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An Overview of the New Orleans Saints Defense
The Saints were not the worst defense in the NFC South in 2024, but there is plenty of room for improvement. They were horrible versus the run, bad against the pass, low in the sack rankings, didn't create enough turnovers, yadda, yadda, yadda. None of that matters because instead of tweaking things, the organization elected to blow the whole thing up and start over.
Head coach Dennis Allen was relieved of his duties mid-season. Once the final game was in the books, the rest of the coaching staff followed. Kellen Moore was hired to run the show, with Brandon Staley coming aboard as defensive coordinator. Staley has a strong resume that includes a head coaching gig with the Chargers from 2021 to 2023. More importantly, he has run some tight defenses in recent years. The head coaching job came after his Rams led the league in total defense, allowing 282 net yards per game in 2020. Staley spent last year with San Francisco, where he helped mold the 49ers into a top-ten defense.
The hiring of Staley breeds a lot of optimism into the Saints, but there is a lot of work to do. Most notably, he brings a complete scheme change. After running an even front (4-3) for many years, New Orleans will roll out a new-look 3-4 in 2025. If this goes like 90% of these major shifts do, there will be an adjustment period of a year or two while everyone learns their new responsibilities and the roster is reshaped with players that fit the new scheme. On paper, it looks like this could be a long transition since the inherited roster was hardly teeming with scheme-versatile players.
New Orleans Saints Defensive Linemen
The most glaring question for the new system is on the edge. Most of the elite 3-4 edge guys check in at 250 pounds or under. Their success comes from a combination of speed, agility, and the ability to keep blockers from getting their hands on them as they slip around the corner. Edge defenders in four-man fronts are generally a little bigger. They expect contact on every snap, often initiating it to set up moves. They are generally more physical at the point of attack, but not as fast.
Carl Granderson and Chase Young were the starters under the previous regime. They are both north of 260 pounds and are used to playing from a three-point stance. Much of the Saints' defensive success this year will depend on how well these two transition.
Granderson is a great story. He made the team as an undrafted free agent in 2019. His role was marginal as he developed, until 2022, when he split time almost equally with Marcus Davenport. Granderson outshone the former first-round pick and took over the starting role in 2023. In his first full season as a three-down edge, Granderson impressed both on the field and in the box scores. At 44-35-8.5 with a couple of forced turnovers, he made the top ten. That production had us going into 2024 thinking a star had been born. By the end of the year, it looked more like Granderson had been a shooting star. Instead of taking the next step, his tackle totals slumped to 36-25 and his sacks to 5.5. Now we find ourselves going into 2025 wondering if he will be a square peg in a round hole.
The storyline is much different for Chase Young, but the trajectory is very similar. He entered the league as the second overall pick by Washington in 2020. A solid rookie season was followed by injuries that derailed his 2021 and 2022 seasons. Young bounced back with a good 2023, which in turn earned him a nice paycheck when he signed with the Saints last offseason. Young turned in his best numbers since his rookie campaign, but at 21-10-5.5 with a forced fumble, they were well short of the expectations that come with being a former second overall pick, or the paycheck he received, for that matter. Like Granderson, Young has never worked in a 3-4 or played from a two-point stance. The whole situation leaves me pessimistic about both players.
The Saints desperately need Granderson and Young to step up and remain healthy because they have very little experienced depth. Cameron Jordan could give the team a few snaps on the edge, but he is a better fit at the outside tackle spot, where he is expected to start. The Saints' best options are seventh-round rookie Fadil Diggs and former Chargers fourth-rounder Chris Rumph II, who washed out in Los Angeles. At least both of those guys have a more suitable skill set for the new defense.
There are questions about fit at the edge positions, but New Orleans should be set on the inside. Jordan has been with the Saints since 2011 and was highly successful when the team ran three-man fronts in the past. The only question with him is, at age 36, how much does he have left? It's doubtful that he will play any more than the 565 snaps he participated in last season, especially if there are several solid options to rotate.
Davin Godchaux comes over from New England, where he played in multiple fronts. He is penciled in as the starter at nose tackle. Nathan Shepherd sits behind Godchaux on the depth chart. He to has 3-4 experience from his time with the Jets.
Veteran Khalen Saunders, 2023 first-round selection Bryan Bresee, and rookie third-rounder Vernon Broughton all figure to have rotational roles at the outside tackle spots. Bresee has been a disappointment to date. The 3-4 might be a better fit and could bring out the best in him. Broughton has the advantage of being drafted by the current regime, specifically because they believe him to be a good fit. We could get useful production from one of these guys. Picking the right one is a bit of a crap shoot. If forced to choose, I would roll with Bresee because he has the most upside.
- DE Carl Granderson – Depth with borderline second starter upside
- DE Chase Young – Depth with marginal upside
- DE Isaiah Foskey – Injury sleeper at best
- DE Fadil Diggs – developmental rookie
- DE Jonah Williams – No impact
- DT Cameron Jordan – Marginal impact anticipated
- DT Nathan Shepherd – No impact
- DT Bryan Bresee – Watchlist sleeper
- DT Khalen Saunders – Marginal impact
- DT Vernon Broughton – Developmental rookie who could see rotational snaps early
New Orleans Saints Linebacker
The scheme shift should not be a negative for the Saints' linebackers. It could even prove to be a plus. Demario Davis is entering the 14th year of his career and has seen it all. He is no stranger to a 3-4, having played in one while with the Jets early in his career. Davis is 36 and may not be the player he once was, but he can still be productive. With 136 combined stops, 2 sacks, a takeaway, and 7 passes defended, he had enough juice to make the top-20 last year. The team might have drafted his eventual replacement this spring, but I expect Davis to give us one more good run as the centerpiece of this unit.
The player I will be watching is Pete Werner. The 2021 second-round pick was thought to be the heir to the throne in the Saints' linebacker room. His rookie season was quiet as he learned in a part-time role. Werner opened year two playing virtually every down. He was the fantasy game's sixth-ranked linebacker through week eight when injury struck. Werner returned at full strength and assumed the three-down role in 2023, but the production has never returned. He logged 323 more snaps than the previous year, recording 14 more total stops and one more splash play.
Werner worked in more of a two-down sidekick role in most games last year, putting up decent overall tackle totals with no impact plays at all. The ability is still in there. The new scheme with different responsibilities could be just what he needs to unlock it again.
Dynasty managers should be all over fourth-round pick Danny Stutsman. Between the situation and his outstanding production at Oklahoma, there is a lot to like about this young man. There are not many linebackers in league history who were starters beyond age 36, so Davis could be playing his final season. Unless Stutsman can mount a challenge to Werner, which is possible, he will likely have a limited role as a rookie while being groomed to take over a starting job in 2026.
Having been a three-year starter for the Sooners, Stutsman comes with more experience than most rookies. He has good size, solid cover skills, and a knack for wading through traffic and getting off blocks to make plays. Over the last three seasons (37 games), Stutsman amassed 336 total tackles, 8 sacks, 8 turnovers, 8 pass breakups, and a score for the Sooners. He is NFL-ready and awaiting the opportunity to prove it.
- ILB Demario Davis – Solid LB3 or quality depth
- ILB Pete Werner – Boom or bust candidate with a high ceiling
- ILB Danny Stutsman – Dynasty target with potential to play right away
- ILB Jaylan Ford – Special teams guy
- ILB Nephi Sewell – Special teams contributor
New Orleans Saints Defensive Backs
There is a lot of speculation floating around about what the Saints will look like at the corner positions. Not so much when it comes to who will be on the field, but rather how they will line up. It is important for us to figure this one out as soon as possible because this team has provided outstanding production at the corner position over the last few years.
Let's put this into perspective. In the Footballguys default scoring, Paulson Adebo was far and away the fantasy game's top corner before he was injured last year, averaging an impressive 14.5 points per game, while number two Taron Johnson came in at 10.1. Adebo, however, was not the only New Orleans corner to be highly productive. Amadi Ugo was seventh at 9.6 and Alonte Taylor ninth at 9.2. This is more than a one-time coincidence. Adebo ranked 6th in 2023 with Taylor at 14. The quality production goes back even further.
Adebo is gone, and we don't know if the scheme change will ruin this for us. Here is what we do know. When Brandon Staley was the defensive coordinator for the Rams in 2020, Troy Hill, who was the nickel corner, ranked second at the position. We know that Kool-Aid McKinstry will be the Saints' number one corner, replacing Marshon Lattimore. And we know that Ugo and Taylor will be the other two starters. There is a chance that both Ugo and Taylor will give us useful stats. That said, I'll be going after whoever works in the nickel role first.
One reason that Saints' corners have been productive in recent years is that they played a good amount of cover-2 under the previous regime. In that coverage, both safeties start deep with each responsible for a deep half of the field. That often takes them out of the action when the opponent runs, giving run support responsibilities and underneath coverage to the strong side and nickel corners. This is why New Orleans' safeties have not provided much punch of late. This is also why Will Harris saw his numbers shoot up after the mid-season coaching change when the secondary moved away from cover-2 last year.
Harris is gone, and Justin Reid was signed to play strong safety. Reid put up numbers worthy of a borderline starter or solid depth during most of his seven seasons in Kansas City. His best finish was in 2023 when he slipped into the top twelve at 75-20-3 with a couple of turnovers. The New Orleans stat crew is more generous than the crew in Kansas City, especially in the assist column. With the change of scenery and playing on a unit in learning mode, I have a feeling it could be a good year for Reid.
There was a time earlier in his career when Tyran Mathieu was an IDP factor. He has not exceeded 64 solo tackles in a season since 2018 and has fewer than 20 assists in 10 of his 12 years in the league. Mathieu continues to produce in the splash play columns, averaging six per season since 2018. The mediocre tackle numbers lead to weekly inconsistency, but the chance of a big play is enough to make Mathieu a useful bye-week gamble or short-term fill-in. He is not a player we want to depend on every week.
Rookie Jonas Sanker is a player to keep an eye on. He was highly productive as a three-year starter for Virginia, totaling 268 tackles, 12 takeaways, and 17 passes defended during his time there. Despite the fact that Sanker is a natural strong safety, the Saints might see him as the potential successor to Mathieu, who is 33 and in the final year of his contract.
- SS Justin Reid – Target as priority depth with S2 upside
- FS Tyrann Mathieu – Bye week or short-term depth with splash play upside
- SS Jonas Sanker – Dynasty sleeper
- SS Jordan Howden – No impact
- CB Alontae Taylor – Possible CB1
- CB Kool-Aid McKinstry – Marginal impact expected
- CB Ugo Amadi – Possible CB1
- CB Rico Payton – Injury sleeper
That does it for part 11 of this year's pre-season offering. The Buccaneers are up next.
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