New Orleans Saints fans are excited for a new day and a new vision for their team, but that excitement hasn’t reached the national audience. We’re counting ESPN analyst Ben Solak among the crowd that’s happy to see no prime time games on New Orleans’ schedule. After ranking all 32 teams in terms of watchability, Solak put the Saints at No. 31, just above the rudderless Cleveland Browns (who he summarized with a brief “No, thank you.”). Here’s why:

Nobody is excited to watch the Saints in 2025, including Saints fans. The interesting things are the quarterback battle, the return to health of receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed and the defensive philosophy flip from outgoing coach Dennis Allen to incoming defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Kellen Moore might have a cool designer play here and there, too.

Otherwise, this is the first in what will likely be multiple recovery seasons for the Saints, who begin the long trod out of cap hell. I’ll catch the odd Spencer Rattler highlight on the timeline, but New Orleans will be inherently not fun to watch on the field.

That’s tough. Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough didn’t even warrant a mention by name. But it’s an honest read on the state of the Saints. They lack the star power and recent success that can buoy a team past an uncertain quarterback situation. Past-their-prime defenders like Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis will be joining Tyrann Mathieu in retirement sooner or later. Alvin Kamara hasn’t looked like himself the last few years, either.

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While Solak isn’t in on the Saints this year (or the Carolina Panthers, who he ranked at No. 26), two of their NFC South rivals are hot on his radar. Both the Atlanta Falcons and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are up there in his top-10 teams. Those are the teams the football-obsessed want to see most.

If the Saints are going to end up on SportsCenter highlight reels or draw praise from the morning shows, they’ll have to earn it. They’ll have to earn it the hard way, not by signing big names in free agency, but by playing good football and stealing wins from teams that overlooked them. And that’s easier said than done. But there’s something to be said for flying under the radar. Maybe the Saints can come out the other side of this rebuild ready to surprise some doubters.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: ESPN: New Orleans Saints are among this year’s least-watchable teams