If you were paying close attention to the way the New Orleans Saints built their roster in the first year of the Kellen Moore era, you might have noticed a trend.
Almost like a baseball team, the Saints focused on building the strength of their roster up the middle of the field.
Their first veteran addition came in the form of a trade for veteran nose tackle Davon Godchaux, and much of the transactions that followed went in a similar direction. Their priciest free-agent acquisition was safety Justin Reid, who reinforced the spine of the defense on the back end. Their first five draft picks? A starting tackle, a quarterback, an interior defensive lineman, another safety and a linebacker. Almost all are variations of up-the-middle players.
It was an inside-out approach. And after most of those players contributed in a positive way in 2025, it’s fair to wonder if the Saints may now pivot and work from the opposite direction.
New Orleans will almost certainly devote some resources to improve the interior of their offensive line, which was an obvious weakness in 2025. The same may be true for the interior defensive line, as both Godchaux and Nathan Shepherd are in their early 30s and entering the final year of their contracts.
But the Saints’ premium assets could well be reserved for those who can win on the outside: Wide receivers, tight ends, corners and edge rushers.
The cupboard isn’t bare for New Orleans at those positions.
Offensively, receiver Chris Olave and Juwan Johnson is coming off his best season as a professional, and Devaughn Vele — one of the few starting-caliber skill position players acquired by the Saints last year — showed glimpses of a special connection with Tyler Shough. New Orleans also bought low on 2024 second-round receiver Ja’Lynn Polk, acquiring him via a late-round pick swap with the Patriots while knowing he would miss all of 2025 with a shoulder injury.
On the defensive side, young corners Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley showed potential while playing starting roles on the Saints’ No. 4-ranked pass defense, and Chase Young showed All-Pro potential in a breakout season, with 10 sacks in 12 games.
All of those players should be back in 2026. New Orleans should still, and likely will, add more playmakers to their ranks this off-season.
Receiver could be the most intriguing position to watch in the coming months. The Saints likely will try to sign Olave to an extension before the start of the season, and that looming deal may make the Saints unwilling to pony up for a big-money free agent receiver if one, like George Pickens or Alec Pierce, hits the market.
But that should incentivize the team to do something it hasn’t done a lot of: Find another pass-catcher in the draft.
Since selecting Olave 11th overall in 2022, New Orleans has drafted two wideouts — sixth-rounder A.T. Perry and fifth-rounder Bub Means. The only receiver they selected in the three years before taking Olave was seventh-rounder Kawaan Baker in 2021. In their past 11 drafts, the Saints have only used two top-50 picks on receivers: Olave and Michael Thomas (47th overall in 2016).
It has resulted in some thin receiver corps over the years after injuries took their toll on the roster. With Olave primed to make big money, it would benefit the Saints to give him and quarterback Tyler Shough some help in the form of an impact player on a rookie deal.
There should be options at No. 8 if the Saints choose to go that route. Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson, Ohio State’s Carnell Tate and USC’s Makai Lemon all might be available, and all bring different skillsets to the table, potentially giving the Saints their choice of fit in their offense.
Of course, New Orleans might have other perimeter options at No. 8, such as LSU corner Mansoor Delane, Ohio State’s jack-of-all-trades defensive back Caleb Downs or potentially even explosive pass-rushers like Ohio State’s Arvell Reese or Texas Tech’s David Bailey — two players who are projected to go higher at the moment, though lots can change between now and April.
New Orleans will have options if it chooses to use its most valuable chips to build its roster from the outside in this offseason.