The reasons for optimism keep rolling in ahead of the 2026 season. With the NFL Draft and free agency in the books, Vegas has updated their win totals for teams. Warren Sharp compiled each team's totals to find what team's have the easiest and hardest schedule. The New Orleans Saints have second easiest schedule in the NFL, behind only the Detroit Lions.
Everything as been trending upwards for the Saints since hiring Kellen Moore. They ended the season hot and continued to had gasoline to the fire this offseason. It feels like the Saints are a team that could sneak into the playoff race this year, and having an "easy" schedule doesn't hurt.
NEW: NFL strength of schedule for 2026!
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) May 4, 2026
5 easiest schedules:
1️⃣ Lions
2️⃣ Saints
3️⃣ Bengals
4️⃣ Browns
5️⃣ Jets
5 hardest schedules:
2️⃣8️⃣ Rams
2️⃣9️⃣ Cowboys
3️⃣0️⃣ Panthers
3️⃣1️⃣ Dolphins
3️⃣2️⃣ Cardinals
1-32 with insight & analysis:https://t.co/iS1PFqfcxx
Saints are set up to take advantage of an easy schedule
Not every team is in the position to take advantage of an easy schedule. Take the Jets for example. They have the fifth easiest schedule in the league, per Sharp's chart. No one, including their own fan base, feels optimistic about the season because of their strength of schedule. The same can be said about the Browns. The expectations for both teams are still fairly pessimistic.
It's not the strength of schedule that causes excitement. It's the view of the team that generates belief, and strength of schedule is the cherry on top. The Saints have built a team around Tyler Shough in one of the most exciting offseasons in a long time.
Shough showed the abilities you want from a franchise quarterback down the stretch last season. He elevated talent when injuries struck. Shough navigated through traffic when defenders began to push the pocket. In response, the Saints stacked the receiver room with more talent and added left guard David Edwards and running back Travis Etienne in free agency.
New weapons, an exciting young quarterback, and a second year head coach. There's a lot of reasons to believe the Saints will be a much improved team in 2026. Now. the schedule begins to look more appealing because they have the team to take advantage of its "easiness." The Saints strength of schedule has been low for years, and they've done nothing with it.
There's so much that changes during the season that putting all of your hopes and dreams into a preseason strength of schedule would be foolish. However, the Saints have aspirations, and are capable, of winning the NFC South. Maybe this is the year the Saints take advantage of an easy schedule.
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