The New Orleans Saints have not made the playoffs since the 202o season, which also happened to be quarterback Drew Brees last with the team before retiring a couple of months later. Since then, the Saints have undergone a lot of changes with both players and personnel. Now under the leadership of head coach Kellen Moore and quarterback Tyler Shough, who went 5-4 last season after being named the team’s starter in Week 9, the Saints have a lot of momentum and fans have plenty of reasons to be optimistic
that this is the year the playoff drought ends.
It also looks like they aren’t the only one, as Brees, who will be inducted into the NFL Hall of Fame next month, has also weighed in with his opinion.
In a recent interview with Heavy Sports, Brees was asked his thoughts on if the Saints can win the division this year.
“1,000%,” said Brees. “Last year, it was a three-team race down to the wire. Actually, I guess it was really a four-team race down to the wire. They were all just kind of hovering around .500. Tampa has been kind of the favorite and then Carolina was kind of able to bump them off the top last year. Bryce Young played well. They got three really good receivers, ran the ball well. They got some good young talent on defense. Atlanta has been the one that’s kind of been unpredictable. Michael Penix gets hurt. But they’ve got some weapons on offense, and so we’ll see how he comes back this year.”
Brees added why he thinks there is no clear favorite and the division is wide open this season, “Baker Mayfield. I think he’s kind of the one you know real veteran QB in the division. You know, so they kind of they kind of give them the nod as far as just maybe having a bit of the advantage. But look, you know, Saints beat the Bucs. Saints beat the Bucs last year at their place, beat Carolina twice. You know, and so as you as you look at it, it’s pretty wide open.”
We will soon see how the 2026 season will shape up for the Saints, as they hit the practice field next Wednesday for the start of training camp and their first preseason game will kick off against the Jacksonville Jaguars on Saturday, August 15, in Caesars Superdome.
