ROOKIE SUCCESS

That sentiment applied to much of the draft class. Offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. was a Day 1 starter, and safety Jonas Sanker, cornerback Quincy Riley and running back Devin Nealall made starts. Linebacker Danny Stutsman was a key special team contributor who earned defensive game reps, and tight end Moliki Matavao also earned game time.

“I think the important thing about that is those guys were ready when the opportunity presented itself,” Moore said. “No timelines are going to be the same. Tyler’s development was a great example of that, his willingness to get better through an entire season.

“Quincy kind of had an opportunity through injury to hop in there. Danny was a guy that is a great example of just being a really talented player that we feel great about and finding different roles and different opportunities where he can get on the field. A lot of these timelines were different, but I think it was important to see these guys play and have exposure and I thought a lot of these guys took advantage of the opportunity.”

BEST PLAYER AVAILABLE

In part due to the contributions of the rookies, Loomis said the Saints can approach the draft seeking the best fit for the team. Last year New Orleans needed an offensive tackle, and selected Banks with the ninth overall pick.

“I’m excited about the draft class that’s coming up,” he said. “The discussions I’ve had with (Assistant GM/Director of College Scouting) Jeff (Ireland) and his staff, there’s a lot of players that will fit us at a lot of different positions. I think the depth of this draft class right now looks pretty good, and I think we’re going to be in a position to kind of take the best player that’s available that can impact our team, as opposed to, we have to have this position or that position. There’ll be positions that we prefer, but I don’t think we’re going to be in a position where we have to get this particular position.”

MUTUAL INTEREST

Veterans Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis and Taysom Hill all have expressed a desire to return to the Saints for a 16th (Jordan), 15th (Davis) and 10th (Hill) season. Jordan led the team with 10.5 sacks, the first time he has reached double figures since 2021 and the franchise-record seventh time he registered 10 or more. Davis finished with a career high 143 tackles. Hill became the only player in the Super Bowl era to top 1,000 yards passing, rushing and receiving.

“There’s a process that we go through at the end of the season,” Loomis said. “It’s an evaluation and then it’s a determination of do they want to come back, do we want them back and then even with that, there’s a lot of variables. What’s the contract situation? What’s the timeline?”

“There’s just too many variables for me to give you a definitive answer on any of that. But I’m excited to hear when those guys declare that they want to be back here and I would say on the surface we definitely want to have them back, but there’s just so many other variables that exist that I can’t really answer that question right now.”