Grading the signing: Saints acquire valuable veteran on offense who’s looking to prove himself in 2026
New Orleans just picked up an under the radar addition for Kellen Moore’s unit.
The New Orleans Saints are getting active. They’re not waiting around to add talent around young quarterback Tyler Shough in Kellen Moore’s offense.
After the reported deals with running back Travis Etienne and guard David Edwards, the Saints have found another tight end they plan to add into the mix as well.
Saints add versatile tight end that the offense has been lacking in Noah Fant
According to reports, the Saints have agreed to terms on a two-year deal with former Cincinnati Bengals tight end Noah Fant. As long as this deal is finalized and made official on Wednesday evening, Fant will immediately step in as a backup option to Juwan Johnson.
The blocking that Fant can provide will be how he makes the largest impact next season. Johnson was one of the worst tight ends in football when it came to run blocking a season ago, but that is to be expected with his skill set. He’s a former wide receiver.
When Fant visited New Orleans last year as a free agent, Johnson had a gleaming review of him, too. “He can add so much,” Johnson noted about Fant last offseason. “One, he can add a lot of explosiveness to the offense and I’d be extremely excited to have him here.”
For Fant, he has balanced his game out over the years as a pro and understands how he can be the most valuable for an offense. Many running backs proclaim in the NFL that “no block = no rock” as in players who don’t protect their teammates won’t get to touch the ball.
That ideal may apply a bit more to Fant than some of the other pass catchers for New Orleans, as the Saints will most likely use him in 12 personnel rather often and as a big body pass catching option in the red zone. He won’t fill up the stat sheet, but I wouldn’t be shocked if we looked up at the end of next season to see he had four or five touchdowns.
While there were more notable names available on the market, I appreciate this sort of approach and choice by the Saints. It’s an addition that makes sense.
Noah Fant signing GRADE: B-
Fant is looking to bounce back from turnover woes in 2025
I discussed this move by the Saints with John Sheeran, who covers the Bengals. He provided some useful insight into how the veteran tight end is probably looking to improve in 2026 and beyond.
“Noah Fant was worth the cheap swing Cincinnati took on him late last offseason. The former first-round pick was a solid producer when Mike Gesicki went out with injury and Joe Flacco tried to rescue the Bengals’ offense from Jake Browning.
He posted 288 yards and three touchdowns on 34 receptions, but fans may remember the THREE fumbles lost for touchdowns in critical moments of last season. That’s a tough stat to look past from Cincinnati’s perspective, but the Saints may be able to feature him more in their offense over the next two years.” — John Sheeran, A to Z Sports Cincinnati
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