It's been a hot minute since the New Orleans Saints have been on top of the NFC South but it appears that the tides might be turning in their favor in 2026. The Saints finished the 2025 season on a solid note and it was enough to make people think that they could top the division this year.
Ben Solak of ESPN put together 10 predictions for the upcoming NFL season and had your New Orleans Saints as the winners of the NFC South. The first argument was simple -- The NFC South has not been good at all in recent years. Solak pointed out that the Panthers, the winner of the division a season ago, secured the division crown with a losing record at eight wins.
Solak also mentioned that, along with how bad the rest of the NFC South is, Tyler Shough's rookie performance was impressive enough that it could push NOLA over the top this season. Solak loved the Saints' defense and what Brandon Staley was able to do on that side of the ball in just one season.
Saints banking on improved run game to win NFC South
What he said it comes down to in 2026 is how the Saints' hopefully new-and-improved offense does under Shough and Co. as the former second-round pick enters his sophomore season in the pros. More importantly, the run game should be improved enough to help this team truly vie for a division title.
"The Saints' chances of winning the South rest in the improvement of their offense. A full offseason of Shough as the unquestioned QB1 should allow the Saints to pick up right where he left off," Solak wrote. "The better news for Shough is how much the Saints' running game is about to improve. From Week 9 on (Shough's starts), the Saints were 31st in yards per rush and rushing success rate. Save for the Raiders, this was the worst rushing attack in football -- and it was clearly the offseason priority for coach Kellen Moore and general manager Mickey Loomis."
The good news is that, as Solak said, this is the weakest division in the entire league. Even if the Saints' rushing attack is slightly improved, that could be the difference between NOLA winning the NFC South or just missing out by a game.
They were only two games out of first place last year despite a rough start and a bad run game. Now that Travis Etienne is donning the black and gold and the Saints made some improvements upfront, that department is hopefully going to be better and can help New Orleans win its first division title since Drew Brees retired.
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