ESPN: Saints' skills positions are great at the top, but depth is a major concern
The New Orleans Saints' offensive supporting cast wasn't much to write home about last year. It was a one-man show at running back with everyone not named Alvin Kamara combining for just 613 scrimmage yards. At wide receiver, the team's lack of depth got exposed when injuries sidelined both Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. We saw more out of Foster Moreau and Juwan Johnson at tight end, but they still combined for fewer than 1,000 receiving yards between the two of them. And Taysom Hill's year was cut short with an ACL injury after just eight games.
That's enough to justify keeping them in the bottom of the annual rankings from ESPN's Bill Barnwell. New Orleans has slipped further and further year over year, going from a respectable No. 14 (out of 32) back in 2023 to an alarming No. 25 before the 2024 season. Now, in 2025, the Saints offensive skills positions rank at No. 24. Barnwell argues that the Saints are as effective as anyone at the top of the depth chart, and the key is keeping them healthy. But therein lies the problem.
Kamara missed three games last season, which is better than Olave (nine absences) or Shaheed (11 games missed), but still a problem when no other running back is stepping up to replace him. Wide receiver Mason Tipton was a training camp standout who didn't do anything in the regular season, and by year's end was benched in favor of walk-on veterans like Marquez Valdes-Scantling and Dante Pettis. It's kind of ironic that the top two tight ends suited up for all 17 games but still left us wanting more.
Is bringing back a past-his-prime Brandin Cooks enough to save the Saints at wide receiver? It's now or never for guys at running back like Kendre Miller, Cam Akers, and Clyde Edwards-Helaire, who are dealing with pressure from rookies like Devin Neal and Marcus Yarns. Johnson will certainly get more opportunities in Kellen Moore's tight end-friendly offense, but his new contract extension almost demands he level up to justify it after averaging 32.2, 28.3, and 31.8 yards per game the last three years, never ranking higher than 21st in his position group.
Looking at where the other NFC South teams rank is, well, illuminating. The Saints don't rank last, but it's close, with the Carolina Panthers rounding out the division at 31st after last year's too-optimistic listing at 28th. Both New Orleans and Carolina have lost ground on their rivals, with the Atlanta Falcons getting bumped up from 10th to 9th and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers climbing from 13th to 7th. It's beginning to look like a division of haves and have-nots, and the Saints are on the wrong side of that equation.
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