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The New Orleans Saints are entering a big transition for the franchise during the 2025 NFL season. New Orleans hired Kellen Moore as the team's new head coach earlier this offseason. Moore comes to New Orleans at an interesting time in the team's history. The Saints have a roster loaded up talented veteran players who have been in the organization for years. Unfortunately, the Saints have not surrounded those veterans with enough talented young players to compete in recent seasons.
What's worse, the Saints have never found a replacement for Drew Brees at quarterback. New Orleans took a shot on Tyler Shough during the 2025 NFL Draft. He is currently set to start in Week 1 after Derek Carr's surprise retirement back in May.
The quarterback position really is emblematic for the state of the Saints heading into 2025. New Orleans has needed to find a new identity for years now, and it finally feels like that could happen during the Kellen Moore era.
If that does happen, it will not be without its growing pains.
It is fair to wonder what kinds of changes Kellen Moore could make during his first season in New Orleans. Those changes could even happen before the beginning of the regular season.
Below we will explore two Saints starters who are in danger of losing their starting jobs before the 2025 NFL season.
Should Pete Werner be worried about rookie Danny Stutsman?
Both Pete Werner and Demario Davis now have some new competition at linebacker. Their starting jobs are no longer a sure thing after New Orleans added Danny Stutsman.
The Saints drafted Stutsman in the fourth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Stutsman was a standout linebacker at Oklahoma, logging 376 tackles during his four seasons as a Sooner.
But could he really steal Pete Werner's job before the start of the regular season?
That may be a longshot, but Stutsman is already earning praise after just one preseason game.
“Stutsman finished his first preseason game with three tackles, two of which were solo, in the Saints’ game against the Los Angeles Chargers,” Carson Field wrote on Sports Illustrated. “Stutsman helped stuff a run on a Los Angeles two-point conversion attempt alongside fellow linebacker Chris Rumph II.”
Those are the kinds of plays that can catch the attention of a rebuilding coaching staff.
Stutsman even received comparisons to veteran linebacker Demario Davis after his strong start to training camp.
“With Stutsman having so much on his plate, I’d say he’s handled it really well, and I’d argue he’s been one of the stars of training camp,” Nic Jennings wrote via Canal Street Chronicles. “If he can carry this momentum into the regular season, we might be looking at the potential heir to one of the most prolific defenders in franchise history—not just on the field, but off it as well.”
If Stutsman does not win the starting job by Week 1, his role is likely to increase throughout the regular season until he overtakes Werner.
Jonas Sanker could push Julian Blackmon at free safety
Stutsman is not the only Saints rookie who could steal a starting job before the regular season.
Saints fans should also keep their eyes on rookie safety Jonas Sanker.
The Saints drafted Jonas Sanker in the third round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Sanker has arguably a much better chance of winning a starting job in Week 1 than Stutsman. The situation surrounding New Orleans' safety room is the main reason why.
New Orleans signed Julian Blackmon to a one-year contract at the start of training camp. The Saints originally planned to start veteran Tyrann Mathieu at free safety. However, the safety's surprise retirement announcement forced the Saints to add Blackmon as depth before training camp started.
As the veteran, Blackmon is the starter on paper for the Saints at this point during training camp. However, that could easily change with enough strong practices from Sanker.
Sanker admitted himself that he is still working on learning New Orleans' scheme and building his fundamentals. This could keep him from playing at full speed until he feels more comfortable playing in the NFL. As such, earning a starting job in Week 1 could be tricky.
This assumes that Blackmon will be a better starter in Week 1, which is a reasonable assumption. After all, he started in four out of the last five seasons in Indianapolis.
If there's one saving grace for Sanker, it could be Kellen Moore's willingness to give younger players more reps during a retooling season for the Saints.
