Who Dat Hope
What started as another dismal season for the New Orleans Saints in 2025 ended with a glimmer of hope as the franchise found a potential answer to its quarterback woes, en route to winning four of its final five games.
Yet, as Morgan Freeman's character Red explains to Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, "Hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can drive a man insane."
Second year head coach Kellen Moore is the keeper of hope for the Who Dat Nation. The Saints faced countless adversity throughout the season, and Moore could have steered his team to less wins and a better draft position. Instead, Moore pivoted, found a prospective franchise cornerstone quarterback, and began to cultivate hope by instilling a refreshing winning culture, even if the wins seemed meaningless at the time.
Moore's navigation of the second half of the 2025 season is the type of turning point a team, and its fanbase, looks back on down the road after the team has achieved success following years of bruises, battles, and heartbreak.
It's too early to anoint Moore and quarterback Tyler Shough as franchise saviors, but after the last five seasons, the Black & Gold Nation is willing to take the risk of insanity for the hope of a football resurrection in New Orleans.
Offense
After starting 1-7 to open the year, the Saints turned to rookie quarterback Tyler Shough. The former Louisville product led New Orleans to a 5-4 record during his starts, including four straight wins in December. In 11 appearances, Shough threw for over 2,300 yards, 10 touchdowns, six interceptions, and added three rushing touchdowns.
As an older rookie—26 years old during his first start—Shough possessed much more poise than the typical first year player. Combine that poise with natural arm talent and an ability to operate Moore's offense, and New Orleans may have found a special, or at least above average, player under center.
He's joined by both returning playmakers and fresh faces alike, including running back Travis Etienne Jr., who rushed for over 1,000 yards in three of his first four seasons with Jacksonville, while also averaging 334 receiving yards and is a Jennings, LA, native. After a subpar 2024, Etienne stormed back to relevance, amassing a combined 1,399 rushing and receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns for the Jaguars. Etienne's younger, presumably fresher, legs should provide a potent one-two punch alongside franchise legend Alvin Kamara in the backfield. Kamara, entering his 10th NFL season, will look to bounce back after an injury-shortened season that limited him to a career-low 11 games.
Chris Olave continues to lead the wide receiving corps after posting career highs in receptions, receiving yards, and touchdowns last season. The Saints drafted a trio of wide receivers, highlighted by first round pick Jordyn Tyson. Though durability concerns linger, Tyson excelled at Arizona State, amassing 1,812 yards, 136 receptions, and 18 touchdowns during his final two seasons in Tempe. If the Saints can strike gold with Tyson, or one of the other two rookie receivers—Bryce Lance, North Dakota State, and Barion Brown, LSU—the offense can make a serious leap.
Rounding out the receiving threats is veteran tight end Juwan Johnson. Moore's propensity to feature a two tight end package in his offensive scheme propelled Johnson to a career year in 2025. Johnson was second, only to Olave, in receptions at 77, yards at 889, and receiving touchdowns at three.
Defense
The Saints' defense made a dramatic improvement in 2025 under first year defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, vaulting from ranking 30th to ninth in total defense, 27th to fourth in passing defense, and 31st to 19th in rushing defense.
Defensive end Cam Jordan is back for a 16th season after leading the Saints with 10.5 sacks last year, and edge rusher Chase Young's 10 sacks were a career best. New Orleans, however, will need more players to consistently generate pressure to be heralded as an elite defense.
The Saints traded for Las Vegas Raiders defensive end Tyree Wilson, the former seventh overall pick in 2023, to try and bolster the defensive front. Staley hopes to capitalize on Wilson's potential upside, despite only seven career starts and 12 sacks during his three-year stint in Vegas. Seven-year veteran Carl Granderson and the newly acquired Anfernee Jennings will also be counted on to elevate the pressure on opposing offenses this season.
In the secondary, cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry is poised for a breakout season. McKinstry led the Saints with three interceptions and tied for sixth in the NFL with 17 passes defended. New Orleans is expecting second year cornerback Quincy Riley to make a leap opposite McKinstry. Safeties Justin Reid, Julian Blackmon, and Jonas Sanker will play key roles at the safety positions.
Prediction
Last season, Moore laid the foundation for a new era of Saints football. There were growing pains, but the hope is that the difficult times of the past will pay dividends this year. Although the Saints may not be the most proven, or talented, team on paper, they have the second-easiest strength of schedule in the NFL this season. The schedule, in theory, could help lead to a reversal of fortune, along with the development of several young players.
As Andy Dufresne wrote to Red at the end of The Shawshank Redemption, "Hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies."
For now, the Who Dat Nation is holding out hope the Saints can break the half decade playoff drought.
