The New Orleans Saints have invested on offense significantly this offseason, but none of those additions have been more intriguing than what they've shown at the tight end position.
Brought to you by TRANESOUTH: It's hard to stop a Tranewww.audacy.comThe Saints ran out 11 personnel (1 RB, 1 TE, 3 WRs) at the fourth-highest rate in the league during the 2025 season. That was more by necessity by design. In Year 2 with Kellen Moore at the helm the Saints signed TE Noah Fant, and on Friday they invested the No. 73 pick in Georgia's Oscar Delp, who will join a group headlined by Juwan Johnson. As WWL's Deuce McAllister explained during our Draft Fest coverage, all signs point to a much heavier amount of multi-tight end sets this upcoming season.
“When you look at the Saints and what they want to be or who they want to be, I think you start to the see the makeup offensively," McAllister said. "We can talk about the Eagles and the Lions and Chicago on the 13 personnel, but the Saints can truly go out there and you can get some matchups that you really, really want when you talk about 13 personnel.”
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It would be a bit of a departure from what we've seen from the Saints offense historically, but it would mirror where the league is trending. Getting the bigger bodies on the field puts the defense in a bind. Either they can make the personnel with bigger bodies that have difficulty covering, or they stay with smaller personnel and you have the advantage in the run game. But it's an advantage that can only be unlocked with versatile tight ends who can block well and be weapons in the passing game. That's exactly what the Saints have collected this offseason.
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“I think for the Saints, if you want to be physical up front and I want to create some explosive runs regardless of who is in the backfield," Deuce continued, "you’ve got some of the right athletes to be able to put on the field.”
Delp is an intriguing piece overall. He was lightly used in the pass game at Georgia, but he was productive when targeted and there's clearly some untapped potential. He's also a potential red zone weapon. Nine of his 70 catches went for touchdowns.
Here's Mike Detillier's breakdown: “He’s a really good athlete. He told us the tale about, you know, his dad was recruited, went to Rutgers on a lacrosse scholarship. … Known for his blocking skills, physical player up front, gets a good push on his initial surge, has gotten better in setting up defenders and getting separation downfield, catches the ball clean. I think he is a guy that’ll get better as a receiver. He won the offseason. You think about the last two years he’s caught 41 passes at Georgia. That’s not a ton of catches, but when they threw it to him, he caught it. He’s got strong hands, a lot of will to win and competitive and he’s played on a team, man, them practices are tough at Georgia.”
Mike D gives the green light on the big guy who played under the one and only Pete Jenkins.
— WWL Radio (@WWLAMFM) April 25, 2026
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MORE FROM DRAFT FEST
- Bobby Hebert on DT Christen Miller (No. 42 overall): “Fans sometimes they look at the numbers and the stats and all, if he’s doing the dirty work and helping the other players around him get the production, then you don’t care. You need those kind of guys."
Deuce on Miller: “You just look at it, he’s gonna take on two. Now, the question is, you have that type of size, can you get your pad leverage down and really push the pile back, but you can see him being able to take up some space and have a little bit of rush ability as well in the pass rush.”
