New Orleans Saints

Crippled by $107.6M in dead money right now, the Saints are one year away from breathing room, with $55.9M in projected cap space next season.

26 contracts expiring

Madden Tools Analysis

Six starting spots have weak depth behind the starter.

Six picks this draft and three first-rounders banked over the next three years give New Orleans genuine rebuild fuel despite the cap crunch.

• Acquired: Round 6 from Chargers, this draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Cowboys, next draft
• Acquired: Round 7 from Patriots, next draft
• Acquired: Round 6 from Texans, next draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Patriots, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Broncos, this draft
• Traded away: Round 7 to Texans, next draft
• Traded away: Round 6 to Cowboys, next draft

The roster's clearest strength is its skill-position trio of Olave, Etienne, and McCoy, while cornerback is the weakest spot by a wide margin, ranking 31st in starter quality and 30th in depth league-wide.

• CBhigh

  The Saints rank 31st in starter quality and 30th in depth at cornerback, making it the single most urgent position on the roster.

• DThigh

  New Orleans ranks 30th in DT starter quality, and cutting Davon Godchaux or Nathan Shepherd only deepens a group already thin on proven contributors.

• LThigh

  Kelvin Banks Jr is the starter at 78 overall but ranks 24th among LT starters league-wide, and the backup behind him is Asim Richards at just 64 overall.

• MIKEhigh

  Pete Werner starts at 75 overall but ranks 28th at the position, and the two backups, Danny Stutsman and Jaylan Ford, are both below 70 overall.

• RGlow

  Cesar Ruiz holds the job at 76 overall and ranks 23rd at starter quality, a low-severity need that free cap space next year could address.

• SSlow

  Jonas Sanker starts at 76 overall and ranks 21st, a manageable weakness given Julian Blackmon provides solid secondary depth behind him.

• 74Nathan ShepherdDTReleasing Nathan Shepherd frees $4.8M against $2.4M in dead money, a worthwhile trade given he sits behind Godchaux, Miller, and Bresee on the DT depth chart.Frees $4.8M · $2.4M dead
• 74Jordan HowdenFSJordan Howden is the FS2 behind Justin Reid and releasing him frees $3.7M against just $80K in dead money, making him one of the cleanest cap savings on the roster.Frees $3.7M · $80.0K dead
• 61Cal AdomitisLSCal Adomitis is the LS backup behind Zach Wood, and releasing him frees $1.0M with zero dead money.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead
• 76Davon GodchauxDTDavon Godchaux starts at DT but costs $6.5M to free against only $680K dead, and with Bryan Bresee and Christen Miller available behind him, the position can absorb the depth hit.Frees $6.5M · $680.0K dead
• 57William ShermanCWilliam Sherman is third-string at center behind McCoy and sits at 57 overall, and releasing him frees $1.0M with no dead money attached.Frees $1.0M · $0 dead

The Saints are a roster in transition built around a handful of genuine stars and a wave of young contributors, but weighed down by the league's second-largest dead-cap figure of $107.6M and only $15.4M in current cap room. Tyler Shough steps into the starting role for the first time, and while Chris Olave at 88 overall and Travis Etienne Jr at 85 give him real weapons, the defense has critical gaps at cornerback and defensive tackle that will test any young signal-caller. Chase Young and Kaden Elliss anchor the linebacker and edge groups, though Elliss is entering the late stage of his career and succession there must be addressed. Cameron Jordan, even further along in his career, still starts at REDGE but cannot be counted on as a multi-year centerpiece. The saving grace is the cap picture one year out: $55.9M in projected room next season (14th in the league) means this situation improves sharply if the front office manages the roster wisely this year. Kelvin Banks Jr at 22 and Christen Miller at 22, along with Jonas Sanker and Jordyn Tyson, give the team young building blocks, but the volume and severity of current needs mean this is a team that must prioritize ruthlessly before it can genuinely contend.

The Saints were awarded to New Orleans on November 1, 1966, All Saints' Day, and began play in 1967 as the NFL's 16th franchise, founded by John W. Mecom Jr., David Dixon, and the city. Rookie John Gilliam returned the opening kickoff of the first regular-season game (Sept. 17, 1967) 94 yards for a touchdown, but the team lost and spent two decades in futility, going 20 consecutive seasons without a winning record. The nadir was the 1-15 campaign of 1980, when disgusted fans began wearing paper bags over their heads and calling the team the 'Aints.' One early bright spot: on November 8, 1970, Tom Dempsey booted a then-record 63-yard field goal to beat Detroit 19-17 on the game's final play. The franchise's first winning season and playoff berth came in 1987 under coach Jim Mora, powered by the 'Dome Patrol' linebacker corps (Rickey Jackson, Sam Mills, Pat Swilling, Vaughan Johnson). The first playoff win did not arrive until January 2001, the team's 34th season. The defining era began in 2006, when the Saints hired coach Sean Payton and signed free-agent QB Drew Brees months after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and the Superdome in 2005. The era peaked in the 2009 season: a 13-0 start and a 31-17 win over the Indianapolis Colts in Super Bowl XLIV (Feb. 7, 2010), with Brees named MVP. The title was later shadowed by 'Bountygate,' the 2012 revelation of a pay-for-injury bounty program that drew unprecedented NFL sanctions. Two gut-punch playoff moments bookend the late-Brees years: the 'Minneapolis Miracle' that ended the 2017 divisional playoff, and the 'NOLA No-Call' in the January 2019 NFC Championship Game, when uncalled pass interference helped the Rams win in overtime. Brees retired after the 2020 season, and the franchise has not returned to the playoffs since.