When future Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees' tenure as the starting quarterback of the New Orleans Saints ended, so did the team's reign atop the NFC South. After winning four consecutive division titles, New Orleans passed the torch to Tampa Bay while attempting to find a suitable successor to Brees. The club believes it has found it in Derek Carr and is ready to regain control of the division now that the legendary Tom Brady presumably has retired for good after two years with the Buccaneers.

A four-time Pro Bowler, Carr spent nine seasons with the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders before being released in February and signing a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints less than a month later. The 32-year-old threw for over 4,000 yards every year from 2018-21 before falling 478 shy last season, thanks to being asked to step away from the team for the final two games. Carr recorded at least 21 touchdown passes in all but one of his campaigns with the Raiders and very well could approach his career high of 32 in the Big Easy.

Carr's top target in New Orleans will be Chris Olave, who made 72 catches for 1,042 yards and four TDs as a rookie last season. He also hopes to have a healthy Michael Thomas as an option after the veteran wideout was limited to just 10 games over the past three years due to toe and ankle injuries. The 30-year-old Thomas was one of the NFL's most dynamic receivers prior to his injury woes as he began his career with four consecutive 1,000-yard campaigns and set the league record for most receptions in a season with 149 in 2019.

The Saints have an established double threat in the backfield in Alvin Kamara, but the 28-year-old's legal troubles likely will lead to a suspension, which could be lengthy. New Orleans did its best to prepare for such a situation by signing free agent Jamaal Williams and drafting Kendre Miller. The 28-year-old Williams had the best season of his career in 2022 with Detroit as he reached the 1,000-yard mark for the first time (1,066) and led the NFL with 17 rushing TDs after recording a total of 13 over his first five years in the league, while Miller ran for 1,399 yards and 17 scores in 14 games at TCU last season - his first as a starter with the team.

Despite being tied for fifth in the NFL last year with 48 sacks, New Orleans was one of the worst teams in quarterback pressures with 106, ranking ahead of only Cleveland, Atlanta and Chicago. The Saints could wind up having difficulty in that department even more this season as three of their top six in sacks departed via free agency and leader Cameron Jordan (8.5) turned 34 years old over the summer. The club hopes the additions of free agents Khalen Saunders, Nathan Shepherd and 2023 draft picks Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey to the defensive line will help make up for the losses and improve the struggling unit.

• 2023 NFL Futures betting guide: Win totals, prop picks and more

Below, you'll find the New Orleans Saints 2023 schedule, win total and more futures odds from Caesars Sportsbook, followed by picks from top SportsLine NFL analysts, including:

• Larry Hartstein, who tied for 52nd place (out of 1,598 entries) in the 2022 Westgate Las Vegas SuperContest, going 53-34-3 ATS (61 percent). Entering the 2023 season, Larry is 521-427 all-time on NFL sides and props (plus $3,679 for $100 players, every bet 1 unit) at SportsLine.
• Alex Selesnick, who specializes in NFL, MLB and NBA prop betting, where he implements a combination of research, statistical analysis and mathematical modeling. He is arguably the nation's No. 1 props expert, and he is 309-231 (plus 61.09 units with every bet 1 unit) in the NFL entering the 2023 season.
  
• R.J. White, who consistently crushes the NFL and shares his SuperContest and Survivor picks at SportsLine during the season. R.J. went 535-450-30 on ATS picks from 2017-22, returning $3,532 to $100 players as SportsLine's No. 1 NFL expert in against the spread picks.

New Orleans Saints 2023 schedule

Week 1: vs. Titans
Week 2: at Panthers (MNF)
Week 3: at Packers
Week 4: vs. Buccaneers
Week 5: at Patriots
Week 6: at Texans
Week 7: vs. Jaguars (TNF)
Week 8: at Colts
Week 9: vs. Bears
Week 10: at Vikings
Week 11: Bye
Week 12: at Falcons
Week 13: vs. Lions
Week 14: vs. Panthers
Week 15: vs. Giants
Week 16: at Rams (TNF)
Week 17: at Buccaneers
Week 18: vs. Falcons

New Orleans Saints 2023 futures odds

Win Total Over: 9.5 (+110)
Win Total Under: 9.5 (-130)

Make Playoffs: -180
Miss Playoffs: +150

Win Division: +120
Win Conference: +1400
Win Super Bowl: +3500

So will the Saints go Over or Under their win total for the 2023 season? And what other futures bets are worth making? ... Join SportsLine right now to see SportsLine's New Orleans Saints 2023 futures picks, all from the acclaimed experts who have crushed the NFL for years!