Taking part in Saturday’s seven-game NFL preseason slate, the Jacksonville Jaguars will face the New Orleans Saints.
The Jaguars will be eager to build off their 13-4 regular season last year, before coming up short against the Buffalo Bills in the Wild Card matchup. And while their 6-11 record last season isn’t overly inspiring, the Saints have momentum to build on. New Orleans won four of their final five games in which Tyler Shough showed some real promise, and he will now enter as the starting quarterback from Week 1.
Looking at the odds for the preseason matchup, the Saints enter as 2.5-point favorites with -130 moneyline odds on DraftKings Sportsbook. The Jaguars are +110 to pull off the upset, with the game total set at 35.5 points.
Jaguars at Saints prediction, pick
Jacksonville Jaguars preview
Liam Coen is entering his second season as head coach of the Jaguars, and brought a real spark to the organization last year. Coen told the media that Trevor Lawrence and a few other notable starters will not be making their 2026 debut just yet, although he did not rule out snaps later in preseason. These two teams have been practicing against each other all week, and the Jaguars have collectively decided the risk outweighs the reward for this matchup.
This leaves Nick Mullens, Carter Bradley, and Joey Aguilar to take the quarterback snaps in the preseason opener. Mullens is the most experienced of the group, with eight seasons, 38 appearances, and 20 starts at the NFL level. Coen has not publicly gone in depth regarding his plans to split up the snaps at the QB spot. However, Bradley is expected to get the bulk of the opportunities in this game. The 26-year-old played college ball at Toledo and South Alabama. He has spent time with the Raiders and 49ers before landing on the Jaguars’ practice squad last year, but has yet to log a true NFL snap. Aguilar went undrafted following an impressive season last year at Tennessee, and will be eager to showcase his skill set when he gets the chance.
Beyond the quarterback position, there are still plenty of positional battles to note. Travis Etienne elected to leave Jacksonville in free agency and will be suiting up for the Saints this year. This leaves Bhayshul Tuten, Chris Rodriguez Jr., and Ameer Abdullah to battle it out for the opportunities to run the ball. Expect each to see some chances in this game. The right guard position is also not solidified, while competition is fierce for the kick returner spot as well as safety and edge rusher spots.
New Orleans Saints preview
The late-season surge was an encouraging stretch for head coach Kellen Moore, and he will rest the starting offense for this game. This should largely be viewed as a vote of confidence for Tyler Shough, who looked more like a potential franchise quarterback than most gave a chance coming into the year. Shough made nine starts for New Orleans, and the team went 5-4 in these opportunities. The door has not been shut on whether he will miss all of preseason, but this is a major vote of confidence for the second-year quarterback.
Spencer Rattler will get the start for the Saints and look to improve off the struggles he has shown the last two years. The 25-year-old is posting a 1-13 career record as a starter and was removed from the starting quarterback role after Week 8 last season. Rattler is competing with former second overall pick Zach Wilson for the backup quarterback spot this season. Wilson struggled with turnovers across his first three years with the Jets and was eventually traded to the Broncos. Denver declined the option on his contract, making the BYU product a free agent, and he made four appearances with the Dolphins last year, where he attempted just 11 total passes. Hunter Dekkers rounds out the quarterback depth chart and signed as an undrafted rookie with the Saints last year after three strong seasons at Iowa State. Dekkers spent most of the season on injured reserve and also suited up in the UFL playing for the Houston Gamblers. He will be eager to find a way to earn a true NFL opportunity, no matter how much time on the field he gets.
Running back Audric Estime should be circled as a player to note in this matchup. With Travis Etienne and Alvin Kamara set to dominate the offensive touches out of the backfield in the regular season, this is Estime’s best chance to show why he still deserves to be a part of the offensive game plan. The Notre Dame product had some real positive flashes down the stretch last year and will look to build off this. Running back CJ Donaldson will also be eager to show why he deserves a chance on the 53-man roster, even though the chances feel slim. Wide receivers Bryce Lance, Barion Brown, and Kevin Austin will each be eager to make an impact, as they will serve as the starting wide receivers in the matchup. A few spots are still up for grabs on the defensive side of the ball as well, with cornerback the most noteworthy.
Jaguars at Saints best bet
If you are tuning in for the highest quality football, this probably isn’t the matchup for you. Both sides are electing to rest their headline names, and the clear focus is on development and evaluation in this game, even more so than most preseason matchups.
With both sides resting key starters and the outlook for quarterback production looking less than ideal, I am backing the under in this game. Expect vanilla play calls from both sides with quarterbacks that aren’t truly making a push for anything above backup quality on the field. The 35.5 game total requires more than five touchdowns across both teams, and it is hard to see a path to that. This number continues to creep down as kickoff gets closer, but for good reason.
Don’t expect much urgency from either team, and plenty of fringe NFL talent to be given chances to show what they can do. The biggest concern against the under is that both sides have quarterbacks that can be vulnerable to turnovers. If these occur in the wrong area of the field, it could create a pathway to points.
However, the Saints are a run-oriented team even under the best circumstances, and this will be especially true given the quarterback outlook. While evaluation is a clear factor, each side has a strong incentive to protect its players and showcase them to the rest of the league. Expect very few big play opportunities, a lot of check-down passing plays, and short rushing attempts, and the clock to fly by quickly in this game. Expect both sides to earn every point, and for the 35.5 game total to be too high given the context of these two teams.