Kellen Moore isn’t sugarcoating the opener, but he also isn’t backing down from it.
The Saints are headed into the 2026 season with a brutal one-two punch to start the year, visiting the Detroit Lions and Baltimore Ravens in back-to-back weeks. Both games are on the road.
Both opponents are regulars in the playoff conversation. And for New Orleans, that means the first step of the season comes with no room to ease in.
Still, Moore made it clear on the final day of training camp that his team isn’t approaching the stretch with fear. “They're excited about the opportunity to go compete, and we're going to open up against one of the top teams in the league; it's going to be a lot of fun,” he said to the media on the last day of training camp.
“We know what an NFL season is going to take. There's going to be some highs, there's going to be some lows, and I think we got the right guys to navigate it.”
That’s the tone around New Orleans right now: confident, but not casual. This isn’t being treated like a warm-up. It’s the opening test of whether the Saints can back up the buzz that has built around them since the offseason began.
A big reason for that optimism is the younger core that has kept showing up all summer.
Even with Jordyn Tyson out of action until at least October, the Saints have seen other receivers seize the moment. Rookies like Barion Brown and young veterans like Devaughn Vele have helped make the position group look like a real strength heading into the season. That kind of depth gives the offense something to lean on right away.
The defense has been just as encouraging. Through camp, New Orleans’ defense has consistently gotten the better of the offense, and the group’s youth hasn’t been a deterrent. Instead, players like Kool-Aid McKinstry, Quincy Riley, and Chase Young have stood out as names that could define the season.
So the Saints are walking into a demanding start with belief in the room and no shortage of storylines behind them. The first two games will say plenty about whether that confidence has substance. Now it’s time to find out if the team can match Moore’s faith with results.
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