Countdown to kickoff: New Orleans opens 27 days from now against Arizona with Isaac Yiadom as the Saints Player of the Day. Yiadom, back after a year away, wears No. 27 and is slated for a bigger role in a retooled secondary that will be tested early by a Cardinals attack. His experiences across Denver, New York, Green Bay, and San Francisco inform a ceiling that could push him into the starting mix opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry, with rookie Quincy Riley as a dark horse for the boundary spot. New Orleans lost Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, and Shemar Jean-Charles, heightening the importance of a versatile, depth-filled group. The Week 1 matchup looms large for fantasy bets on NO’s secondary and the Cardinals’ passing game, while the defense’s new look aims to reduce big plays and improve consistency.

Yiadom’s career arc features a breakout 2023 season with eight starts, a league-topping 14 passes broken up, and a productive stretch with the 49ers before returning to New Orleans on a three-year deal. He’ll battle McKinstry for the top corner role, with the Saints leaning on a reshaped scheme that could create opportunistic matchups for fantasy defenses and limit big plays against NO’s wideouts. The defense’s upside hinges on how quickly Yiadom and the rest of the secondary gel with a reshaped front seven and new coaching staff, making Week 1 a critical barometer for NO’s fantasy value in the early season.