CHARLOTTE — We've finally made it folks; Week 1 is here. Gone are the long days and longer weeks of self-scouting. It's time to turn our attention to an opponent, the first being a divisional rival. The Panthers will travel to New Orleans this weekend to face the New Orleans Saints and a defense that many in the Crescent City project to be one of the best in the league.

As the week of preparation kicks off, here is what to know about the Saints.

Young and Gay bolster defense

The Saints defense was already considered one of the strengths of the team, coming off a year in which the passing defense finished in the Top 10 in the league (allowing an average of 207.3 passing yards per game) and the eighth best scoring defense from the regular season (19.2 ppg).

Then this offseason, New Orleans added linebacker Willie Gay and defensive end Chase Young. Putting that duo in the front seven adds a significant pass rush that presumably will force opponents into quick throws and even quicker decisions. Gay is coming off back-to-back Super Bowl wins with the Kansas City Chiefs, two seasons in which he appeared in 29 games, racking up 146 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 12 passes defended, two interceptions and four recovered fumbles.

Young, a former defensive rookie of the year, has been hampered by injuries but joined New Orleans after a bounce-back season in 2023. He was traded halfway through the season from the Commanders to the 49ers, but was able to appear in 16 games, finishing with 25 tackles, 7.5 sacks and two passes defended. Now he joins Cam Jordan up front, to test an offensive line in which the Panthers invested heavily this offseason.

A new look at offensive line

The Saints rebuilt their offensive line this offseason, working to shore up a unit that was in need of new bodies. Currently, the Saints are running with a starting five that goes: left tackle Taliese Fuaga, left guard Lucas Patrick, center Erik McCoy, right guard Cesar Ruiz and right tackle Trevor Penning.

Fuaga was the Saints first-round draft pick this spring, but arrived from Oregon State having played on the right side of the line. He was plugged in to the left side though, as the Saints moved Penning from the left to the right, for a fresh start after injuries marred two seasons at left tackle and left guard.

New Orleans coach Dennis Allen told reporters during training camp, no one had done enough to take the job from Penning, so for now, he would remain at right tackle.

With a newer offensive line, expect lots of short passes, screens and designs to move Derek Carr out of the pocket and away from the line.

A rookie OC takes over, creating more for Hill

The Saints are hoping to take a big leap on offense in quarterback Derek Carr's second season. His first season in black and gold saw the veteran passer finish with a 68.4 completion percentage, 3,878 yards and 25 touchdowns to eight interceptions. He'll get back wide receiver Chris Olave as well as duel-threat running back Alvin Kamara.

The Panthers defense was able to hang their hat on the passing defense in 2023, finishing third in the league in that category. In the second half of Carr's season, Ejiro Evero's unit held Carr to his second worst total yardage (110 passing yards) and third worst quarterback rating (88.5).

Now the Saints have brought in Klint Kubiak, a first-time offensive coordinator, who spent last season as the passing game coordinator for the 49ers. He's reportedly revamped the entire offense, hoping to get more out of Olave, as well as Swiss-army knife Taysom Hill.

Kubiak told reporters during training camp that he wanted to increase Hill's volume in the offense. And Hill echoed the message, saying after seven years, he was being asked to do things he'd never been asked to do before in the offense.

If Hill's role is expanded, it's not out of the realm of possibility to assign a spy to the gadget guy.