During the offseason, every team that’s coming off a really bad year will convince themselves they could have a quick turnaround like the Washington Commanders had in 2024. The New Orleans Saints, who went 5-12, are one of those teams. If they’re actually going to jump to contender status next season, they need to get a lot accomplished this offseason.
For a team like the Saints, there’s a laundry list of moves that need to be made. NFL writer Kevin Patra recently tried to name the one main move New Orleans, and every other team needed to make this offseason. For the Saints, the move was: “find young replacements on defense.”
Getting younger on defense named as the biggest move Saints need to make in 2025
Patra admitted this exercise was especially difficult for New Orleans, because it has several important issues it needs to address. However, Patra ultimately decided that getting young, and cheap, production on the defensive side of the ball would help the Saints navigate all their other issues.
"I struggled with where to go in New Orleans, primarily because you could pick essentially any area of the roster to clean up, and you'd be correct. Trade/release/restructure Derek Carr? Yes. Add a wideout? Yup. Continue working on the O-line? No doubt. Need a pass rusher? Most def. Find a corner after the Marshon Lattimore trade? Don't hate it. I'm not going to yell and scream about the Saints' cap situation... The key to eventually coming out clean on the other side will be getting production from young (i.e., cheap) replacements. Hitting on an early-round pass rusher and adding an eventual linebacker to take over for Demario Davis is a good place to start."Kevin Patra (NFL.com)
While this is definitely a great point, it’s a tough one to accomplish. This isn’t as simple as adding one elite running back or a quality receiver— it’s about replacing multiple positions. That means New Orleans would have to hit on multiple guys across free agency and the draft. That’s much easier said than done.
That means the team is unlikely to accomplish this task in one offseason, but it can get the process started. It may take a few years, though, to complete the overhaul.