NEW ORLEANS -- The Saints (6-11) finished their season with optimism for 2026, thanks in part to the play of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough.
"I'd probably be in a coma if I didn't recognize that there's optimism, and that's exciting," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said.
With the QB position settled for now, the Saints will need to figure out how to surround Shough with more offensive pieces in 2026.
Shough led the team to a four-game winning streak toward the end of the season despite playing with mostly backups at wide receiver and running back. The lack of pass catchers available will be one of the top things the Saints address this offseason.
The process will get kickstarted at the Senior Bowl in late January. The Saints drafted four players who participated in the Senior Bowl in 2025, including Shough. They'll also likely search for additions in free agency when the new league year begins in March and in April's draft, where New Orleans holds the No. 8 pick.
Here's what the Saints' needs look like:
Offense
The Saints have already expressed interest in extending wide receiver Chris Olave, who will head into 2026 in the final year of his rookie contract. Olave, 25, had a career-high 100 catches for 1,163 yards and nine touchdowns.
It's a steep statistical drop from Olave to the next receiver on the roster. Devaughn Vele ranked fourth on the team and second among active Saints receivers with 293 receiving yards.
Vele came on strong at the end of the season after the departures of Rashid Shaheed and Brandin Cooks, but he ended the season on injured reserve. The Saints also acquired former Patriots second-round pick Ja'Lynn Polk in a trade, but he did not play because of an injury.
Running back will be another scrutinized position. Alvin Kamara, 30, has missed the end of the past two seasons because of injury and is due to make $11.5 million in base salary next season.
"I love Alvin," Saints coach Kellen Moore said this week. "What Alvin's meant to this organization has been awesome. ... Obviously, these seasons all take different paths and he's had to navigate an injury, and so the most important thing for him is just to get healthy and be back to his self."
Behind Kamara is Kendre Miller, who tore his ACL this season. His potential is still somewhat of an unknown due to injuries in his three seasons. Rookie sixth-round pick Devin Neal showed promise after those two players were injured, but it wouldn't be a surprise if the Saints look at their options at this first-round position in the draft.
Another position that probably will be considered for an upgrade is the interior of the offensive line. The Saints invested first-round picks at tackle the past two seasons but haven't had as much success inside.
Loomis said they've struggled to keep their interior healthy. Saints center Erik McCoy, who has had injuries, has played only 14 games the past two seasons, and they moved Luke Fortner, who was acquired in a preseason trade with the Jacksonville Jaguars, to a starting role.
"Erik McCoy is a really, really good player, and he's been injured the last few years. So we have to examine that," Loomis said.
Free-agent signee Dillon Radunz started at left guard after a failed move inside for former tackle Trevor Penning, who was traded midseason.
Loomis also said they'd like to see more out of left guard Cesar Ruiz, a first-round pick in 2020. Ruiz has missed seven games in the past two seasons due to injury.
"Dylan stepped in after the Trevor trade. I thought he did a good job. So we'll evaluate that interior offensive line," Loomis said. "Luke came in and played for Erik and did a good job, but we're going to have to evaluate that position and we've got some free agents there. So it's going to be an area that we pay a lot of attention to this offseason."
Defense
The biggest question for the defense will be whether the Saints re-sign linebacker Demario Davis, 37, and defensive end Cameron Jordan, 36. Both players have expressed interest in playing in 2026.
"I'm excited to hear when those guys declare they want to be back here, and I would say on the surface we definitely want to have them back, but there's just so many other variables that exist that I can't really answer that question right now," Loomis said.
Even if the two captains don't return in 2026, the Saints have a lot to be excited about after finishing ninth in total defense, fourth in passing defense and 19th in rushing defense.
Defensive end Chase Young, who was named NFC Defensive Player of the Month for December, is coming off a career-best season in which he finished with 10 sacks. Linebackers such as rookie Danny Stutsman showed promise.
One position the Saints could be looking to fill next season is slot cornerback, with Alontae Taylor set to become a potential free agent.
"This is my first rodeo in free agency," Taylor said. "I've never been a free agent, but I've definitely asked a lot of questions. ... I'm going to take it one day at a time. My agent is a dope agent so he's going to keep me [updated].
Special teams
The Saints need an overhaul of their special teams units in 2026.
New Orleans retained Phil Galiano from the 2024 staff and promoted him to special teams coordinator after Darren Rizzi took a job with the Denver Broncos. But the Saints dropped statistically in almost every category.
Part of that can be attributed to personnel changes. The Saints waived former All-Pro special teamer JT Gray and traded kick returner Rashid Shaheed to the Seattle Seahawks after having him return only 10 punts and one kickoff in nine games. Shaheed returned a punt and kickoff for a touchdown in Seattle and was named to the Pro Bowl this season.
Kicker Blake Grupe, who made 87.1% of his kicks last season, struggled in the regular season after missing only one kick in training camp. He was waived after missing eight field goals and the team promoted Charlie Smyth from the practice squad.
"We had a lot of moving pieces there," Moore said. "I thought credit to Phil was kind of helping navigate that, from a punter battle that kind of went through all training camp, made a change at the kicker position midway through the season. Sheed obviously with the trade halfway through the year."
Smyth's leg was a bright spot this season, as he made field goals of 56 and 57 yards, but his inexperience led to inconsistency, and he also missed four field goals. The Saints finished 2025 with the worst combined field goal percentage in the league.
The Saints fell from 25th in net yards-per-punt to 29th this season. They were 22nd in kickoff return yards, 20th in punt return yards, 25th in opponent kickoff return yards (down from 6th in 2024) and 20th in opponent punt return yards (down from eighth in 2024).
Galiano and punter Kai Kroeger (29th in net yards per punt) probably will receive the most scrutiny in the offseason. Kroeger won the punting competition over Matthew Hayball and James Burnip this summer but will be a free agent.
"I thought [Galiano] did a really good job of helping a lot of young players get ready and prepared to contribute on our football team and the special teams that were new to that aspect of football," Moore said. "So are there areas that we want to improve on and get better? Absolutely. And then certainly something we'll do in all three phases."