New Orleans Saints

The 2025 Saints predictably resembled one of the worst teams in the NFL through the first two-plus months of the season. Then Tyler Shough started to look a lot like the Saints' potential quarterback of the present and future. While the Saints didn't exactly face a gauntlet down the stretch, Shough and company won four of their final five games and actually resembled a competent football team. Throw in a defense that wound up posting some surprisingly high-end ranks in various efficiency measures, and there's suddenly legit optimism for the future here.

The Saints are still rebounding from their, let's say, curious salary cap decisions over the years — this is one of eight rosters more than $20 million in the hole in terms of 2026 cap space. Accordingly, it'd make sense if the bulk of improvements are made through the draft. The Saints' most realistic path to competing at the top of the NFC South as soon as next season would involve making the most out of the No. 8, 42 and 73 picks.

Wide Receiver: Devaughn Vele did some good things down the stretch, but more firepower is needed after sending Rashid Shaheed to Seattle at the trade deadline.

Offensive Line: Getting better injury luck could be enough for this group to take a step forward in Year 2 under head coach Kellen Moore, although at a minimum some depth is needed with Dillon Radunz (62.2% snap rate in 2025) and Luke Fortner (60.3%) hitting the open market.

Cornerback: While using the team's No. 8 overall pick on offense makes sense, it'd be nice to see the Saints leave Day 2 of the draft with at least one new addition to their secondary.