The Saints made a trade this week that will be talked about for a long time: CJ Gardner-Johnson is now a member of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The Saints have depth at defensive back and players will step up to fill that role, but there's going to be one thing that's hard to replace, as WWL's Bobby Hebert explains.
"Considering his swagger that he brought to the defense," Hebert said, "he played like a first-round draft pick.”
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And that swagger was an important part of a defensive group that helped shift a team that perennially featured one of the weakest defensive groups in the NFL to a defensive powerhouse after Dennis Allen took over the reins from Rob Ryan in 2015.
In the 2021 season the Saints were the No. 4 scoring defense and No. 7 in total defense, with key players like Cam Jordan, Demario Davis and Marshon Lattimore headlining that group.
“Whether we have [CJ] or not, that’s got to continue. Now we’ve just got to count on — and they’re confident in that room that’s probably the deepest position we’ve had ever in Saints history," Hebert said. "And they’re counting on Bradley Roby and Alontae Taylor to fill that role. But there’s none of those that have the swagger of Ceedy Duce. They just don’t. Good or bad, because eventually, so what if you reward him and he goes off on the deep end, because money can change people.”
The Saints agreed to the trade with the Eagles Tuesday morning, sending Gardner-Johnson and a 2025 7th rounder to Philadelphia in exchange for a 2023 5th rounder and a 2024 6th rounder. The move freed up at least one roster spot, and the team ultimately went through cutdown day without sending away a single safety, with the group now including newcomers Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, Justin Evans and Daniel Sorenson, alongside the returning PJ Williams and JT Gray.
The Saints kick off the 2022 season on Sept. 11 in Atlanta, and also travel to Philadelphia for a game against Gardner-Johnson's new team in Week 17.
