5 Saints players who provided hope for the future during the 2022 season

Pete Werner

The Saints sure love Ohio State players, as we've two players in on this list and they both hailed from OSU. Pete Werner was a second-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft and had a promising rookie season. Saints fans expected another stout season from the linebacker and he delivered with 78 tackles, three defended passes, and two forced fumbles through 11 games.

The only knock on Werner was the time he missed this season due to injuries, as he missed five games. When he was on the field, however, he made it count. He's a true sideline-to-sideline linebacker and those don't grow on trees. Werner is going to be a big-time player for NOLA and they have him under contract for at least two more years.

Rashid Shaheed

The biggest surprise of the season was most definitely Rashid Shaheed, who went undrafted out of Weber State and ended up in New Olreans as an undrafted free agent. Shaheed got his first opportunity to show what he could do in the Week 6 loss to Cincinnati, taking the ball to the house on his first NFL carry.

The next game, a Thursday night matchup against the Cardinals, Shaheed caught his first NFL pass and it went for a long touchdown. He continued to make magic both as a receiver and a return specialist and proved that he can be a major piece in this offense and on special teams moving forward.

Shaheed is the perfect player to have on the roster because not only is he insanely talented but he's cheap too and the Saints have him under contract through at least next season. After that, he's an exclusive-rights free agent, meaning NOLA has a solid chance at keeping him in the black and gold.