One New Orleans Saints free agent target from every NFC team
· Yahoo Sports
Free agency is rapidly approaching, and the New Orleans Saints will be searching far and wide for new additions -- or at least throughout the NFC. To that end, we've highlighted one free agent to watch from every team in the conference who might fit one of the Saints' needs. Some of them could be starters. Others might be contributors at important positions. A few may not move the needle, but not every team has a class stacked with talent. Let's run through the list.
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Atlanta Falcons: LB Kaden Elliss
Elliss, 31 in July, strung together a couple of good years with the Falcons after not getting much action in New Orleans as a backup. If the Saints don't re-sign Demario Davis, Elliss could be a great successor for his old mentor. He ended the season with 122, 151, and 107 tackles in Atlanta while racking up 12.5 sacks and 32 quarterback hits.
Carolina Panthers: RB Rico Dowdle
Dowdle, 28 when the season starts, rushed for 1,000 yards in each of the last two seasons after spending the first three years of his career as a backup. Kellen Moore and his staff should know him well from their time together on the Dallas Cowboys. While Dowdle isn't a big-play threat (just five runs of 20-plus yards last year) he can effectively move the chains. He's converted a first down 56 times on 79 carries when his team has needed three yards or fewer.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers: TE Cade Otton
Otton, 27 in April, is much of a traditional inline tight end than Juwan Johnson, and while opinions vary on how effective he is as a blocker, he would be an upgrade over Foster Moreau as the Saints' TE2. He has consistently averaged about 60 receptions per year but mainly works as a dumpoff target just pass the line of scrimmage. Tyler Shough could use a surehanded release valve when he's under pressure.
Arizona Cardinals: P Blake Gillikin
Remember him? Gillikin spent his rookie year training under Thomas Morstead, only for the Saints to cut him after a single season. They've had a new punter every year since (going from Gillikin to Lou Hedley to Matthew Hayball and Kai Kroeger). He went on injured reserve after five games but averaged 51.7 yards per punt, most in the NFL, and could be a good option to compete with Kroeger in 2026. Maybe he's fixed what the Saints found lacking before.
Los Angeles Rams: WR TuTu Atwelll
Atwell, 26, hasn't met expectations and ended the year as a healthy scratch in L.A. Maybe a change of scenery could be good for him; the Saints have a couple of guys in similar situations like Ja'Lynn Polk and Trey Palmer in the receiving corps already. Atwell has real speed and could run some of the same routes Rashid Shaheed had last year. The challenge for him is getting open and catching the ball when it's thrown his way.
San Francisco 49ers: WR Jauan Jennings
Jennings, 29 when the season starts, has earned a reputation as one of the NFL's most physical wide receivers. He blocks well and with a lot of effort and wins on a ton of contested catches. It's tough to say how much he'll command on the open market without ever posting a 1,000-yard season but his nine touchdown catches last year will help his case.
Seattle Seahawks: RB Kenneth Walker III
Walker, 25, led a dominant Seattle run game all the way to a Super Bowl win and expects to be the top-paid running back in free agency. It remains to be seen if the Saints are willing to pay what he's earned but they owe it to themselves to at least check in on him. He rushed for 60.4 yards per game last year and had 42 carries of 10 or more yards.
Chicago Bears: WR Olamide Zaccheaus
Zaccheaus, 29 when the season starts, has been a steady part of several different receiving corps the last few years while working as a blocker and third or fourth target in the passing game. He won't be very expensive but would add some missing experience to the Saints offense. He's appeared in 105 regular season games plus half a dozen playoff games.
Detroit Lions: LB Alex Anzalone
Here's another potential homecoming. Anzalone, 31, has made a great career for himself in Detroit since leaving the Saints back in 2021; he's started every game he's played while leading a tough-nosed defense4 that fought hard on every down. It's the same thought as with Kaden Elliss. If Demario Davis leaves in free agency, Anzalone is a three-down veteran who can replace him.
Green Bay Packers: WR Romeo Doubs
Doubs, 26 in April, has gotten better every year he's played in the NFL, and he would be a good compliment for Chris Olave as a slightly larger target (6-foot-2, 204 pounds) with a strong resume. He averaged a smooth 41.1 receiving yards per game while scoring 21 touchdowns across four years in Green Bay. The concern is his injury history. Like Olave, Doubs has missed time with a couple of concussions.
Minnesota Vikings: WR Jalen Nailor
Nailor, 27, has been an effective role player for the Vikings with 47 first downs on 57 catches the last two years (plus 10 touchdowns). He's an underrated deep threat and could be a really nice pickup for the Saints, if the money makes sense. He doesn't add much diversity to the receiving corps' body types at 6-foot and 190 pounds but that didn't stop them from signing Brandin Cooks a year ago. Maybe he reaches a next level with bettter quarterback play.
Dallas Cowboys: LB Jack Sanborn
The Saints could desperately use some linebacker depth behind Pete Werner and Danny Stutsman heading into 2026, given the potential for Demario Davis leaving this spring. Bringing in Jack Sanborn would be a good option to fill that need, as he has proven to be a valuable backup option who can spot-start when needed, and is still on the younger side with a lot to prove.
New York Giants: OL Evan Neal
Neal, 25, lost his 2025 season to a hamstring injury after moving from tackle to guard and is now working with LeCharles Bentley to try and turn his career around. Coincidentally, Bentley started working for the Saints last year as a personnel consultant, so they may have an inside track on Neal's progress. The former seventh overall draft pick wouldn't break the bank and they could do worse to add competition to the group.
Philadelphia Eagles: TE Dallas Goedert
Goedert, 31, isn't the blocker he once was but he's proven he can still make big plays in the passing game. He scored a dozen touchdown catches last season at his highest average depth of target since 2021. The Saints need to get more production out of the tight end position and Goedert could be an effective tag-team partner for Juwan Johnson.
Washington Commanders: K Jake Moody
Moody, 26, ended up in Washington last year after being cut by the 49ers and spending a few weeks with the Chicago Bears practice squad. He had a good day against the Saints in Week 7 where he connected on four field goals from distances of 27, 39, 24, and 33 yards; Blake Grupe missed from 53 yards on the same afternoon. Moody could be exactly the kind of veteran competition the Saints are looking for to push Charlie Smyth.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: One New Orleans Saints free agent target from every NFC team