. But overall, the team’s health only took a few vital shots throughout the middle of the year.
That’s good progress for a team that was struggling with health questions in 2023 and 2024. Rath’s newly focused approach has the club headed in the right direction. Continuing that positive trajectory is now the next step.
In 2017, Rath helped the Los Angeles Rams field what was called the “healthiest roster in the NFL.” The Saints would like to earn that moniker themselves in the coming years. The sooner the better.
Rath has had an increased presence already this year, running drills in the midst of Organized Team Activities practices that focus on reaction time and mental processing while introducing some less physically demanding fun to break up the workdays. It will be interesting to see if that will continue and how else his contributions and innovations can have an impact.
