The Detroit Lions will begin the 2026 regular season at home against the New Orleans Saints, and the early number reflects a clear lean toward Detroit. FanDuel Sportsbook opened the Lions as 6.5-point favorites for Week 1 in Detroit.
That sets up a first look at a Saints team that finished 2025 at 6-11 under first-time head coach Kellen Moore, the former Lions backup quarterback. New Orleans did stumble to an uneven year, but it closed with a burst, winning four of its final five games.
“This is a hungry opponent,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said on Monday. “It’s a lot of young, hungry players, talented players. You could see their progression as the season went on last year; they started playing pretty good football-minus Atlanta, in that last game.”
The Saints spent the offseason trying to strengthen both sides of the ball, with a particular push to improve the offense and shore up defensive holes.
Up front, New Orleans addressed the guard spots by signing David Edwards to start at left guard and adding rookie Jeremiah Wright, a fourth-round pick, to compete with Cesar Ruiz. Ruiz is entering his seventh season as a starter, mostly at right guard.
The Saints also tried to add more juice to their skill group. They brought in running back Travis Etienne to pair with Alvin Kamara, though Kamara is dealing with an MCL injury and is expected to miss the opener.
At receiver, New Orleans drafted Jordyn Tyson in the first round, Bryce Lance in the fourth and Barion Brown in the sixth, while also selecting tight end Oscar Delp in the third round. All four are expected to have roles as rookies.
Tyson won’t be available right away, though. The eighth overall pick landed on injured reserve with a hamstring injury and will miss the first four games, which means Lance is expected to start in his place. Delp will open as TE3 and will compete with free-agent addition Noah Fant for TE2 snaps.
There’s been turnover on defense as well. The Saints lost starting linebacker Demario Davis, but brought back Kaden Ellis to take over that spot. On the line, 2023 first-round pick Bryan Bresee is out for the season with a torn ACL, leaving 2025 third-round pick Vernon Broughton in line to replace him.
New Orleans is also counting on youth in the secondary, with 2025 draft picks Quincy Riley, a second-round corner, and Jonas Sanker, a third-round nickelback, expected to fill roles that opened up.
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