The 2026 offseason is significant for the New Orleans Saints, and failing to make improvements will be catastrophic. Positions throughout the roster could be upgraded, and the Saints can address them in the 2026 NFL Draft or Free Agency, but they must be careful.
Saints Should Stay Aggressive, but Not Reckless: Avoid Big Trades
Ending the 2025/26 season with four wins in five games has been a catalyst for the real momentum switch in New Orleans. Although this is a great development compared with a potentially disastrous Year 1 of the Saints’ rebuild, let’s keep things realistic.
Yes, the Saints may have their franchise QB, Tyler Shough, and HC, Kellen Moore, but both can take steps back in 2026. Teams now have around half a season of tape from these two, and although both Shough and Moore can still avoid that sophomore slump, there is no guarantee. This would significantly hurt the Saints, but imagine it happens after they go all-in on trades.
Going for high-level free agents and pushing the cap down the road has been the story of the Saints’ offseasons for years, and honestly, that’s fine this offseason, but trades are another story.
Just last season, the Washington Commanders made an all-in trade to acquire CB Marshon Lattimore from the Saints, and it was a mistake for Washington. It was way too premature for the Commanders to make that move. New Orleans should learn from its past trade wins and avoid repeating the errors of their trading partners.
Making trades for veterans is not out of the question, but significant moves involving day 1 or 2 draft selections should not be considered. Speaking of the draft, completing big trades for veterans is not the only deal the Saints should avoid.
This team and questionable draft trades tend to go hand in hand. Countless times, this team has been burned by horrible high-level trade-ups in the draft.
An example is the Saints’ 2018 draft trade, in which they traded two first-round picks to the Green Bay Packers for EDGE Marcus Davenport. This decision was horrible, and Davenport never came close to reaching expectations, but at least that was when the Saints were a Super Bowl favorite. The current roster is not at that level. If the Saints trade any future Day 1 or Day 2 selections to move up in the draft, it could set the team back, and they cannot afford that.
