4 New Orleans Saints players with something to prove in 2026

Every member of the New Orleans Saints will hit the practice field at training camp next week with something different in mind. Sure, they're all going to buy the same message about being a better team than they were last year, to win more games and execute their coaches' vision. But individually, you'll find all sorts of different motivations. For these guys, that means proving their doubters wrong. Whether they've missed time with injuries or just underperformed, they've got a chip on their shoulder, and it's almost time to start working on it.

Taliese Fuaga

Fuaga may have been a first-round pick, but he isn't being talked about the same way as his teammates like left tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. or cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry. That's largely because of the injuries he sustained last season, but he had a couple of down games, too, against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 2 (giving up four pressures, including a sack) and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 8 (allowing five of them). Now that he's healthy and fully settled in on the right side, he's got to remind everyone that he's just as important to the team's success (now and in the long term) as those other guys.

Cesar Ruiz

Don't take our word for it -- Ruiz said as much in an April interview with Terron Armstead . He heard the criticism during a down year, saw the bad moments on film (like giving up four pressures against the Chicago Bears in Week 7), and attacked his offseason aiming to return to form. While Ruiz has had more rough seasons than good ones, he's still one of the younger players on the team (he just turned 27 in June), and he could have a bright future ahead of him if he's taken these lessons to heart. He's got to channel that energy into his craft.

Julian Blackmon

Shoulder injuries have become a major problem for Blackmon. He lost the 2025 season, his first with the Saints, after playing every defensive snap in their first game of the year without knowing he had torn his labrum. He tore it the year before, too, but managed to play through the pain without undergoing surgery. Now he's cleared and back in the starting lineup next to Justin Reid. He's got to prove his surgically-repaired shoulder can handle a full season of tackling in the NFL, and that he's the best player the Saints have over the top.

Ja'Lynn Polk

Polk was a dynamite slot receiver in college at Washington, but he was miscast in a bigger role with the New England Patriots after they drafted him early in the second round of the 2024 draft. Then they traded him for pennies on the dollar after last summer's training camp injury. Polk only has a dozen catches for 87 yards to his name, but the Saints could be a good spot for him to prove he wasn't the kind of draft bust Patriots fans have already written him off as.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 4 New Orleans Saints players with something to prove in 2026

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