The New Orleans Saints have dropped three consecutive games, and things only seem to be getting more abysmal. They must prove the experts wrong in Week 6:
The New Orleans Saints have dropped three consecutive games, and things only seem to be getting more abysmal.
The team’s once potent offense is now nowhere to be found. To make matters worse, it appears quarterback Derek Carr will be out for multiple games, meaning that rookie quarterback Spencer Rattler will have to adjust to the starting role with zero notice in the veteran’s absence.
After the Saints most recently fell 26-13 to the Kansas City Chiefs on Monday, just 13% of analysts have faith that New Orleans will be able to get the job done against the Buccaneers according to surveying completed by Pickwatch.
This obviously doesn’t mean the Buccaneers have things in the bag, and they showed just how they can let things slip away when the Falcons practically handed them the game before ultimately forcing overtime and coming out with the 36-30 victory in Mercedes-Benz Stadium, sending Tampa Bay packing with a loss that could have been easily avoided.
But there’s no question there Saints have a lot of fixing to do and are now in at least a temporary state of transition at one of the most important positions in football.
If New Orleans is able to bounce back or if they continue to head down the wrong path on what would be a four-game losing streak remains be seen.
The Saints and the Buccaneers are set to kick off at Noon CT/1 p.m. ET at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday.
This week, the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup Fall continues in Ivins, Utah, at the 2024 Black Desert Championship at Black Desert Resort.
The rank-and-file field set to take on this Tom Weiskopf design includes Keith Mitchell, Seamus Power, Beau Hossler, Lucas Glover, Harris English and Daniel Berger. Mitchell, the betting favorite at 16/1 (+1600), led last week’s Sanderson Farms Championship through 54 holes but eventually tied for third.
This course is brand new to the Tour, so compiling a betting card will be a bit trickier than normal. We’ll have to focus on recent form and a few other key factors.
This week’s winner will head home with $1.35 million of the $7.5 million purse.
Golf course
Black Desert Resort | Par 71 | 7,371 yards
No. 1 at Black Desert Resort in Utah (Photo: Jason Lusk/Golfweek)
Black Desert Championship betting odds
Player
Odds
Player
Odds
Keith Mitchell
(+1600)
Andrew Novak
(+3500)
Seamus Power
(+2500)
Ryan Fox
(+3500)
Kurt Kitayama
(+2500)
Patrick Rodgers
(+3500)
Beau Hossler
(+2800)
J.J. Spaun
(+3500)
Erik van Rooyen
(+3000)
Michael Thorbjornsen
(+4000)
Chris Kirk
(+3000)
Mac Meissner
(+4000)
Chan Kim
(+3000)
Lucas Glover
(+4000)
Stephan Jaeger
(+3000)
Harry Hall
(+4500)
Ben Griffin
(+3000)
Harris English
(+4500)
Patrick Fishburn
(+3000)
Doug Ghim
(+4500)
[gambcom-standard rankid=”3413″ ]
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Black Desert Championship picks to win
Patrick Fishburn (30/1)
Patrick Fishburn of Ogden, Utah, tees off at the 1st hole during the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024.
Analysis: Fishburn will feel right at home this week because, well, he will be. Fishburn was born in Ogden, Utah, and graduated from Brigham Young University (BYU).
Before tying for 48th at the Sanderson Farms last week, Fishburn finished solo third at the Procore Championship to open the fall. He’s 16th in total driving on Tour and is coming off a week where he gained strokes with his tee-to-green game.
Lucas Glover (40/1)
Lucas Glover of Jupiter, Fla., watches his ball fly toward the 1st green during the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss., on Sunday, Oct. 6, 2024.
Analysis: Glover has played some great golf across two FedEx Cup Fall starts. At the Procore Championship, Glover tied for 13th, and at last week’s Sanderson Farms, the 44-year-old grabbed a share of third.
Since there’s no course history to rely on, I’m focusing on tee-to-green performance. Last week at The Country Club of Jackson, Glover was eighth in the field in Strokes Gained: Tee-to-Green.
Michael Thorbjornsen (40/1)
Michael Thorbjornsen of Wellesley, Mass., watches his ball shoot down the 1st fairway during the Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Miss., on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. (Photo: Lauren Witte/Clarion Ledger)
Analysis: As a New Englander, it feels right to put Thorbjornsen on the card — he’s from Wellesley, Massachusetts.
Thorbjornsen is coming off a T-8 performance at the Sanderson Farms where he ranked 33rd in SG: Tee-to-Green. Black Desert Resort features bentgrass greens and Thorbjornsen should love that as many New England courses feature the very same.
The Presidents Cup is now in the rearview mirror, and it’s time for the PGA Tour to head to Jackson, Mississippi, for the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship.
International Team member Mackenzie Hughes — the Canadian went 1-3-0 at the biennial bash — is one of the betting favorites at The Country Club of Jackson, sitting at +2200 (22/1). Keith Mitchell is +2000 to win after his 12th-place finish at the Procore Championship last month. He has missed the cut in three straight appearances at the Sanderson Farms.
Other names in the field include Rickie Fowler, Nick Dunlap, Maverick McNealy, Harris English and Matt Kuchar.
Defending champion Luke List has eight missed cuts over his last nine Tour starts.
Golf course
The Country Club of Jackson | Par 72 | 7,461 yards
The 18th fairway at the 2024 Sanderson Farms Championship at the Country Club of Jackson in Jackson, Mississippi.
Course history
Course history at the Country Club of Jackson for the Sanderson Farms Championship
-Includes average finish position and "Strokes Gained" per round in each category since 2015. Players are sorted by SG: Total
Adam Svensson of Canada plays a shot from the fourth tee during a practice round prior to the Rocket Mortgage Classic at Detroit Golf Club on June 26, 2024 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Raj Mehta/Getty Images)
Analysis: Svensson finished the 2024 regular season with a T-7 finish at the Wyndham Championship and tied for 13th at the Procore Championship in September to open the FedEx Cup Fall.
At last year’s Sanderson Farms, Svensson tied for 16th.
Stephan Jaeger (35/1)
Stephan Jaeger watches his shot from the 17th tee during the third round of the RBC Heritage golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports
Analysis: Jaeger captured his first career Tour win earlier this season at the Texas Children’s Houston Open, besting world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler by a shot. The German has had some success at The CC of Jackson over the last three years, finishing T-25 (2023), T-30 (2022) and T-26 (2021).
His elite distance off the tee — 27th in driving distance (308.8) — will come in handy around the John Fought design.
Henrik Norlander (+6000)
Henrik Norlander hits his tee shot on the ninth hole during the first round of the RBC Canadian Open golf tournament. Mandatory Credit: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports
Analysis: Norlander has loved himself some CC of Jackson. He lost in a playoff last year, tied for 24th in 2022 and finished T-4 in 2021 and 2020. So, getting him at 60/1 is a steal.
In early September, Norlander tied for eighth at the DP World Tour’s European Masters. And despite a T-61 finish at the Procore Championship, Norlander played well. A 6-over final round sent him tumbling down the leaderboard.
The New Orleans Saints have a big fan in Rob Gronkowski. The longtime New England Patriots tight end is confident the Saints will rebound from their disappointing performance against the Philadelphia Eagles last week. He expects them to come away with a win on Sunday’s game with the Atlanta Falcons. He knows both teams well after briefly playing with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to close out his career.
“I think the Saints are gonna put it on them,” Gronkowski mused, “I think the Saints, they had a bad loss last week, their offense was kind of down a little bit but they showed they can turn it up in crunch time on that final draft that they had. I think Derek Carr and Alvin Kamara, they’re going to turn it up. They’re gonna hit that switch again and they’re gonna down there and they’re gonna make some plays. The deep ball is gonna be back in play. I think they’re going to put it on the Falcons.”
He added that this wasn’t meant as a slight to the Falcons — Gronkowski simply believes the Saints are a better team that plays more complimentary football. Between their dynamic offense, shutdown defense, and effective special teams coverage, it’s easy to see why the Saints have won twice as many games as the Falcons this season. Kickoff is just hours away. We’ll find out soon whether Gronkowski made the right pick.
Here are a few picks for the week at Royal Montreal.
The 2024 Presidents Cup gets underway Thursday with a fourball session scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET at Royal Montreal Golf Club in Quebec, Canada. Jim Furyk will lead Team USA, while Canadian Mike Weir is set to captain the Internationals in his home country.
Some of the big names on the American side include world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa. For the Internationals, they’ll lean on veterans Adam Scott, Jason Day and Hideki Matsuyama while boasting young stars Tom Kim and Min Woo Lee.
Team USA leads the all-time series at 12-1-1 and hopes to once again raise the Cup coming Sunday afternoon.
Scottie Scheffler of the U.S. Team warms up on the range prior to the 2024 Presidents Cup at The Royal Montreal Golf Club on September 24, 2024 in Montreal, Quebec. (Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
Presidents Cup teams
Team USA
International Team
Scottie Scheffler
Hideki Matsuyama
Xander Schauffele
Sungjae Im
Collin Morikawa
Adam Scott
Wyndham Clark
Tom Kim
Patrick Cantlay
Jason Day
Sahith Theegala
Byeong Hun An
Keegan Bradley
Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Sam Burns
Corey Conners
Tony Finau
Mackenzie Hughes
Brian Harman
Si Woo Kim
Russell Henley
Min Woo Lee
Max Homa
Taylor Pendrith
Presidents Cup format, schedule
Thursday: Fourball (best ball). The first tee time is scheduled for 11:35 a.m. ET.
Friday: Foursomes (alternate shot). The first tee time is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
Saturday: Fourball in the morning, starting at 7:02 a.m. ET. Foursomes in the afternoon, starting at 1:40 p.m. ET.
Sunday: Singles. The first tee time is scheduled for 12:02 p.m. ET.
Presidents Cup odds
Unsurprisingly, especially when you take into account the all-time record, Team USA is -250 to win, with the Internationals sitting at +275. A tie is +1200.
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Presidents Cup picks
Team USA golfer Sam Burns celebrates winning the 17th hole during the four-ball match play of the Presidents Cup golf tournament at Quail Hollow Club. Mandatory Credit: Peter Casey-USA TODAY Sports
Pick: Sam Burns, top Team USA scorer (+750), top captain’s pick (+210)
Take: Let’s start the card with some value. Burns didn’t win a match two years ago at Quail Hollow, going 0-3-2. However, I think it’s time Burns gets some payback.
He enters the Presidents Cup in fantastic form. Over his last four starts, he’s finished T-12 (3M Open), T-5 (FedEx St. Jude Championship), T-2 (BMW Championship) and T-12 Tour Championship.
In these match-play competitions, it’s all about making putts. Burns ranked 15th in Strokes Gained: Putting on the PGA Tour this season.
Tom Kim of South Korea and the International Team reacts after winning the 11th hole during Saturday morning foursomes on day three of the 2022 Presidents Cup at Quail Hollow Country Club on September 24, 2022 in Charlotte, North Carolina. (Photo by Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
Pick: Tom Kim, top International point scorer (+700)
Take: Some players are born for these team competitions, and I think Tom Kim is one of those guys. The show he put on at Quail Hollow two years ago was his “Hello, world” moment and I think he keeps it going at Royal Montreal.
When his putter gets hot, he can pour them in from all over the place and his tee-to-green game is consistently a strength.
Sahith Theegala of the United States hits his tee shot on the fourth hole during the third round of the Procore Championship 2024 at Silverado Resort on September 14, 2024 in Napa, California. (Photo by Eakin Howard/Getty Images)
Pick: Sahith Thegala, top USA rookie (+250)
Take: Like Kim, I think Theegala has the personality to thrive in this team environment. Plus, he’s coming off a stellar performance at the Tour Championship (third) and most recently tied for seventh at the Procore Championship.
The good news? Almost two-thirds of experts are picking the Saints to beat the Eagles in Week 3. The bad news? They were almost all wrong about the Saints in Week 2:
Beating the snot out of the Dallas Cowboys helped the New Orleans Saints win over a lot of doubters, but they don’t have everyone on their side just yet. According to surveying done by Pickwatch, about 37% of former players, media analysts, national writers, and other experts like the Philadelphia Eagles to pull off a road win at the Caesars Superdome on Sunday. Roughly 63% picked the Saints on Friday.
So that’s more than one-third of the football cognoscenti picking against the Saints. New Orleans is slightly favored in this game but it’s understandable to still see so many questions being raised about them. They’re the highest-scoring offense in the league, having proven those experts wrong one week ago, but how real is this resurgence? The last two years with Dennis Allen at head coach could be meaningful than their last two games.
Which means the mission is the same as it ever was: Prove these doubters wrong. The Eagles were a trendy preseason Super Bowl pick and their uneven 1-1 start has left them looking vulnerable. The Saints could stick a fork in them with another dominant win this Sunday.
You figure New Orleans is bound to slow down sooner or later. Klint Kubiak’s offense is new and teams don’t have much film to study on it just yet. They may have a favorable strength of schedule but at some point teams are going to start keying in on Kubiak’s tendencies and adjusting accordingly. That could start as soon as this week. The Eagles aren’t an opponent they can take lightly.
The New Orleans Saints added even more firepower to their offense in this 2025 mock draft. Michigan tight end Colston Loveland could be a major upgrade:
The New Orleans Saints have gotten off to a hot start in 2024, but we added even more firepower to their offense in this 2025 mock draft.
We used the PFF mock draft simulator and the 2025 draft order determined according to Tankathon (which had the Saints picking at No. 28 overall). And given the options available when the computer put us on the clock, we decided that Michigan tight end Colston Loveland could be a major upgrade.
A tight end could be in the cards for next year’s draft. The Saints would have seriously considered taking former Georgia tight end Brock Bowers had he made it to their pick this year, but they have to be pleased with what Taliese Fuaga has done for them instead.
Let’s take stock of the position. Foster Moreau is a good player but he has some limitations as a receiver. Juwan Johnson has been in and out of the doghouse with the coaching staff and he missed the offseason with a foot injury, which led to a reduced role in Klint Kubiak’s offense. He’s also going to be a free agent in 2025. Dallin Holker is an unproven rookie, and Taysom Hill splits too much time elsewhere to really be considered a tight end.
Which brings us to Loveland. He’s one of the youngest players eligible for the Class of 2025 (he’ll turn 21 a few weeks before the draft) but he’s already played a lot of snaps at a blueblood program. Loveland has run almost as many routes (527) as blocks he’s thrown (546) for the Wolverines, but he’s regarded as a high-upside receiver first and foremost. It’s important for the Saints’ tight ends to block well but so long as he’s willing to improve, they can work with him. It’s worth mentioning that Loveland is currently dealing with a minor injury but it isn’t believed to be a long-term concern.
And there aren’t many guys his size who move as smoothly as he does. Loveland is listed at 6-foot-5 and 245 pounds but he’s already caught 80 passes for 1,071 yards in a run-first offense. He’s got nimble feet (averaging a solid 5.4 yards after the catch per reception) and good play strength on contested catches (having won 9 of his 17 targets, per Pro Football Focus charting). He’s the consensus TE1 in this upcoming draft class for good reasons.
So the Saints could have a need at tight end, and he could be available. Derek Carr is playing well enough to keep them from looking at early-round quarterbacks next year. The offensive line is always possibility, especially at left guard, and there’s also a chance they could draft a running back given Alvin Kamara’s contract situation; Boise State stud Ashton Jeanty was someone on our radar in this mock draft but he didn’t make it to the end of Round 1.
We also can’t rule out defensive end (if Chase Young doesn’t re-sign) or cornerback (should Paulson Adebo or Marshon Lattimore leave the team). Safety is a possibility, too, considering Tyrann Mathieu’s age. There’s a lot to like about the Saints’ 2-0 start. That doesn’t mean they can’t improve. They’ll have work to do in the offseason like everyone else and it’s worth taking time to explore draft scenarios like this to get an idea of how they could get better in the spring.
The Saints picked Tetairoa McMillan to upgrade the receiving corps in this 2025 mock draft, complimenting Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed:
The New Orleans Saints’ receiving corps is currently led by Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. With Shaheed’s extension, that should remain the same through at least 2025. Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski would like to add one more receiver to the mix in his 2025 mock draft.
In this projection, the Saints used the 8th overall pick to select Tetairoa McMillan. The Arizona wide receiver provides a simple quality neither of the lead receivers possess: size. Here’s why Sobleski argues McMillan should be a top-10 pick:
The Saints can maximize Carr’s remaining time by surrounding him with the best possible talent. Arizona’s Tetairoa McMillan can provide a Marques Colston-esque target. McMillan is a 6’5″ receiver who should fit in nicely alongside the smaller Chris Olave and speedy Rashid Shaheed.
McMillan does still provide a vertical threat with his speed and ability to track the ball in flight, but his height could easily allow him to be New Orleans’ go-to receiver for contested catches as a rookie. Olave and Shaheed are both just six feet tall, so he’d have a five-inch advantage over his running mates.
A.T. Perry could make this pick less likely with a strong Year 2. He’s the same height as McMillan and is only five pounds lighter. But he’ll need to do more than catch a dozen passes like we saw last season.
However, wide receiver doesn’t feel like the most likely pick if the Saints land inside the top 10. Quarterback feels like the appropriate selection in this situation. Sobleski suggested Colorado star Shedeur Sanders as another fit for the team, though Sanders was gone in this mock draft, so Sobleski went with a hypothetical in which the Saints kept Derek Carr for one more year. Would fans accept that after two seasons without a playoff berth?
The free agency and draft additions may not have made the most noise, but they could still be impact moves for the Saints next season:
After going over the New Orleans Saints best offseason additions, one thing became abundantly clear. The Saints’ biggest acquisitions are under-the-radar moves with a high ceiling for the team. Taliese Fuaga, Willie Gay Jr., Kool-Aid McKinstry and Chase Young all fall into this category
There can be an argument made against Fuaga and McKinstry. Fuaga was a first-round pick, but he was smothered underneath some of the bigger name offensive tackles drafted ahead of him. Still, he’s a great fit in the system and has the potential to be a cornerstone of the offensive line.
McKinstry comes from Alabama, but he wasn’t even the first cornerback selected from his team. He was also drafted in the second round to a team with two clear starters at the position. He is in position to be a starter in 2025 at a premium position. When NFL analysts had time to look back at how teams valued players after the draft, neither McKinstry nor Fuaga made it to New Orleans in hypothetical do-overs.
The Saints also picked up two more defensive playmakers in free agency. For different reasons, the signings of Young and Gay flew under the radar. Young is talented but he is at a crossroads in his career. He has to deliver on the promise in his athletic potential. If he does, the Saints could have a more productive and faster pass rush in 2024.
Gay also brings speed to the defense, best used against the pass. At the second level, it’ll help neutralize dump off passes to the flats. The lack of defensive speed makes these 3-yard gains become explosive plays. The Saints’ heavy man scheme opens them up to this, but Gay’s speed will help in these situations when the secondary’s back is turned.
The Saints reopened their Ohio State pipeline in this way-too-early 2025 mock draft, but would they really pass on every first-round QB to do it?
It’s too early to seriously predict which players might be picked in the 2025 NFL draft, but the event draws interest year-round and speculation won’t slow down just because we’re in a quiet stretch on the calendar.
The latest way-too-soon 2025 mock draft comes from Curt Popejoy over at Draft Wire. While the New Orleans Saints have a solid position at No. 9 (which would be the payoff for struggling through a hard-to-watch season with fewer wins than losses), in this projection New Orleans passed on every quarterback in the draft. The first passer, Georgia’s Carson Beck, wasn’t drafted until No. 16.
For all the talk about next year’s class being better (which is a popular draft narrative every year, whether it’s true or not) there’s a real possibility the Saints could be stuck with mediocrity under center. If the Saints are bad enough to be picking this high, it’s because Derek Carr is playing poorly enough to be replaced.
Instead of drafting Beck or any other quarterback to replace Derek Carr, the Saints started this mock draft by spending the ninth overall pick on his Georgia teammate: left tackle Earnest Greene III. That pick is easy to understand. New Orleans has struggled to get much out of Trevor Penning after drafting him in 2022’s first round, and he’s now moving to right tackle while their 2024 first rounder, Taliese Fuaga, is being asked to play on the left side. If Penning is a total bust and Fuaga has to move back to his college position, it makes sense to draft a true left tackle to man that spot. Maybe the vision is for Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener to push Carr for the starting gig in 2025.
While that first-round pick makes plenty of sense, it’s easier to get excited about the Saints’ haul in Round 2. They selected Ohio State running back TreVeyon Henderson at No. 41 overall, making him the sixth running back to be picked in the first two rounds. That would be a huge shift after just one running back was drafted in that range this year.
Henderson has been a big-play threat at Ohio State, scoring 32 touchdown runs while picking up 10 or more yards on 71 of his 445 career rushing attempts. He’s averaged an impressive 6.2 yards per carry with the Buckeyes. There’s a real possibility that Alvin Kamara won’t be on the team next year (between his contract status and ) so the Saints could be on the lookout for a new lead running back. That’s the vision for Kendre Miller but he needs to prove he can handle that kind of workload after injuries interrupted his rookie year. Either way, someone like Henderson could be on their radar in 2025.
