The New Orleans Saints invested heavily in the wide receiver position this offseason, building a group with great depth. With a multitude of skill sets, the room is set to be an asset for the team this upcoming season.
2024 was a rough year for Saints wide receivers, featuring multiple impactful injuries. Last year, the team’s leading wideout was Chris Olave with only 400 receiving yards, playing in just eight games. The unit is healthy heading into the new campaign, hoping to turn things around.
Head coach Kellen Moore has dealt with wide receiver groups of all shapes and sizes, but feels confident with what’s brewing in New Orleans. Despite not having any clear-cut superstars in the group, the amount of solid pieces excites the first-year coach.
“I do think the depth is [going to] be really valuable for us as the season goes on,” Moore said. “We’ve got eight guys currently in the receiver room, and all those guys are [going to] be playing on Sundays. We’re [going to] feel great about all eight of them.”
Health Is Wealth
The aforementioned Olave has shown the ability to be a wide receiver one, but missed time last season due to injury. The 25-year-old is set to go for Week 1, bringing a player capable of producing at all levels on the outside.
If Olave can stay on the field, he’s proven he can produce with the best receivers in the league. Through the first two years of his career, the wideout eclipsed 1,000 yards both seasons. He’s one of multiple members of the unit with truly game-breaking speed.
“[The speed] is certainly something we obviously have to lean into,” Moore said. “As we build our plans in the coming weeks, certainly something I think that’s popped up throughout training camp, those guys having the ability to get downfield, and that’s something we’ll have to utilize.”
Rashid Shaheed also missed the majority of the 2024 season, but returns healthy this year, looking to bounce back. The 26-year-old has great skills as a deep threat, keeping opposing defenses honest. In 2023, Shaheed appeared in 15 games, tallying 719 receiving yards.
New Exciting Additions
Veteran Brandin Cooks makes his return to the Saints’ wide receiver room for the first time since 2016. The 31-year-old has played for four other teams in between both stints in New Orleans, with some juice still left in the tank. With six seasons over 1,000 yards, Cooks could be a huge help in an otherwise young group of pass-catchers.
Late in the offseason, the Saints decided to make two more additions at wide receiver. The first was Devaughn Vele, being traded over from the Denver Broncos. The 27-year-old was a seventh-round pick in the 2024 draft, and tallied 475 yards during his rookie year.
Trey Palmer was the team’s most recent addition, coming over from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers through waivers. The 2023 sixth-round pick is entering his third season at 24 years old, and has blazing speed. He has a total of 557 yards and four touchdowns across two years.
“Everybody’s fast, it’s [going to] be hard to cover all of us at the same time,” Palmer said. “Somebody’s [going to] be open.”
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