The Saints went through the offseason making major investments around rising starting quarterback Tyler Shough, but one of their biggest investments came along the offensive line. If the Saints want to have more success and improve upon the way they closed out the 2025 season, it has to start with the group controlling the line of scrimmage. The Saints have invested a great deal of high-end draft capital into the offensive line over the past several seasons. They have finally answered the questions at both tackle spots and have solidified the center position with Erik McCoy. Now, however, McCoy enters his eighth season with questions of his own. Can the veteran center make it through an entire season healthy? Alongside McCoy, the Saints had questions at both guard positions, but the free-agent acquisition of David Edwards answers one of those concerns. Edwards was the top available offensive lineman in free agency this year and immediately solidifies the left guard spot. That leaves right guard as the final position up for grabs, currently occupied by veteran Cesar Ruiz. Ruiz is entering the seventh year of his career after being selected in the first round of the 2020 NFL Draft out of Michigan as a center. It was a questionable selection at the time, considering the Saints had drafted McCoy in the second round just one year earlier. Despite not having a first-round pick in 2019, McCoy stepped in as a rookie and played exceptionally well. This is a contract year for Ruiz, so he must prove that he is a dependable guard capable of holding onto his starting job. However, the leash on that position may have gotten much shorter. The Saints used a fourth-round pick in this year's draft on Jeremiah Wright, a road-grading offensive guard with outstanding size, athleticism, and strength. Wright still has areas of his game that need refinement, but through training camp and the preseason, he could push Ruiz to either elevate his play or lose the starting job altogether. If either of those scenarios plays out, the Saints will have a significantly improved offensive line, and that should translate into a much better offense overall. Follow AP on X , as well as his podcast Timeouts & Tangents

Adding Etienne Jr. and keeping everyone healthy will immediately improve the running back room.

Saints QB Room will be one of the better position groups on the team.

When Lane Kiffin arrived in Baton Rouge at the end of 2025, he came with the title of “Portal King.” He earned this name by consistently evaluating and recruiting high-level talent from the transfer portal and bringing them to Oxford to play for Ole Miss. Many expected that the level of talent Kiffin could acquire through the portal would take another step forward once he became the head coach at LSU. LSU has always been a school with a strong recruiting base, with one of its greatest advantages being that it is the only Power Four program in the state. Kiffin capitalized on that immediately when the portal opened to start 2026. Lane Kiffin and LSU secured the No. 1-ranked transfer portal class this offseason, landing several players ranked No. 1 at their respective positions. What many did not expect, however, was Kiffin elevating his high school recruiting to this level. Opportunity can breed success when it is fully embraced. At Ole Miss, the opportunity to consistently recruit elite in-state talent was not as strong as it is in Louisiana. When Kiffin stepped off the plane, his first meetings were with the No. 1 overall player in the nation, Lamar Brown, who attended a high school just minutes from LSU’s campus. Next was the No. 1 defensive tackle in the country, Richard Anderson, who is only about an hour away to the east on I-10. And the 2027 class in Louisiana is not slowing down either. The Tigers currently hold the No. 7-ranked recruiting class for 2027 with only five commitments so far—and three of those players are from Louisiana. There is still plenty of time left in the cycle. Kiffin and LSU are actively pursuing several elite prospects, including five-star wide receiver and No. 1 overall WR Easton Royal, who plays at Brother Martin in New Orleans—just about an hour from Baton Rouge. There is still a long way to go until signing day in December, but there should be little doubt that if Kiffin can push this class into the top three and follow it up with another top-10 transfer portal class at the end of the year, he will have a strong case to be considered the current King of Recruiting. Make sure to follow Anthony Parker on X

At the start of the transfer portal, it was widely rumored that LSU was going to go after the top two quarterbacks: Sam Leavitt and Brendan Sorsby. The pursuit of Sorsby was very significant, as LSU made a strong push to land the incoming transfer from the University of Cincinnati. Sorsby was widely considered all but a shoo-in to land at Texas Tech, but when you look at what he is able to do on the football field, it’s no question why a Lane Kiffin-led LSU would have been in hot pursuit. Sorsby is a 6’3”, 235-pound quarterback who threw for 2,800 yards, 27 touchdowns, and only five interceptions. In addition to that, he rushed for 580 yards and nine touchdowns on 100 attempts. Sorsby has one year of eligibility remaining, and many have him projected as a first-round pick entering this season. He visited Texas Tech first, but then made his way to Baton Rouge. His visit to LSU was met with mixed emotions. Some believed he was only there out of respect for giving Lane Kiffin his word that he would visit, while others thought he was seriously considering committing. It ultimately turned out that the former was true—and that ended up being the best outcome for all parties involved. LSU was able to land Sam Leavitt to step in as QB1, while Sorsby returned closer to home to play for Texas Tech. The intriguing part of all of this is that everyone knew Leavitt would face adversity this offseason, but no one expected Sorsby to deal with much beyond adjusting to a new environment. However, earlier this week, that changed dramatically. News broke on Monday that Brendan Sorsby would be checking himself into a facility to seek help for a gambling problem. A gambling addiction is a serious issue for anyone to deal with, so he deserves credit for acknowledging it and taking steps to get help. Unfortunately, that is not the only concern. Reports indicate that Sorsby was gambling while enrolled in school and playing football, including betting on a team he played for. Each of these actions is a major violation on its own, and considering they occurred simultaneously, it is fair to question whether he will be able to play this upcoming season. As of now, Sorsby has hired Jeffrey Kessler to represent him in an effort to maintain his eligibility. This remains an ongoing investigation, and no official determination has been made regarding his status. This situation would have dominated headlines for weeks had he been LSU’s starting quarterback. With LSU having one of the most polarizing head coaches in sports right now, the added layer of a QB potentially facing a suspension during Lane Kiffin’s inaugural season would have created a feeding frenzy among opposing fan bases and media. In that sense, LSU was fortunate to avoid this situation. It would have been a significant PR issue and a major setback for Kiffin’s first season, especially after the work he and his staff put in during the transfer portal and spring. Now, with Sam Leavitt paired with Lane Kiffin and the weapons LSU has assembled, he has the potential to make a legitimate run at a Heisman-caliber season. In comparison, having a quarterback managing a repaired foot now looks like a much more manageable situation—and perhaps even a blessing—given everything that has come to light. Make sure to follow Anthony Parker on X