There’s been ample opportunity to say the words “end of an era” for the New Orleans Saints in the past half decade.
In a span of roughly the past five seasons Saints fans have said goodbye to Drew Brees and Sean Payton. They saw anyone with links to the Super Bowl season retire or leave town, and piece by piece all the key members of the highly successful 2017-’20 era do the same. That group included Michael Thomas, Marshon Lattimore, Ryan Ramczyk, Terron Armstead -- name an impact player, odds are they aren’t in the building anymore.
But even with all that turnover, the 2026 offseason has a ring of finality to it – at least for now. Demario Davis has already hit the road for another reunion with the New York Jets. Cam Jordan is a free agent and intends to play at least one more season, but there’s been little movement indicating Year 16 in New Orleans is imminent. Then there’s Alvin Kamara, who remains on the roster but faces a murky outlook with the team signing RB Travis Etienne to a big-money deal.
There’s a real possibility that none of those players are on the roster in 2026, meaning the lone, legitimate link to the Drew Brees era is long snapper Zach Wood.
That reality would mean a few things as new head coach Kellen Moore heads into Year 2, and the biggest question of all might be, who emerges as the team leaders in the new era?
We broke down that question and predicted the 2026 captains in the latest edition of Inside Black & Gold. Listen below, and scroll downpage for a full breakdown. Can't see the embed? Click here.
For perspective, this was the list of team captains from the 2025 season:
Special teams
- LS Zach Wood
- K Blake Grupe
Offense
- RB Alvin Kamara
- WR Brandin Cooks
- C Erik McCoy
Defense
- LB Demario Davis
- DE Cam Jordan
- S Justin Reid
As you can see, three of those names (Grupe, Davis and Cooks) are definitely off the roster. Two others (Jordan and Kamara) face uncertainty at best. Assuming Jordan and Kamara don’t return, the incumbents stay in those roles and there are the same numbers split across the three phases, let’s predict who steps into those roles next season.
* = incumbent captains remaining in role
SPECIAL TEAMS
- LS Zach Wood*
- CB Isaac Yiadom
Why: This was a tough one, but I do think the ideal scenario is that you have one specialists captain (Wood) and the other be a coverage captain. Yiadom has been a starting CB for the Saints in the past, but going forward he'll be depth and a special teams ace -- and a good one, I might add. He's a 9-year NFL veteran and this will be his fourth season with the Saints, broken up with a 1-year stint with the 49ers. This one makes sense to me.
OFFENSE
- C Erik McCoy*
- QB Tyler Shough
Why: This is the easiest one to pick and I probably don’t need to explain why. The Saints were the lone NFL team that select season-long captains not to have a QB in that group. The reason is simple enough to understand, even if the team wouldn’t admit it. There was a QB competition won by Spencer Rattler, but it was evident to anyone watching that there was a high percentage he wasn’t the starter by the end of the year. Could you imagine if the team not only had to bench Spencer, but then have the backup QB be a team captain – or even go through the show of changing it midseason? In this case there’s no question. Shough is the guy. He’s got leadership traits that can bring similar energy out in others around him. Winning and a strong culture established by the most important player on the field can go a long way.
- WR Chris Olave
Why: This is a tough one and might be wishful thinking by me, but I just think that if you’re a player who expects to land a massive contract extension, you also have to be willing to become a team leader, even if that’s outside your comfort zone. If Olave is the highest-paid player on the team, responsibility follows. The interesting scenario would be if Kamara returns, does he continue to be a captain even if he’s no longer the featured player in the backfield?
Other candidates: TE Juwan Johnson, RB Travis Etienne
DEFENSE
S Justin Reid*
LB Kaden Elliss
Why: It’s uncommon to see a player sign as a free agent and immediately become a team captain, but it does happen. Last year alone we saw it occur with both Reid and Cooks. I’d say Elliss’s situation is closer to Cooks considering this isn’t his first time in a Saints uniform. Elliss also served as a Falcons team captain in 2025, so he does know what the role entails. The other name in the linebacker room to watch would be Pete Werner, but he’s never seemed – at least outwardly – to be the team captain type. I wouldn’t be against Werner landing the captain role, because it’d be an indicator that he’s doing a lot in the leadership department behind the scenes that we don’t necessarily see.
DE Chase Young
Why: There are a few options here, but I put Chase in the same boat as Olave. You are a star player. You are paid like a star player. You get the responsibilities of a star player. Much like Olave this might be outside of his comfort zone. The caveat for this one would be that if Cam does return, he’s a no-doubt team captain and this isn’t even really a discussion.
Other candidates: Pete Werner, Davon Godchaux
Captains are chosen by a team vote prior to the start of the regular season.
We predict team captains for 2026. Hear more breakdowns in the audio below.
