By Ben Gale

August 26, 2026 • 8:51 AM EDT

Updated 18 days ago

The New Orleans Saints placed two more players on injured reserve during the final week of training camp in August 2026, and the cumulative damage to their offensive infrastructure is worse than any single headline suggests.

Bryan Bresee (knee, IR August 8) and Dillon Radunz (knee, IR August 12) are confirmed out. Rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson is Questionable with a hamstring issue that head coach Kellen Moore has acknowledged could bleed into the regular season. Running back Kendre Miller is also Questionable with a back problem. Wide receiver Brock Rechsteiner won’t be available for the first six games due to suspension. That’s five contributors gone or compromised before the Saints play a game that counts. The over/under on Saints game totals in Weeks 1 through 3 is the market to target before oddsmakers catch up.

The Saints finished 2025 with a 6-11 record and a -77 point differential. The market already treats them as a mid-to-low-tier NFC South team. What it hasn’t fully priced in is the compounding effect of losing their starting offensive guard (Radunz), suspending their top WR depth piece (Rechsteiner), and potentially opening the season without their most exciting rookie skill-position player (Tyson). Each injury in isolation is manageable. Together, they describe a passing attack that has lost significant structural integrity before training camp ends. Early-season Saints team totals should land somewhere in the 19 to 22 range. At those numbers, the under carries real value.

Five Players Down: Why the Saints’ Offense Is More Broken Than the Injury Report Looks

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Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reported August 26 that the Saints are already leaning on their tight ends because Tyson’s hamstring has forced a scheme pivot. That’s a meaningful signal. When a coaching staff starts reshaping their identity in the final week of camp, it tells you the player they’re working around isn’t expected back quickly. ESPN’s Katherine Terrell, citing coach Moore directly, confirmed Tyson’s hamstring could affect her regular-season availability.

Rookie tight end Oscar Delp is the name to monitor. Garafolo noted Delp has a hamstring issue of his own but characterized it as minor. If Delp clears before Week 1, he steps into a featured TE role in a passing game that has lost its primary outside threat. His target-share prop over could carry significant value once sportsbooks post individual receiving lines for Saints tight ends. A depleted WR corps concentrating targets on the middle of the field is exactly the scenario that makes TE props profitable.

The offensive line concern compounds everything. Radunz was the starting right guard. Losing a starter on the interior of your line doesn’t just affect run blocking. It affects protection time, play-caller confidence in the pocket, and how aggressively the offense can push the ball downfield. A rookie QB or a veteran operating behind a reshuffled line tends to play shorter and safer. Shorter and safer means fewer explosive plays, which means lower scoring output, which means the under.

Chris Olave Is Healthy: Here’s Why That Doesn’t Change the Calculus

The one piece of positive news from Saints camp is that Chris Olave had a scare that turned out to be nothing. He’s not on the injury report and appears set for Week 1. Olave is a genuine number-one receiver and his availability matters. But one healthy pass-catcher doesn’t offset the loss of your starting guard, a six-game WR suspension, a banged-up lead running back, and a rookie receiver who may miss early games.

Opposing defenses can blueprint against a Saints offense where Olave is the only credible deep threat. Double Olave, take away the intermediate routes with Tyson absent, and force Miller to beat you in the run game while nursing a back issue. That game plan is straightforward, and it produces exactly the kind of low-scoring, grind-it-out results that push game totals under.

“Tyson’s hamstring is something we’re monitoring closely and we’ll see where it is as we get closer to the season.”Kellen Moore, New Orleans Saints Head Coach

Key Developments

• Jordyn Tyson is Questionable with a hamstring injury that coach Kellen Moore has acknowledged could affect her regular-season availability: the Saints’ top rookie receiver missing early games directly suppresses their offensive ceiling and supports the under on game totals in Weeks 1 through 3.
• Dillon Radunz was placed on IR August 12 with a knee injury: losing a starting interior offensive lineman weakens protection and limits the Saints’ ability to push the ball downfield, compressing scoring output.
• Kendre Miller is Questionable with a back issue heading into Week 1: a compromised lead running back reduces the Saints’ ability to control games or manufacture efficient two-phase drives.
• Brock Rechsteiner is suspended for six games: the Saints lose their best WR depth piece for the first third of the season, thinning an already depleted receiver room.
• Bryan Bresee was placed on IR August 8 with a knee injury: the defensive line loss affects the Saints’ ability to generate stops, which can indirectly affect total scoring if the defense underperforms against better-equipped offenses.
• Oscar Delp’s hamstring issue is reportedly minor per Garafolo: if Delp clears in time, his TE receiving prop over carries value as the primary beneficiary of the Saints’ forced pivot toward tight ends in the passing game.

Key Takeaways

• Back the under on Saints game totals in Weeks 1 through 3 once early-season lines are posted: the five-player injury and suspension cluster creates a materially weaker offense than oddsmakers are likely to price in at opening lines.
• Monitor Saints team total props in the 19 to 22 range: that’s the anticipated window, and the under at those numbers has strong directional value given the offensive personnel losses.
• Fade the Saints on the spread against competitive NFC South and non-divisional opponents in Weeks 1 through 6: a reshuffled offensive line, suspended WR, and Questionable RB and WR create consistent opportunities to take the points away from New Orleans.
• Watch Oscar Delp’s injury report daily through September: a clean bill of health for Delp means his TE receiving prop over is worth targeting as the designated focal point in a scheme that is already leaning toward tight ends.
• Do not overreact to Chris Olave’s health: Olave being active does not rescue an offense that has lost its guard, its depth at receiver, and its lead running back’s health simultaneously.
• Act before lines fully incorporate this injury cluster: oddsmakers will catch up as the regular season approaches, but bettors who position on Saints unders now hold the timing edge.
• Re-evaluate the Saints spread picture after Week 1 injury reports: if Miller is limited and Tyson is ruled out, the fade signal strengthens for Weeks 2 and 3 as well.

I’m on the under for Saints game totals in Weeks 1 through 3, but watch Kendre Miller’s status and Oscar Delp’s hamstring before you commit full size. The injury picture is real and the market hasn’t caught up, but the exact line value depends on where totals open once the regular-season schedule is priced. The New Orleans Saints picks and season record has everything you need before you confirm the bet.

This article was produced with AI assistance by Ben Gale, with editorial standards and betting methodology overseen by Richard Gale (senior gambling industry executive, ThePicks founder), and reviewed by the ThePicks editorial team. All statistics sourced from live BDL API data and verified source material. All betting opinions are those of ThePicks analysts.

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