The New Orleans Saints missed out on the postseason for the second consecutive year, finishing in third place in the NFC South with a 7-10 record. It was Dennis Allen’s first year as head coach as they look for a better finish in the 2023 season. They ran into some quarterback issues as Jameis Winston was injured and only played the first three games, and eventually lost the starting position to Andy Dalton when he returned. Ahead of this season, the Saints signed veteran Derek Carr, who’s expected to be the starter heading into 2023.
DraftKings Sportsbook has the Saints at +4000 to win the Super Bowl in 2024, along with a regular season win total projected at 9.5 games.
New Orleans Saints training camp start date
Rookies reporting: July 18
Veterans reporting: July 25
First preseason game: August 13 vs. Kansas City Chiefs
Key position battles to watch
Tight end
This will be a fun one to watch in New Orleans this year, as Juwan Johnson had a banner year as the starting TE in 2022. He totaled 508 yards, catching 42 of 65 targets and grabbed seven touchdowns, logging career-high totals in each column. Johnson looks to have competition heading into this season after the Saints signed Foster Moreau, who just spent his first four seasons in the league playing for the Raiders with Derek Carr. Moreau is also coming off his best season to date, catching 33-of-54 for 420 yards and two touchdowns in Las Vegas last year.
Cornerback
Paulson Adebo had a strong rookie season at cornerback in 2021, logging 54 tackles and three interceptions. Although his stats dipped a bit last season, with 51 tackles through 13 games, he’s still in the running to stay on top of the depth chart at right cornerback, although Alontae Taylor will be looking to make a case for himself in his second year with the Saints. Taylor is coming off a rookie season that saw him placed on IR for almost a month, though he still appeared in 13 games and finished with 46 tackles. If Adebo can’t get back to his rookie form, he could see Taylor snaking the spot away from him this season.