Reading the New Defense returns for its third season at Footballguys.com. The column examines how new defensive coordinators affect individual defensive players' fantasy prospects for the upcoming season. Jeff Ulbrich's Falcons constituted the first installment of 2025.

RELATED: See our take on the new Atlanta Falcons defense here.

Eleven NFL defenses have new coordinators in 2024. While three of them offer general scheme consistency year over year, eight more promise significant changes to their new environs in 2025. Two of these coordinators' track records suggest they will change between even- and odd-front nomenclature.

Brandon Staley Reteams with Kellen Moore

Defensive mind Brandon Staley was the Chargers' head coach from 2021 to 2023. He hired Kellen Moore away from the Cowboys to coordinate his offense. Moore, now the Saints' head coach, has returned the favor.

Still only 42, Staley quickly climbed the NFL career ladder. He rose as an assistant to veteran defensive coordinator Vic Fangio. Staley's one season as the Los Angeles Rams' defensive coordinator springboarded him to an intracity job change. As a coordinator, Staley ranked best in the league in total defense and scoring defense in 2020.

Vic Fangio's schematic approach is a recurring subject of this perennial column and not just because he's assumed a new coordinator job in each of the past two seasons (e.g., 2024 Eagles). In the previous decade, a simple defensive scheme heavily reliant on Cover-3 permeated the NFL. New Falcons defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich admitted this approach failed to keep pace with NFL offenses.

Staley, like Fangio, uses multiple coverages, sometimes differing on each side of the field in a single play, and frequently disguises them. Staley will alter his approach week to week based on his opponent. Their goal is to build out coverages first, aiming to slow down NFL passing offenses and reduce chunk plays.

As a result, both men will utilize a light box – a defensive front that employs fewer defenders than running lanes. The old Cover-3 approach ensured its fronts were never outnumbered in this manner.

Fangio and Staley rely on odd fronts in base sets and readily utilize them in subpackages. Their defenses aim to build a wall at the line of scrimmage and string out running plays to the sidelines. This strategy buys time for safeties and nickelbacks to get downhill in run support.

Scheme Differences That Matter

Almost all NFL defenses utilize a 4-2-5 nickel subpackage for the majority of their defensive reps. Unlike Tom Landry's 4-3 Flex defense, the defensive ends line up wide of the offensive tackles in the typical nickel subpackage. Twenty-first-century NFL defenses differ from one another in three primary ways that impact IDP statistical output.

Zone Vs. Man Coverage

Zone coverage by a defense significantly improves the inside linebackers' rate of tackling per snap. A coach's historical tendencies and the personnel available to him for the upcoming season empower us to make educated guesses as to how often a defense will use zone coverage and, to an extent, how efficiently the inside linebackers will make tackles.

#FFIDP - Most efficient coverage schemes for LB tackling in 2024:

Cover-2: 15.8%
Cover-6: 15.7%
Cover-4: 14.9%
Cover-3: 14.5%

AVERAGE LB TKL EFFICIENCY: 13.1%

Cover-1: 10.4%
Cover-0: 7.9%
2-MAN: 7.5%

Reminder: Zone-heavy defenses are a cheat code for IDP while man-heavy ones… https://t.co/FXZdUm3Jdd

— Jon Macri (@PFF_Macri) June 9, 2025

One High Vs. Two High Safeties

Two-high coverages have received disproportionate attention from mainstream media in this decade. Only the Vikings showed them more than half the time in 2024. Two-high coverages have, however, grown in use over the past ten years and made volume tacklers at the safety position harder to spot. Reduced competition from safeties in the middle of the field marginally improves inside linebackers' tackling prospects.

Meanwhile, a team that plays predominantly one-high coverages can infuse one of its two safeties with a statistical uptick if it deploys one, typically the strong safety, close to the line of scrimmage frequently relative to the other. For example, Pro Football Focus collects tackle efficiencies for safeties by alignment in the defense. PFF's Jon Macri reports the data as follows.

#FFIDP - For safety rankings/projections, knowing how unstable that fantasy production can be, rankings start with playing time and potential deployment because...

Safety tackle efficiency by defensive alignment in 2024:

BOX: 11.3% ?
SLOT: 10.4% ?

-- Average: 9.6% --

DEEP:…

— Jon Macri (@PFF_Macri) June 16, 2025

2024 proved lucrative for fantasy gamers chasing strong safeties in one-high defenses. The in-season version of this column closed by debriefing this phenomenon.

Rush Strategy

Some teams ask their pass rushers to mush rush or use heavy technique, while select linemen on other teams have the green light to get upfield with reckless abandon. The former set is integral to run defense. Green-lit defensive tackles typically have higher sack upside. A tite front, for instance, aims to clog the middle.

The Saints were a Base 4-3 defense under new Bears DC Dennis Allen, but that didn't mean they always aligned in Even Fronts.

Here is a look at New Orleans running 'Big' Mint (Tite) with Willie Gay Jr. (Dolphins) as the 'Star' (Ni) vs. the Cowboys.
-- pic.twitter.com/A4GH67gqxr

— Cody Alexander (@The_Coach_A) March 29, 2025

Saints Defensive Tackles

The Saints' investments in interior defenders evidence their intent to utilize odd fronts at a high rate in 2025. Third-round pick Vernon Broughton and trade acquisition Davon Godchaux join a room with incumbent contributors Bryan Bresee, Nathan Shepherd, Khalen Saunders, and John Ridgeway III. Broughton was an interior penetrator in college at Texas, but he has the length to contribute as a 3-4 end. Godchaux is a nose tackle.

Bresee led Saints' defensive tackles in snaps (709) and quarterback sacks (7.5) last season as the team's featured interior disruptor. His contributions were welcome in Dennis Allen's aggressive attack; however, he must continue to develop as a run stopper.

Staley has expressed his desire to show hybrid fronts. Defensive tackles' versatility will be key to unlocking his playbook. A deep rotation, for which the roster is prepared, is the failsafe approach. Bresee must grow simply to match his 2024 numbers.

Saints Edge Defenders

Cameron Jordan is the marquee name among Saints defensive ends. He is transitioning to outside linebacker in the new scheme. At 36, Jordan is merely a situational run defender. He saw reps at Jack linebacker in Dennis Allen's scheme, so the position change isn't as dramatic as some observers might believe.

Some fantasy football platforms preemptively reclassified Jordan as a defensive tackle upon Brandon Staley's hiring. Jordan, however, played more than two-thirds of his snaps outside of the opposing offensive tackle in 2024. In previous decades, some 4-3 defensive ends played head-up over offensive tackles in roles resembling 3-4 ends, but this similarity is increasingly rare in the modern NFL.

Brandon Staley will be the fourth defensive coordinator seeking to unlock former second-overall pick Chase Young. Jordan and Young will be joined in rotation by the underrated Carl Granderson and 2023 second-round pick Isaiah Foskey.

Carl Granderson #WhoDat pic.twitter.com/713dcayOjM

— PassRushDiary? (@PassRushDiary) June 13, 2025

Saints Linebackers

Demario Davis has long been underappreciated by fantasy gamers, especially those in tackle-heavy scoring systems. In eight years in New Orleans, he has collected 31.0 sacks and 45 passes defensed. He set a career high with 136 total tackles in 2024, but his sack total was off.

Fantasy gamers are also out on Davis's running mate at linebacker, Pete Werner. The Saints aren't. The franchise signed Werner to a 3-year, $22.5 million contract last summer. New Orleans drafted Danny Stutsman in the fourth round this spring with an eye to the future.

Both Davis and Werner suffered low tackle efficiency until 2024 under defensive coordinator and head coach Dennis Allen, a frequent practitioner of man coverages. Last year, New Orleans lost Paulson Adebo to injury and traded Marshon Lattimore. Without its starting cornerbacks, the Saints' defense showed two high safeties and played zone coverages more often, and the linebackers more frequently made tackles.

Chase Young

— Saints Film Room (@SaintsFilmRoom) September 22, 2024

Saints Coverages

The 2023 Chargers used middle-of-the-field open (two high safeties) and middle-of-the-field closed (typically one high safety) coverages nearly equally. They played zone 80 percent of the time.

The 2025 Saints allowed Adebo to depart on a huge contract to New York and replaced him with journeyman Isaac Yiadom on a 3-year, $9 million deal. Yiadom spent last season with the 49ers, who played zone defense 76% of the time.

Former Chief Justin Reid joins the 2025 Saints on a 3-year, $31.5 million contract. The Chiefs play middle-of-the-field open (MOFO) roughly half the time, as often as anyone. These two signings suggest that Staley's coverage tendencies will carry over from his time in Los Angeles to New Orleans.

The linebackers' tackle numbers are the beneficiaries. 36-year-old Demario Davis, an ironman throughout his tenure in New Orleans, is expected to don the green dot for Staley and play full-time.

Pete Werner will play at least 80 percent of defensive snaps with upside for more. Staley's latitude to take him off the field for dime subpackages will rest on the development of rookie safety Jonas Sanker, the Saints' third-round pick.

Veteran Tyrann Mathieu will start alongside Reid. Neither player has fantasy upside as a two-high safety in a conservative defense. Staley had Derwin James Jr. in Los Angeles but often seemed to struggle to fully unleash James's capabilities. While James's numbers for fantasy were strong, Staley is less likely to craft a similar role in New Orleans without a comparable player.

Kool-Aid McKinstry will start opposite Isaac Yiadom. Alontae Taylor returns at nickelback, a position that Staley calls his STAR. A nickelback in a two-high system has significant responsibilities as a run defender and a blitzer in addition to shallow zones. The 6-foot-1, 200-pound Taylor is impressing coaches, who indicate he'll play a prominent role. The next piece of news to watch is whether he plays ahead of Yiadom on the boundary in base defense.

Alontae Taylor
Best blitzing DB in the league
pic.twitter.com/a4oQ43MvsX

— All-22 (@All22_PFF) September 22, 2024

2025 Saints Defense Outlook

After two decades of continuity, the franchise changed directions by firing its coaching staff en masse. The team is also starting over at quarterback, but without a top-caliber prospect on the roster. New Orleans will need its last five second-round picks, including rookie quarterback Tyler Shough, to emerge to field a competitive team.

The Saints' previous four second-rounders are all defenders. Linebacker Pete Werner (2021) and nickelback Alontae Taylor (2022) have yielded mixed results. Last year's selection, Kool-Aid McKinstry, played adequately well, but their 2023 second-rounder, edge defender Isaiah Foskey, has been invisible. The 2017 class that fueled Drew Brees's late-career playoff pushes is a distant memory. Now, the Saints need their 2025 mid-round picks to contribute.

The defense features a core of reliable veterans, including three former stars past their prime. If Cameron Jordan, Demario Davis, and Tyrann Mathieu hold on for another season while the second-round picks plus Bryan Bresee develop, the unit could find success. The 2024 unit held opponents to a middling 398 points despite allowing the third-most yards. More likely, however, is a unit stressed by a weak offense while slowly adapting to a new system. It's unlikely to generate sacks and turnovers at high rates. The franchise will nevertheless be patient with Brandon Staley and the rest of the staff.

2025 Saints IDP Outlook

The lack of enthusiasm for the team is translating into low average draft positions for its individual defensive players. Taylor, the nickelback, is the only Saint who has been drafted in FastDraft Fantasy's D-Up best-bell competition. Notably, D-Up leagues involve just ten teams with six IDPs each.

In 2024, Bryan Bresee finished the season as a DT3 by total fantasy points in Footballguys scoring. Carl Granderson finished as a DE2, and Demario Davis yielded an LB2 season. Each player is a reasonable bet to duplicate these results and could prove a minor value in fantasy drafts. Chase Young, a DE5 by fantasy points in 2024, merits monitoring in the new scheme, but he needn't be prioritized over sleepers like Philadelphia's edges Nolan Smith Jr. and Jalyx Hunt.

Alontae Taylor is an intriguing CB1 option in cornerback-required leagues. He burst onto the gamers' radars in Week 1 of 2024 with 3.0 quarterback sacks. He added two more half sacks as the Saints' nickelback and made 45 combined tackles in 450 snaps in the first half of the season. Beginning in Week 9, shortly after the Lattimore trade, Taylor switched outside. He played more snaps (626) in his last nine games but collected fewer tackles (44) and no more sacks. He had just one more pass-rush opportunity, according to PFF, after moving outside after 28 rushes in the first eight weeks.

Taylor's 2024 season illustrates the hazards of chasing nickelbacks for DB slots in three-position IDP leagues. Taylor is a good but not safe bet to play full-time, shifting inside in subpackages, in 2025. Isaac Yiadom fits as the third cornerback, a part-time player on the boundary. Outside cornerbacks' tackle efficiencies figure to be lower in Staley's conservative defense than in Dennis Allen's, which perennially featured a top fantasy cornerback.

Pete Werner finished just inside the top 50 linebackers in 2022 and 2023. He's a solid bet to meet or significantly exceed such a finish in 2025. If FastDraft Fantasy's D-Up ADP is any indication, Werner is well off gamers' radars and offers great value as a late pick in larger leagues. Werner and Divine Deablo, covered last week, make great depth options with starter upside for fantasy drafters willing to wait on linebackers.

Summer Plans

Reading the New Defense will drop each week throughout the summer with a fresh look at expectations for defenses under the tutelage of a new defensive coordinator. Analysis at Footballguys aims to equip fantasy gamers with the knowledge and confidence to draft players for their rosters for deployment on Sundays this coming fall. Readers are welcome to contact and follow this writer @DynastyTripp on the app formerly known as Twitter.