We are proud to be among the first, if not the first, to publish full projections for the upcoming season, going live just days after the Super Bowl. Publishing detailed projections in early February comes with trade-offs, not the least of which is a near-total lack of clarity on how free agency, cap transactions, and the NFL draft will reshape rosters.
We've been updating our projections in near real time, including during the recent onslaught of free-agent transactions. This version will remain largely stable until we can layer in the April NFL draft, but stable projections don't mean settled debates.
We have a staff of sharp analysts with sharp takes of their own, so I thought it would be worthwhile to solicit their views on the key coin-toss situations that will shape each team's outlook in the coming months. These are important questions where reasonable, informed people can credibly land in very different places. I asked my colleagues to weigh in with one assumption: they were answering strictly through the lens of a standard 0.5-PPR redraft league.
New Orleans Saints Coin-Toss Questions
- Was Shough QB12 Pace in 2025 a Fluke or the Real Deal?
- Etienne: Does It Matter If Kamara Is a Saint?
- Is Johnson Finally a Must-Draft Tight End?
- Can You Trust Olave as Your WR1?
Juwan Johnson was TE9 last year despite having a very crowded tight end room, including do-it-all Taysom Hill. The depth chart is considerably cleaner this year, yet Johnson isn't being viewed as a Top-12 tight end. Where do you stand on the veteran?
Jeff Haseley: I'm a fan of Juwan Johnson. The cleaner depth chart is a huge plus. I rank him as a top-12 to top-15 tight end. He's a great value pick right now because the industry hasn't caught up to his role in the Moore offense.
Andy Hicks: Johnson had his best year as a receiver in the Saints' new offense. He certainly should be ranked as a borderline TE1. He finished third in receiving yards and fifth in receptions at the position. His weakness was a lack of touchdowns. Unless New Orleans finds a new weapon in the next month, Johnson is the clear No. 2 target on the team and has a very high floor.
Maurile Tremblay: I'm a little more bullish than the market, but only into the back-end TE1 range. I'd slot Johnson around TE10–12. Tight ends coach Chase Haslett is back, quarterback Tyler Shough stabilized the offense, and Johnson is still the starter. The reason I wouldn't push him much higher is that Taysom Hill wasn't fully integrated anyway, and Noah Fant is there to soak up some complementary work.
