2023 New Orleans Saints Season Preview and Futures Odds
Scott Morris | August 31, 2023
The New Orleans Saints didn’t do as good in the 2022 season as people had anticipated. There was a slight chance that they could have made it to the playoffs if only they had won against the Carolina Panthers in Week 18, which they failed at. Apart from that, the Buccaneers’ relative success didn’t let them in either. It’s not that the Saints weren’t capable of winning, considering they won against the Eagles and the Seahawks, both top teams of the leagues. It just didn’t work in their favor this time around and they’re going to need a lot more than just luck if they want to do any better in the upcoming 2023 season.
They have the chance to be contenders but they can also very easily end up at the bottom so they must make the right decisions. They lost quite a lot of players this offseason, without making any active moves, especially at the defensive front. Marcus Davenport and Kaden Elliss said goodbye and moved on to the Vikings and the Falcons respectively. Even interior defenders David Onvemata and Shy Tuttle signed elsewhere. To make up for that the Saints brought in Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd for the defensive interior. With Andy Dalton also gone, they decided to bring in Derek Carr, former Raiders quarterback and without a doubt he is an upgrade for the team. Hopefully, his addition proves fruitful for the team.
With significant turnover in free agency up front, the Saints used their two top 40 picks in the 2023 NFL draft to bring in defensive linemen. This was Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey, both not great but good enough to fill in the gaps. They also made the good choice of drafting wide receiver A.T. Perry in the middle of Day 3. The young player, with a dynamic presence, is a great addition to the roster.
With the offseason done and dusted, there is still a lot to say about the roster especially the missing linebacker depth. Demario Davis is their only reliable player in this case and with him at the age of 34, the Saints need to be looking into what they plan to do in the future. Other than him they have the rookie Pete Werner and Zack Baun, both not as dependable as the team needs them to be.
As much as the New Orleans Saints tried to benefit from the offseason, they didn’t accomplish much. The changes and adjustments they have made may not be enough to do a whole lot better than last season. Carr along with a hopefully recovered Michael Thomas need to do their best and make sure all others are on the same level. As hard as the team tries to do better than before, the team on paper in August never is what makes it to the next season. They need to be cautious about each and every thing as the upcoming season nears closer.
2023 Saints Odds
Division +125
NFC Champs +1400
NFL Champs +3500
Total Wins Over Under 9.5
Betting Analysis
The Saints are in a bad division. They may very well win their division. But that is no sign of how good they are. They went 7-10 last year. Now you plug-in QB Carr and they are supposed to be good all of a sudden? I’m not buying it. I’m taking the under 9.5 wins and staying away from all those futures.
