METAIRIE, La. -- The New Orleans Saints, trying to build off last season’s momentum, begin training camp Wednesday with renewed some stronger units, focused areas for improvement and positions still to be determined.
In the first season under coach Kellen Moore, the Saints won four of their last five games to cap off a 6-11 record in a 2025 regular season that established Tyler Shough as their starting quarterback.
New Orleans addressed areas of need in free agency by signing punter Ryan Wright, running back Travis Etienne Jr. and guard David Edwards.
The Saints selected wide receiver Jordyn Tyson in the first round of April’s draft to add depth to the wide receiver room, and the tight ends group was revamped (they signed Noah Fant and drafted Oscar Delp, while Foster Moreau and do-everything player Taysom Hill are no longer with the team). They got younger at linebacker with Demario Davis leaving and Kaden Elliss taking his place.
“The exciting part of training camp is we get to kind of evolve. OTAs is an awesome opportunity for us to get better as a football team and individuals, but it’s not real football yet,” Moore said. “And we’re a little closer to real football, which is an exciting part, but that’s where you kind of get to get a better feel for it.”
Here’s where things stand going into training camp:
Areas of strength
Pass catchers
Chris Olave didn’t play in the Saints’ final game of the 2025 season, which left Dante Pettis, Audric Estime and Kevin Austin Jr. as Shough’s three primary targets. However, Ronnie Bell caught the lone receiving touchdown in New Orleans’ 19-17 loss to the Falcons. That stat illustrated the state of a depleted wide receiver room, and the Saints have tried to fix that by adding Tyson, Bryce Lance and Barion Brown.
The wide receiver position is still top heavy with Olave and Tyson expected to get most of the attention, but the Saints have depth to work with now, including Ja’Lynn Polk, who was traded for last season but hasn’t played yet. If Fant can bounce back after a down season with the Cincinnati Bengals, that gives Shough yet another receiving option.
Offensive line
The O-line had its issues last season, and Shough’s 31 sacks were certainly on the high side. But the Saints made efforts to improve their interior by signing Edwards, one of the top players on the free agent market.
The play of right guard Cesar Ruiz and the health of center Erik McCoy, who has played only 14 games in the past two seasons, are big question marks.
“He’s his worst critic,” Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said of Ruiz. “He’s a competitor and it’s all been good so far. So, I’m excited about that. And again, that would be the whole offensive line.”
McCoy is a Pro Bowl-caliber player when healthy, and having him and Edwards should elevate the play of the line several notches.
“I think the offensive line ... I don’t think a single guy missed a single workout that I can recall. So that was encouraging to see those guys come together and resolve to be one of the better offensive lines in our league,” Loomis said.
Safety
New Orleans will get its chance to use veteran Julian Blackmon, who was a five-year starter with the Indianapolis Colts and got hurt in Week 1 with the Saints last season. He’ll play next to veteran Justin Reid, while Jonas Sanker is likely to take over the Star position and man the slot.
Reid, going into his ninth season, and Blackmon will man one of the more experienced position groups, while Sanker, a second-year player, has potential in a new role.
“The goal is to get Jonas as much exposure there as we can. His versatility obviously is a huge asset,” Moore said. “He played on the back end and played really well there. There’ll be other guys that have to play Star as well. That’s just inevitably what training camps in preseason looks like. And so we’ll train plenty of guys.”
Could use improvement
Defensive line
If Chase Young has another season like he did in 2025 (10 sacks in 12 games), the Saints will be very happy with their pass rushers. The problem is the production outside of Young. Cameron Jordan is coming off a 10.5-sack season, but it’s a tall order to replicate that at 37.
There’s a reason the Saints were considered candidates to pick a defensive end high in the 2026 draft. They traded for Tyree Wilson and signed Anfernee Jennings in the offseason, but either Jordan will need to continue to find the fountain of youth, or they’ll need a massive improvement from someone other than Young.
Linebacker
The departure of Davis represents a radical defensive shift because he had been an every-down presence since 2018. It’ll be a big adjustment to go from Davis to Ellis, who was a role player in his first stint with the Saints but became a starter and team captain with the Atlanta Falcons.
The other question is whether the Saints continue to lean on Pete Werner, who is heading into his sixth season, or if he loses ground to an up-and-coming player such as Danny Stutsman, a 2025 fourth-round pick who saw increased playing time in the final three games of last season.
Cornerback
The Saints lost slot cornerback Alontae Taylor to the Titans in free agency, and they need solid seasons from both third-year corner Kool-Aid McKinstry and second-year corner Quincy Riley, who are the presumed outside starters at the moment.
According to Pro Football Reference, Riley allowed a completion percentage of 59.6% and quarterback rating of 96.0, allowing completions on 31 of 52 targets with one interception. McKinstry had three interceptions and allowed 54 catches on 94 targets (58.7%); he gave up a 100.5 quarterback rating.
“We’re counting on some young players, some core players, players from the last two drafts to get better. We just are,” Loomis said. “I was thinking today about Kool-Aid. The leap that Kool-Aid made from Year 1 to Year 2 was pretty good. We need to make another leap. Quincy Riley came in here last year as a fourth-round pick, ended up starting a lot of games for us. But we need him to take another step forward from Year 1 to Year 2, just like Kool-Aid did the year before. So, we’ve got a lot of guys in that category that we’re optimistic about, but we still have to perform.”
To be determined
Quarterback
It’s reasonable for fans to be excited about Shough, but his nine games and 5-4 record as a starter aren’t a big enough sample size to determine how he’ll perform in 2026, especially because none of the wins came against teams with a winning record in 2025. But Shough now has a full year in Moore’s offense. And he built chemistry with a number of his teammates in California this summer. Only time will tell if that chemistry translates to wins.
Kicker
The Saints thought they had a clear picture at kicker last summer after Blake Grupe missed only one field goal during camp. He was cut after 11 games and eight missed field goals. Grupe’s exit gave Irish kicker Charlie Smyth an extended tryout, and he finished the season having made 12 of 16 kicks, including a 47-yarder.
However, that doesn’t mean the job is Smyth’s to keep. He’ll compete with Tanner Brown, who is coming off an impressive UFL stint. Brown has solid leg strength, but consistency will be key for either to earn the permanent job.
Running back
The running back situation looks great on paper after the Saints signed Etienne and brought back Alvin Kamara. The question is how much Kamara, 31, has left after two seasons that ended early due to injury.
If the Saints can come anywhere close to the “Boom and Zoom” days of Mark Ingram and Kamara, they’ll enjoy success at the position. Ingram had his best season at 27 (Etienne’s age), and Kamara earned NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year that season. This is a different situation with two older running backs, and their health, along with the performance of the offensive line, will play a big part in how the backfield performs.
How the Saints will deploy the pair of running backs won’t take shape until later in camp, Moore said.
“I think early in training camp is still installation, so to speak. You’re kind of teaching systems, getting that comfortable. I think ... the player-specific opportunities come a little later in training camp,” Moore said. “That’s where certainly we would be excited to have those exploration phases, when you have the running back room that we have. And so we feel good about the roles and the opportunities that will be presented for these guys.”
