Think back on some of the receiver groups that have taken the field for the New Orleans Saints in recent years.

In Week 18 last season, that group was Kevin Austin, Dante Pettis, Ronnie Bell and Samori Toure (as of this writing: 140 combined career catches).

In Week 16 of the 2024 season, it was Austin, Pettis, Cedrick Wilson and Mason Tipton (267 career catches).

Or just look at the entire 2021 Saints season, when the target share at receiver went, in order: Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harty, Tre’Quan Smith, Kenny Stills, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Chris Hogan, Kevin White and Easop Winston.

Injury played a part in those situations, but it was also representative of how the Saints devoted their roster resources.

This is not meant as a disrespect to those players, but most of them have spent their NFL careers falling into one of three categories: Lurking on the fringes of an NFL roster, playing a small and very specific role or failing to live up to their draft billing.

Since Kellen Moore took over as the Saints head coach, he’s consistently gone about reshaping the wide receiver group in particular, to the point where it now may be the deepest (and potentially best) unit on the roster.

Chris Olave proved he could stay on the field last season and delivered the best campaign of his career. He is now poised to be joined by three rookie draft picks and two players whom the Saints acquired via trade last season but have not yet been able to tap into their full potential.

This has a chance to not only be a very fun group, but one that will not suffer a dramatic drop-off in the event of one (or even two) injuries.

Depth chart (name, height, weight, experience)

• Chris Olave, 6-foot, 187 pounds, 5 years

• Jordyn Tyson, 6-2, 203, R

• Devaughn Vele, 6-5, 210, 3

• Ja’Lynn Polk, 6-1, 203, 3

• Bryce Lance, 6-3, 203, R

• Barion Brown, 5-11, 177, R

• Trey Palmer, 6-1, 190, 4

• Kevin Austin, 6-2, 200, 3

• Ronnie Bell, 6-0, 192, 3

• Mason Tipton, 5-11, 187, 3

• Bub Means, 6-2, 215, 3

• Jalen Moreno-Cropper 6-0, 172, 1

• Brock Rechsteiner, 6-2, 225, R

Numbers to know: 48/660/6

That is Chris Olave’s statistical receiving line in the eight games he played with Tyler Shough as the starting quarterback (Weeks 9 to 17). Each of those numbers (receptions/yards/touchdowns) ranked among the top 10 of NFL wide receivers in that span.

Olave was a good player throughout his 2026 season, but there is no doubt he took things to another level once Shough settled in at quarterback. Each of Olave’s three 100-yard receiving efforts came with Shough under center, including back-to-back 100-yard games in Weeks 16 and 17 before a blood clot ended Olave’s season prematurely.

Hidden in those numbers was an uptick in the amount of downfield targets Olave received after Shough took over.

Through the first eight weeks of the season, Olave averaged 10.2 air yards per target (meaning, on average, the ball traveled 10.2 yards beyond the line of scrimmage before it reached Olave). After Shough took over, that number jumped to 13.3 air yards per target — which would have placed Olave in the top 15 among all NFL pass catchers over the course of a full year.

The lowdown

In a vacuum, the Saints should have one of the most exciting young pass-catching duos in the NFL this season.

Olave is coming off a career-best season in which he hauled in 100 passes, and there is a decent chance he will sign a massive contract extension before the start of the regular season. The Saints paired him with No. 8 overall pick Jordyn Tyson, whom several draft analysts pegged as the best wide receiver in the 2026 draft class.

Their skill sets should pair well together, though that is just a theory. The question for both is a matter of health: Olave is not that far removed from a series of scary concussions that had him contemplating retirement, and Tyson’s collegiate injury history is well-documented.

While those questions aren’t going to go away in the lead-up to the season, there is no question that the Saints are better positioned to navigate an unfortunate injury if it happens.

Shortly before last season began, the Saints made a pair of trades that should be fully realized this year, sending a fourth-round pick to the Denver Broncos for Devaughn Vele and agreeing to a late-round pick swap to acquire Ja’Lynn Polk from the New England Patriots.

It took Vele a long time to be incorporated into the offense — something Moore took the blame for this summer — but once he became involved, Vele showed why he was worth an early Day 3 pick.

From Weeks 13-15, before he suffered a season-ending shoulder injury, Vele hauled in 16 of his 19 targets for 202 yards and a touchdown. Those aren’t huge numbers, but the plays often came in high-leverage moments, accumulating +22 Expected Points Added as a receiver during that stretch. For reference, Olave compiled a +26.7 receiving EPA over the course of his 2025 All-Pro season.

Polk never had a chance to show what he could do in New Orleans — he had season-ending surgery on his shoulder before the Saints traded for him — but the Saints have remained high on him as he recovered.

While Polk did not produce like a second-round pick in his limited exposure in New England (in 15 games as a rookie, he caught just 12 of his 33 targets), he has impressed the Saints’ staff since he was cleared to return to practice. It was a low-risk acquisition that could pay huge dividends if all Polk needed was a change of scenery and an organization that believed in him.

That is likely the top four. It’s a deeper, more well-rounded group than the Saints have had in a while. And it doesn’t include the other two rookies they drafted this year.

Fourth-rounder Bryce Lance still needs some polish, but he may find an early role as a field-stretching vertical threat. He has a wiry build — his listed weight of 203 pounds feels generous — but his blazing 4.34 speed was evident during OTAs and minicamp, and the Saints can use that to their advantage while they develop the other parts of his game.

The path is a little less clear for Barion Brown, whose 5-foot-11, 177-pound frame will limit what he can do in the NFL. But he’s an electric kick returner who set the Southeastern Conference record with six kick-return touchdowns between his time at Kentucky and LSU. If that translates to the pros, the Saints may find some opportunities to get the ball in his hands on offense.

Beyond that group, the Saints also have players they’ve counted on in the past in Austin, Bell, Mason Tipton and Bub Means, along with Trey Palmer, who had some success with Tampa Bay before joining the Saints via waivers last year. The fact that those players are all facing long odds to make the roster speaks to the depth of this group.

Camp battle to watch: Who’s No. 3?

According to Sumer Sports, the Saints were in 11 personnel (one running back, one tight end, three receivers) for more than two-thirds of their offensive snaps last season — about 10% higher than the league average.

While New Orleans has hinted that it will deploy more heavy personnel this season, it still will likely spend a lot of time with three wideouts on the field, which makes the No. 3 spot a little more interesting.

Olave and Tyson should be cemented as the top two, which leaves Polk and Vele duking it out for the No. 3 spot. New Orleans may end up switching it up week-to-week based on matchups, but it will be interesting to see if one of Vele or Polk ends up forcing his way into the lineup.