New Orleans Saints

Five things we learned about the Saints this preseason

Published Sep. 8, 2015 8:00 a.m. ET

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The New Orleans Saints had one of the most active offseasons of any NFL team. While they traded away both tight end Jimmy Graham and wide receiver Kenny Stills, it definitely isn't going to go down as a "bad" offseason, not by a long shot. The Saints made moves that should truly improve some of the weaker spots of their roster, while also leaving themselves plenty of talent offensively at the positions they traded away.

Quarterback Drew Brees is still one of the elite players in the NFL, but the idea of taking some pressure off him may be smart as he enters his age 36 season. The Saints accomplished that this offseason.

With the regular season set to kick off on Thursday, here are the five most important things we learned from the Saints' preseason.

1. Expect a Saints team more than willing to run the ball in 2015

Last season, the Dallas Cowboys shifted their offensive mindset to letting the run game take over. In turn, running back DeMarco Murray had a career year, while quarterback Tony Romo also had the best season of his career. This led to the Cowboys nearly making the NFC Championship Game. When the Saints chose to trade away Graham and sign running back C.J. Spiller to pair up with Mark Ingram, it spelled the beginning of a change in New Orleans. The Saints are going to run the ball in 2015, but they'll do it in a way to not only control the game, but also to open the field up for Brees and the rest of the passing game.

2. Rookie linebackers Stephone Anthony and Hau'oli Kikaha are ready to make an impact

If you want to talk about two rookies who are getting rave reviews in New Orleans, it's been the two linebackers, Stephone Anthony and Hau'oli Kikaha. The Saints used the pick they got from the Seattle Seahawks in the Graham trade to draft Anthony, and they selected Kikaha just 13 picks later. Don't be surprised if both linebackers start right out of the gate in 2015.

3. WR Brandin Cooks is primed to breakout

While Brandin Cooks was only able to play in 10 games before getting injured last season, he made his presence felt for this offense. Cooks tallied 53 receptions for 550 yards and three scores last year, and followed that up by making a splash in limited action this preseason. In total during the 2015 preseason, Cooks caught seven passes for 164 yards and two touchdowns. His most impressive outing coming against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, as he totaled 117 yards and a score.

4. The Saints may have landed a starter in CB Delvin Breaux

When former Candian Football League cornerback Delvin Breaux made his visit to the Saints, head coach Sean Payton refused to let him leave town before signing his deal. It took just a few weeks of training camp to realize why that was, as Breaux turned out to be a standout player for the Saints. Due to the unfortunate hip injury to cornerback Keenan Lewis, Breaux will now be the No. 2 cornerback for the Saints for the first few weeks. Expect quarterbacks to test Breaux, but the preseason leads us to believe that he'll have no issue holding his own.

5. It's going to take a committee to replace Jimmy Graham

After the Saints chose to trade their star tight end, all eyes turned to Josh Hill. It's not fair to put that type of pressure and expectation on a single player, but fortunately the Saints won't have to. No one player will replace Graham's pass-catching ability, but with Hill and veteran tight end Ben Watson, expect the Saints to have a strong one-two punch at tight end. On top of that, fans saw a glimpse of the playmaking ability of both Hill and Watson, as both caught two balls and a touchdown during the preseason loss to the Patriots.

For more on the New Orleans Saints and the rest of the NFC South, follow Jeff on Twitter @JSM8ith. You can also check out all of the FOX Sports NFC South team pages for live updates and analysis.