Share 
The New Orleans Saints have plenty of steam behind them as a trendy sleeper NFC pick as training camp begins, and there are numerous factors that support such a notion. It begins with the man donning the headset, second-year head coach Kellen Moore. The influence of the offensive guru was already evident in 2025, despite New Orleans’ 6-11 record. While that only represented a one-win improvement over 2024, the Saints won four of their last five games and appear to have found their franchise quarterback in Tyler Shough.
A 2025 second-round pick, Shough got his initial opportunity to replace Spencer Rattler in Week 8 and didn’t look back. The Louisville product displayed the welcome trend of getting better the more he played, finishing the season with tallies of between 259 and 333 passing yards along with a 5:1 TD:INT, along with rushing TD, over his last four contests. Shough got plenty of help this offseason as well, as Travis Etienne, rookie first-round pick Jordyn Tyson and rookie third-round selection Oscar Delp were all added to his collection of skill-position weapons.
The defense made a significant free-agent addition in Kaden Elliss, who surpassed 100 tackles in each of the last three seasons with the Falcons while also compiling 19.5 sacks over the last four campaigns. However, he replaces a key subtraction in that of Demario Davis, a team leader that accrued a career-high 143 tackles in 2025. New Orleans made only one significant draft addition on the defensive side of the ball in Georgia’s Christen Miller, an above-average run-stuffer who also flashed ability to penetrate into the backfield during his college years.
2026 New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Odds
In keeping with the elevated expectations motif for the Saints, New Orleans, while still naturally sporting long Super Bowl Winner odds, are notably ahead of division mates Carolina and Atlanta on the leaderboard. Shough’s accelerated development and the aforementioned offseason additions — as well as the return of Alvin Kamara and the presence of a newly minted Chris Olave — are indeed reasons for optimism, but like the rest of the NFC South, the Saints facing daunting prospects whenever they play outside of the relatively cozy confines of their division. The odds here are long but short of five digits, so while there’s technically nothing wrong with rolling the dice here, Shough’s inexperience and the defensive questions that still persist point me away from pulling the trigger.
Bet: No
2026 New Orleans Saints NFC Championship Odds
The optimism surrounding the Saints notwithstanding, their biggest obstacle is the same that applies across the board to the entirety of the division — the South is likely to be the conference’s weakest division as a whole, and they could be easy pickings more often than not when they come up against some of the formidable predators that populate their non-division schedule. In the case of the Saints, that includes road matchups against the Lions and Ravens right out of the gate, and it also involves a trip to Soldier Field in late November. Home dates against the Steelers and Packers are no picnic, either, so a conference title is far-fetched enough to bypass the bet.
Bet: No
2026 New Orleans Saints NFC South Odds
Naturally, a division title is an entirely different story than a Super Bowl or NFC title, and given the aforementioned level of competition in the NFC South, it makes the Saints’ prospects of cashing the ticket that much brighter. The division could go to any of the NFC South’s four squads, and even though I maintain New Orleans’ odds could offer even slightly better value, there’s certainly nothing wrong with taking a stab at this market.
Bet: Yes
2026 New Orleans Saints Win Total Odds
A total of 7.5 wins for the Saints is an intriguing figure, but one that may be reachable. While some of the landmines in New Orleans’ schedule were already outlined earlier, Kellen Moore’s squad also gets to face the Raiders, Browns and Cardinals, three winnable games to say the least. New Orleans was 6-11 last season despite investing nearly the first half of the season in Spencer Rattler, so in theory, a full season of Shough preceded by a full offseason of him preparing as the starter should yield a nice net improvement. With the division such a wild card and New Orleans in play for that title as much as any team, I’ll lean toward the Over.
Bet: Over
2026 New Orleans Saints To Make The Playoffs Odds
The Saints sit in the upper portion of the bottom half of the Playoffs leaderboard, ahead of division mates Carolina and Atlanta, as well as other teams expected to struggles like the Browns, Raiders and Jets. That doesn’t give them the brightest prospects of making the postseason, but the NFC South’s wide-open state leaves a potential path to the playoffs via a division crown. We’re betting Yes on the Falcons to get to the playoffs as well, but this is a good hedge on that given the Saints’ upside.
Bet: Yes
2026 New Orleans Saints MVP Award Odds & Contenders
- Tyler Shough
- Travis Etienne
- Chris Olave
The Saints’ new Big Three constitutes the team’s MVP candidates, with Shough at the helm. The young signal-caller undoubtedly turned heads down the stretch last season, averaging 293.0 passing yards over the last four contests of the campaign. He now has had a full offseason to prepare as the starter and saw the talent around him upgraded significantly, but it also wouldn’t be surprising to see Shough take a step back at times as he no longer catches teams by surprise.
Etienne is certainly an above-average back and worthy offseason addition, as he arrives in the the Big Easy with a robust resume of success on both the ground and through the air that includes a trio of 1,000-yard rushing seasons. However, as mentioned earlier, Kamara remains on the roster and will play a solid complementary role at minimum, and Etienne is arguably at his best at a level somewhere shy of a true No. 1 workhorse role akin to the type Bijan Robinson sees, for example.
Olave just signed his long-sought after extension and is also clear of the blood clot that cost him Week 18 of last season, so the slate is clean for him when it comes to a couple of previous concerns. The talented wideout is arguably just hitting his prime and already boasts three 1,000-yard seasons over his first four years in the NFL, with the only exception his eight-game 2024 campaign. Olave plays on a fast track in terms of his home field and has a talented young quarterback at his disposal, along with enough weapons alongside him to open up opportunities for him. As such, Olave merits consideration as a longshot bet.
Bet: Chris Olave
2026 New Orleans Saints Schedule
- Week 1 – at Detroit, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 2 – at Baltimore, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 3 – vs. Las Vegas, 4:25 p.m. – CBS
- Week 4 – vs. Atlanta, 8:15 p.m. (MNF) – ESPN
- Week 5 – vs. Minnesota, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 6 – at NY Giants, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 7 – vs. Pittsburgh (Paris), 9:30 a.m. – NFLN
- Week 8 – BYE
- Week 9 – vs. Cleveland, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 10 – vs. Carolina, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 11 – at Chicago, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 12 – at Cincinnati, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 13 – vs. Green Bay, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 14 – at Carolina, 1:00 p.m. – CBS
- Week 15 – at Tampa Bay, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 16 – vs. Arizona, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 17 – at Atlanta, 1:00 p.m. – FOX
- Week 18 – vs. Tampa Bay, TBD
Top Options For NFL Prediction Market Trading
Sign Up & Unlock Your Offer at FanDuel Predicts
Make Predictions on Real World Events Right in Your Phone
Trade on Sports to Culture, Financials, Crypto and More
Deposit $10, Get a $20 Trading Bonus
Live Trade with the Biggest Payouts at the Largest Prediction Market in the World
Use Bonus Code: LINEUPS
America's #1 Sports Prediction Market
Same Sports Moments, Bigger Payouts
Choose from Straights, Player Props, Parlays & More
Use Exclusive Code: LINEUPS
Complete a Task in the Crypto.com App to Unlock up to 1 Bitcoin Worth of CRO Rewards
America’s All-In-One Trading Platform
Manage Your Crypto, Stocks, Predictions & Card Spend Seamlessly
Get $150 in Bonuses Paid Over 14 Days
DraftKings is Now Available Nationwide
Browse Markets like Sports, Crypto, Tech & More
Photo Credit: REUTERS
