Who stepped up the most in 2025? Our New Orleans Saints Team Awards continue with staff picks for this year's Most Improved Player. The Saints underwent big changes on both sides of the ball last season, installing new playbooks to run Kellen Moore's offense and Brandon Staley's defense. And some players really benefited from those schematic changes. Here are our picks for which players showed the most improvement in 2025.
Isaiah Stalbird
After spending most of his rookie year on the practice squad and playing in just five games, Stalbird carved out a bigger role in 2025. He played in all 17 contests, playing 358 special teams snaps and another 64 on defense. Stalbird was explosive in both areas, playing like a heat-seeking missile to the ball. On defense, he had 2 sacks and 4 pressures while having another couple of big plays nullified by penalty. -- Bob Rose
Kool-Aid McKinstry
Another defensive player, this time in the secondary, who deserves immense praise for their 2025. While McKinstry will go a bit under the radar on a national scale, he really proved he could be at minimum a starting outside corner, if not a dominant No. 1. -- Jeremy Trottier
Nathan Shepherd
Nathan Shepherd quietly became one of the most impactful interior defenders on the roster. More than anyone else inside, he was a consistent plus player at his position, regularly generating pressure and disrupting opposing offenses. -- Luke Loffredo
Juwan Johnson
Johnson was one of the Saints' whipping boys in 2024 -- there were plenty of those, and for good reason, with New Orleans' lack of success in almost too many areas to count. He gained more niceties in 2025, though, with more overall production as he made himself a more important and noted player offensively. -- Crissy Froyd
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints Team Awards: Which player earned Most Improved in 2025?