Three Saints players who could breakout in 2024

The New Orleans Saints have already begun their offseason training and are working towards a much better result than their 9-8 record last season. While there are a few new pieces, their roster will look largely the same as last year, so they need to have a few guys step up in order for them to take that next step towards the playoffs. Luckily, I think there are quite a few guys who have a really good chance of breaking out this season, but we’ll see if they can do enough to push them over the hump.

With all that said, let’s get into my top-three breakout candidates.

HM. Rashid Shaheed – WR

I’m putting Rashid Shaheed as an honorable mention because he already ‘broke out’ last year, but I think he could be in for a monster season. He’s going to be the Bonafide WR2 this year, and I think Klint Kubiak is going to use him in a Deebo Samuel-esque role. I think they’re going to be very creative with his speed and getting him the ball in space, but he’ll also bring down a lot of deep shots as well.

1. A.T. Perry – WR

For my first real breakout player, I’m going with another WR in A.T. Perry. The Saints got a steal when they selected Perry in the sixth round. He’s crazy talented and has above-average height for a receiver, and towards the end of the year, he showed why they picked him.

Perry finished the season with 12 catches for 246 yards (20.5 YPR) and four touchdowns, but every time he touched the ball it felt like it was a big play. Now, with Michael Thomas gone and another full offseason to build a connection with Derek Carr, I think he’s ready to breakout. He might not be a 100 catch, 1,000-yard receiver, but he should continue to provide them with a few explosive plays every game as he compliments Chris Olave and Shaheed.

2. Jordan Howden – S

One of my favorite draftees from last year, Jordan Howden, had a solid rookie season, but is now expected to take over as the starting safety next to Tyrann Mathieu after Marcus Maye’s departure (barring any free agent signings).

Last year, Howden totaled 43 tackles, five pass breakups and one sack in his 569 snaps. Despite playing 343 snaps in coverage, Howden wasn’t picked on much, only being targeted 20 times and surrendering 14 catches for 157 yards. I think, as the season went along, he only got better and better (over the last four games, he allowed 26 receiving yards in 115 coverage snaps), and with another full offseason with Dennis Allen, Tyrann Mathieu and others coaching him up, he should come out and have a breakout season in 2024.

3. Bryan Bresee – DT

Most of you are probably thinking that Bresee already broke out because he had a very strong rookie season, but I think his stock could go to the moon this year, so he still cracks this list.

Bresee was the Saints first round selection in 2023, but he didn’t play very much in college due to injury and personal reasons, so he flew a bit under the radar in the draft process. He had a very good rookie season, totaling 24 tackles, 31 pressures and 4.5 sacks, but now that he’ll likely be the Bonafide DT1 and have another offseason to get bigger and stronger, I think he could be one of the best interior defenders in the NFL.

He’s special at rushing the passer but needs to get better in the run game. I think they know that that’s an area he needs to improve, so he’ll work on it heavily during the offseason. If he can put up another 30+ pressure, 5 sacks season while becoming a solid run defender, the Saints will have one of the best DT’s in the league on their hands.