Saints Predicted to Land 26-Year-Old Star LB From Patriots

The Saints need to be aggressive in free agency to upgrade their roster with young talent...

Feb 8, 2026; Santa Clara, CA, USA; Detailed view of a New England Patriots helmet during Super Bowl LX at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images | Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints took a few big strides toward their future last offseason. After losing Derek Carr, the team seemingly had no direction going forward. But they took to the 2025 NFL Draft and landed franchise offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. in the first round and quarterback Tyler Shough in the second round.

As a result, the rebuild has been kickstarted in a huge way, as Shough looks much better than anybody anticipated. As a result, the Saints could be aggressive after young talent this offseason. It's important to differentiate that the Saints should be pursuing young talent in trades and free agency, as adding a bunch of 30-year-old veterans to the roster wouldn't fit their window of winning.

Either way, it should be expected that the Saints will dive into free agency to find some answers to help their defense.

John Sigler of Saints Wire recently predicted the Saints would go into free agency and sign edge rusher K'Lavon Chaisson away from the New England Patriots this offseason.

K'Lavon Chaisson is the perfect edge rusher to add to the Saints defense

Jan 11, 2026; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots linebacker K'Lavon Chaisson (44) jogs off the field after defeating the Los Angeles Chargers in an AFC Wild Card Round game at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

"If there's another time to wind up for a big swing, it's on a 26-year old former first-round pick who had 10.5 sacks and 70-plus pressures last year," Sigler wrote. "With Jordan probably returning on a reasonable one-year deal (think $7 million in 2026) while both Young and Granderson are free agents after 2027, it's worth investing in another young pass rusher. Would a three-year, $36 million offer get it done?"

Chaisson would check all the boxes for the Saints.

He's young enough to stick around for five to seven years, which should allow the Saints rebuild to finish up and end up with them back in the playoffs. He's also talented and coming off the best season of his career with the Patriots. Chaisson emerged as a serious talent for the Patriots and helped turn their defense around in a big way.

He's not going to be the most expensive edge rusher on the market, so the Saints should be willing to take a shot. In the short term, he's a solid player to add to the unit. In the long term, he's the perfect solution when Cameron Jordan retires or the Saints lose a player or two in free agency.