2021 New Orleans Saints Betting Preview: Odds, Lines, & Predictions

2021 New Orleans Saints Betting Preview

The 2020 Saints had an elite defense ranked in the top five in opponent passing and rushing yards per game. New Orleans also had a determined Drew Brees in what he knew would be his final year playing football.

Unfortunately for the Saints, the season did not result in a Super Bowl win. However, there was plenty of positive takeaways and highlights in 2020. Once Michael Thomas is healthy and head coach Sean Payton decides who he wants under center, the Saints could return to elite form.

2020 New Orleans Saints Team Stats

• Points For: 482
• Points Against: 337
• Passing Yards Per Game: 233.9
• Rushing Yards Per Game: 138.4
• Passing Yards Allowed Per Game: 214.0
• Rushing Yards Allowed Per Game: 93.2

Key Offseason Transactions

Most conversations surrounding the New Orleans Saints this off-season have revolved around the retirement of future Hall-of-Fame quarterback, Drew Brees. It was bound to happen, and his arm strength was just not what it used to be anymore. Either Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston will replace Brees.

New Orleans had been criticized for its inability to snag an additional cornerback (or two) because of how thin it is in that area. Luckily, the Saints grabbed Brian Poole on a one-year deal, and he should help out quite a bit.

The loss of Emmanuel Sanders was not so quickly replaced, and all that New Orleans has to show for it is in the addition of wide receiver Chris Hogan. Also, the ongoing ankle injury to Michael Thomas complicates the Saints’ receiving depth as well.

Arguably the second-biggest loss outside of Brees was with the departure of Trey Hendrickson. Hendrickson had a breakout year in 2020, which led to a massive payday with the Cincinnati Bengals this off-season. New Orleans quickly opted to fill that position in this year’s NFL Draft by selecting Houston DE Payton Turner. Turner is a high-risk, high-reward pick, but the Saints felt they needed to fill Hendrickson’s shoes as soon as possible.

• • Retired: Drew Brees
  • Drafted: Payton Turner, Pete Werner
  • Signed: Chris Hogan, Brian Poole, Kendall Donnerson
  • Traded: Malcolm Brown
  • Released/Free Agents: Jared Cook, Janoris Jenkins, Emmanuel Sanders, Trey Hendrickson

2020 New Orleans Saints Betting Stats

Record: 13-5
MOV: 8.5
ATS: 10-8
ATS +/-: +2.3
Over/Under: 10-8
Total +/-:  +1.2

2021 New Orleans Saints Betting Outlook

Right now, the Saints are a buy-low team in terms of their betting outlook. They lost Drew Brees, but between Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill, the Saints should find consistency somewhere. Additionally, it is recently known that Michael Thomas is not entirely healthy, so he may also miss some time. This has caused some fear in Saints’ futures bets, and rightfully so. However, I feel like the correction was a bit severe. New Orleans should sport a top five or ten defense, keeping the Saints in the picture as a potential playoff team.

New Orleans Saints Super Bowl Odds

Realistically, the Saints don’t have a great shot at winning their division, let alone the Super Bowl. There isn’t much to this futures bet. If you’re a die-hard Saints fan or an unrealistic optimist, then you can always consider this bet. Otherwise, look for something else that makes more sense.

New Orleans Saints Playoff Odds

The Saints will likely not be a team that wins their division since they would have to beat out the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Tampa Bay returns every single starter from its Super Bowl-winning squad, and its chemistry is only rising by the day. Meanwhile, the Saints lost their franchises’ best player ever, Drew Brees, to retirement. This does leave a void, but there aren’t many teams that could be better positioned with backups. Either Taysom Hill or Jameis Winston will take over under center, and the battle between the two should be very competitive. Regardless, the Saints should slide into the playoffs as a wild card team.

New Orleans Saints Win Total Odds

The Saints have a relatively easy schedule. Their most challenging games come against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers (twice), Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, Buffalo Bills, and Tennessee Titans. Outside of those six games, every other game is winnable. I have New Orleans winning either ten or 11 games this year.

Saints Players Futures Odds

I’m far from a believer that this bet could come true; however, there are some exciting aspects of this bet that at least made me raise an eyebrow.

First, Winston will likely open as the starter for the New Orleans Saints, in my opinion. The main reason for that is because of head coach Sean Payton, who would prefer having Taysom Hill as an offensive swiss army knife. Payton is known to shake things up and use trick plays occasionally, and having jack-of-all-trades Hill at his disposal will probably make the most sense.

Second, Winston received LASIK eye surgery in 2020, and that is said to have made a huge difference for his vision. While this doesn’t necessarily mean that his days of throwing to the wrong team are over, it does perhaps give a light at the end of the tunnel for both Winston and the New Orleans Saints.

Altogether, these are not necessarily reasons to throw down your hard-earned money on a Jameis Winston future bet; however, it does make things a little interesting. Don’t place a bet on this right now, but perhaps keep an eye on it through the first few weeks of the season.

Conclusion

The New Orleans Saints have an opportunity this year to shock some people who believe that they will not be very competitive anymore. Their roster still has plenty of talent on both the defensive and offensive sides. While the Saints did suffer a significant loss with the departure of defensive lineman Trey Hendrickson, they quickly tried to fill in the gaps during the NFL Draft by selecting Payton Turner. New Orleans also was able to sign a solid cornerback in Brian Poole to help out its secondary.

I would not describe myself as highly bullish on the New Orleans Saints, but they should still have a solid year because of good coaching and plenty of talent.