New Orleans Saints Fantasy Football Team Preview For 2026

Last season's Saints were expected to be in contention for the 2026 NFL Draft's No. 1 overall pick, but then something funny happened: Tyler Shough and company actually made some good things happen down the stretch.

Yes, nobody will be telling their grandkids about the time the Saints ripped off four straight wins against the Bucs, Panthers, Jets and Titans. Also, yes, this offense gelled late and was accompanied by a surprisingly solid top-10 defense in EPA allowed per play.

2026 Fantasy Football Team Preview For The New Orleans Saints

Natural progression is expected from Shough in year two with Kellen Moore, but the front office also went out of their way to improve the playmakers at hand:

Longtime Jaguars RB Travis Etienne was signed to a robust four-year, $47-million contract with $28 million guaranteed. Credit to ETN for averaging 1,441 total yards and 10 touchdowns during his three fully healthy seasons.
The Saints used the eighth overall pick on Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson. While there are concerns surrounding Tyson's ability to stay healthy, his dynamic route-running ability allows him to create easy separation—something that will be MUCH appreciated inside what was previously a one-man-band Chris Olave-led receiver room.

Throw in additional annual eight-figure free agent deals to G David Edwards and LB Kaden Elliss, and this squad looks live to compete for their first NFC South title in the post-Brees era.

What follows is a fantasy-focused team preview of the New Orleans Saints ahead of the 2026 season. Make sure to check out our consensus fantasy football rankings for updated player ranks all year long.

As always: It's a great day to be great.

Is Tyler Shough the best late-round QB fantasy pick of 2026?

QB1: Tyler Shough (QB21)
QB2: Spencer Rattler
QB3: Zach Wilson

Well, the soon-to-be 27-year-old (!) signal-caller certainly made a solid case for this honor across his initial nine career starts. Overall, Shough ripped off four top-12 finishes during his final eight games of the season, and as a whole, he worked as the QB12 in fantasy points per game (17.2) after taking over under center in Week 9.

The man has a big arm, can throw with touch, and has enough athleticism to make plays on the run and out of structure. That's a solid set of skillz to build around!

What To Expect From Shough In 2026

How big a role should we expect for Travis Etienne?

RB1: Travis Etienne (RB18)
RB2: Alvin Kamara (RB46)
RB3: Devin Neal (RB86)
RB4: Kendre Miller

Etienne finished 2025 as the RB14 in PPR points per game and is still just 27 years young. He deserves credit for proving capable of functioning across all three downs, even earning PFF's second-highest pass blocking grade among RBs last season. The man made some great plays!

And yet, there are at least some red-ish flags to consider ...

Breaking Down The Saints Backfield

Can both Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson ball out in 2026?

WR1: Chris Olave (WR12)
WR2: Jordyn Tyson (WR28)
WR3: Bryce Lance (WR77)
WR4: Devaughn Vele
WR5: Mason Tipton

Legally speaking, yes.

First, Olave, who has cleared 1,000 yards in all three seasons that he was healthy enough to play at least 15 games. Of course, the early years of his Saints tenure were marred by misfires and hospital balls from Derek Carr (Michael Thomas doesn't forget). Olave's was fine in fantasy land, but long-term greatness was hardly guaranteed.

And then 2025 happened. Career-best marks across the board in targets (156), receptions (100), yards (1,163) and touchdowns (9) led to a WR8 finish in PPR points per game (16.8). Two fun nerdy analytics matched the eye test:

ESPN's "Open Score", meant to help quantify separation ability, ranked the silky smooth Olave sixth.
Olave's 26.7% targets per route run rate was the seventh-best mark in the league behind only Puka Nacua, Jaxon Smith-Njigba, Amon-Ra St. Brown, Ja'Marr Chase, Drake London and Davante Adams. Pretty good company!

Throw in a well-timed three-game stretch that in the fantasy playoffs featured 6-81-1, 10-148-2 and 8-119-1 receiving lines (only Puka scored more PPR points), and there's seemingly little reason NOT to expect another WR1-worthy campaign from the soon-to-be 26-year-old talent.

*Dramatic, eerie music* Or is there?

Could Olave And Tyson Be An Elite 1-2 Punch?

Will Juwan Johnson provide a quality encore to his solid 2025?

TE1: Juwan Johnson (TE20)
TE2: Noah Fant
TE3: Oscar Delp

I'm skeptical. Johnson's TE12 finish in 2025 was fun … although we are talking about a difference of 0.26 between the TE12 and TE16. Still, credit to the 29-year-old veteran for making plenty out of his 102 targets—only Trey McBride and Kyle Pitts had more receiving yards among tight ends—but we saw his participation go from nearly every snap during September to consistently in the 60-75% range down the stretch.

Now, Johnson still put forward plenty of good fantasy performances late, even with Foster Moreau and Taysom Hill getting more involved, but we're talking about Johnson still barely managing to reach TE12 status in a season where he got to work as the passing game's No. 2 option—something that is firmly NOT on the table again in 2026 barring injury. While Moreau and Hill are out of the picture, Fant and Delp arguably offer even steeper competition.

For those looking for a third tight end to fill out a best ball roster, fine, but I've preferred throwing the late-round tight end dart at Chig Okonkwo (realistic path to No. 2 pass-game status in a probably higher-scoring offense) or T.J. Hockenson (has a 2023 TE2 fantasy finish to his name).

Predictions For The 2026 New Orleans Saints

Win total prediction: The Saints won 7, 9 and 5 games during the Dennis Allen "era" and ate 6 Ws last season. The entire division has a win total between 6.5 and 8.5 wins, with New Orleans resting at 7.5. Bringing back the same coaching staff around a promising young QB is a good start, as are the prominent additions to the offense. The larger concern is whether or not the defense can repeat its success without key pieces like CB Alontae Taylor, LB Demario Davis, and potentially longtime franchise icon/EDGE Cameron Jordan (remains a free agent). You know what, f*ck it, give me over 7.5 wins for a team realistically could win this dogshit division.

Bold fantasy call: Alvin Kamara hangs around and catches 50+ passes as the offense's primary pass-down back, making him one of the better late-round running back darts of the season.

Last season predictions: Under 5.5 wins (good for you, Tyler Shough), and Chris Olave returns top-24 production in full-PPR fantasy land (hell yeah, brother).