Anonymous rivals were impressed by Saints' moves in free agency

Spring NFL owners meetings aren't just an opportunity for reporters to sit down with coaches and get their takes on the record after free agency. It's an opportunity for general managers, personnel executives, and many of those same coaches to say what they really think off the record. The Athletic's Mike Sando got a pulse for every team's free agency performance this year, including the New Orleans Saints, and what he shared is a whole lot more optimistic than the latest NFL power rankings might lead you to believe.

“The Saints’ build is impressive, I’ll give them that,” one team executive told The Athletic. “(Travis) Etienne is a fast guy that has juice on that turf. Losing Demario Davis and his leadership is tough. We liked Alontae Taylor as well. Those defensive losses are huge, but they make sense. They are not trying to build around 30-year-olds.”

Davis has already left the team in free agency, and Cameron Jordan may follow him after spending most of the last month weighing his options. This is a younger Saints team than the one we last saw in January. That trend should continue through the 2026 NFL Draft and into the summer as more veterans come to New Orleans for training camp. One older pro the Saints did splurge on was 29-year old left guard David Edwards, but he's playing the best football of his career at a time where many guys at his position tend to peak. Jahri Evans made three Pro Bowls after turning 29.

“They are limited because of the cap, and so you can’t go wrong investing in O-line,” added another executive. “They got younger at running back. Outside of (Chris) Olave, they did not have much speed. Adding (Noah) Fant and Etienne, they definitely got a lot faster. Kaden Elliss is solid.”

A lack of high-end team speed and explosive plays was a big problem for the offense last year, so getting more athletic with Fant as the TE2 instead of Foster Moreau and Etienne replacing Alvin Kamara on top of the depth chart at running back should pay off. At the same time, the Saints took a more forward-thinking approach to their contracts in free agency by avoiding the automatically-voiding "ghost years" they've been known for, which wasn't lost on their competition. One executive said: “They are slowly and steadily getting out of cap hell, and making moves that don’t hamper flexibility is smart."

While the Saints do have to extend Olave's contract (a move which will likely count more than $30 million against the 2027 salary cap, but which could free up resources this year), their cap sheet looks clean. They don't have any dead money on the books next year and would take on, at most, $22.5 million if their deals with Kamara, Davon Godcahux, and Nathan Shepherd run out. That's a pittance compared to the $112.1 million they've set aside as dead money this season. The way things stand right now, the Saints have $76.2 million in cap space next year with the third-most players under contract. A winning season in 2026 could propel them to bigger things in 2027.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Anonymous NFL executives grade 'impressive' Saints free agency class