Two things are working against the Saints this year: They're replacing a future Hall of Fame coach (Sean Payton) with one who was 8-28 in his only opportunity in the NFL (Dennis Allen, Raiders 2012-2014), and Jameis Winston is still their starting quarterback. With no offense meant towards Winston, he's coming off a torn ACL suffered last season and he threw 30 interceptions in his last full season as a starter. New Orleans upgraded their offensive weaponry by drafting rookie wide receiver Chris Olave in the first round and adding veteran Jarvis Landry from the Browns, not to mention that former All-Pro Michael Thomas might return at some point. Alvin Kamara is one of the league's great playmakers, but there's also the potential he might be suspended for up to six games due to an offseason incident in Las Vegas. The defense adds Tyrann Mathieu to an already-stout unit that should be among the league's top ten in yards allowed once again in 2022.

The Saints' early-season schedule is quite manageable despite having to face five 2021 playoff teams in their first ten games. If they can survive the Baltimore-Pittsburgh-LA Rams-San Francisco-Tampa Bay gauntlet with anything better than a 1-4 record, the closing four games, including a Week 17 matchup at Philadelphia, might allow the Saints to sneak into the playoffs.

Caesars Sportsbook puts the Saints' playoff chances at +150. New Orleans has a team that fits the playoff-caliber mold if they're fully healthy. Full health is far from a given in the NFL, though. New Orleans is unlikely to surpass Tampa Bay in the NFC South, Carolina and Atlanta are rebuilding, so a second-place finish should be favored. Despite lackluster quarterback play in 2021, New Orleans finished 9-8 and should expect a somewhat similar result even if Payton no longer is pulling the strings -- that similar result might just be on the wrong side of .500.

• More NFL futures: SportsLine Projection Model's best bets

Below, you'll find the New Orleans Saints 2022 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts Larry Hartstein and R.J. White. You'll also find three bets favored by the SportsLine Projection Model.

Entering the 2022 NFL season, Larry is 427-344 all-time on NFL sides (plus $3,764 for $100 players), including 394-330 ATS. He went 68-50 ATS (58 percent) and 8-3 on moneyline plays last season for a profit of $1,552. Over the past seven years, R.J.'s SuperContest picks are 329-250-21 (56.8 percent) and he consistently crushes the NFL: He went 445-378-24 on ATS picks from 2017-21, returning $2,542 to $100 players as SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert in against the spread picks.

New Orleans Saints 2022 schedule

Week 1: at Atlanta
Week 2: vs. Tampa Bay
Week 3: at Carolina
Week 4: vs. Minnesota (in London)
Week 5: vs. Seattle
Week 6: vs. Cincinnati
Week 7: at Arizona (TNF)
Week 8: vs. Las Vegas
Week 9: vs. Baltimore (MNF)
Week 10: at Pittsburgh
Week 11: vs. Los Angeles Rams
Week 12: at San Francisco
Week 13: at Tampa Bay (MNF)
Week 14: BYE
Week 15: vs. Atlanta (SAT or SUN)
Week 16: at Cleveland (SAT)
Week 17: at Philadelphia
Week 18: vs. Carolina

New Orleans Saints 2022 futures odds

Win Total Over: 8.0 (-150)
Win Total Under: 8.0 (+130)

Make Playoffs: +150
Miss Playoffs: - 175

Win Division: +280
Win Conference: +2000
Win Super Bowl: +4000

So will the Saints go over or under their win total for the 2022 season? And what other futures bets are worth making? ... Join SportsLine right now to see Larry Hartstein and R.J. White's New Orleans Saints 2022 futures picks, all from the acclaimed experts who have crushed the NFL for years!