ESPN gives Saints a boost in ranking teams by their best young players
And it won't be easy. Last year, ESPN's Aaron Schatz ranked all 32 teams by the strength of their youngest players. The Saints ranked 30th, with few hits and too many misses in their recent draft classes. They've made progress this year. Going into the 2025 season, Schatz bumped the Saints up from 30th to 24th, helped by the immediate success Taliese Fuaga found as a rookie. Here's where he sees reasons for optimism on each side of the ball:
Any look at young talent in New Orleans begins on the offensive line with the starting tackles: Kelvin Banks Jr., chosen No. 9 this year, and Fuaga, chosen No. 14 last year, are 23. Spencer Rattler is still 24 and is theoretically competing for the starting quarterback job, but remember that the player he's competing with, second-round pick Tyler Shough, is turning 26 in late September.
Defensive lineman Bryan Bresee was a first-round pick two years ago and is still just 23 years old. Cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry started nine games already last year, and is 22 years old to start the season (he turns 23 on Sept. 30).
The rest of the young talent on defense is depth including edge rusher Isaiah Foskey (24) and rookies Vernon Broughton (a 24-year-old defensive tackle) and Jonas Sanker (a 22-year-old safety).
It'll take all of those guys and more to help the Saints return to the NFL's elite; or at least to join the ranks of teams that regularly post winning records. A couple of this year's fourth-round draft picks have made waves at training camp with both linebacker Danny Stutsman and cornerback Quincy Riley intercepting Rattler in team drills. Wide receivers Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed are both 26 and don't count for this exercise, but they're cornerstone pieces of the offense. Hopefully the Saints can work out long-term extensions with both wideouts and get back to the top of the NFC South standings.
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