The New Orleans Saints made a bulk of their offseason investments on offense heading into what's expected to be an exciting 2026 season. But might there be some reason for concern on the other side of the ball?
The Saints "overachieved" in Year 1 under Brandon Staley at defensive coordinator, Mike Triplett of NewOrleans.football said on SportsTalk, and that might have to happen agains for the Saints to end their skid of five consecutive missed postseasons.
"They’re going to be asking a lot of [Staley] again," Triplett said. "They’re going to be asking a whole lot of the secondary, in particular."
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The Saints only made a handful of defensive additions this offseason, the most high-profile being Kaden Elliss, a former Saints draft pick who was brought back in black & gold after three seasons with the Falcons. He'll step into a void in the linebacker room created with Demario Davis' departure to the Jets in free agency. The other big addition was Christen Miller, a DT out of Georgia that was selected No. 42 overall. The Saints also drafted safety Lorenzo Styles Jr. out of Ohio State in the 5th round, cornerback TJ Hall out of Iowa in the 7th round, traded for former top 10 pick Tyree Wilson from the Raiders and signed former Patriots edge Anfernee Jennings.
The team also re-signed safety Julian Blackmon, DT John Ridgeway and edge rushers Chris Rumph and Cam Jordan. The biggest point of success under Staley was his ability to energize veterans. Davis set a new career high in tackles (143), while Jordan had a resurgent year to lead the team in sacks (10.5). Both players raved about their new DC throughout the season amid a significant scheme shift after a decade running Dennis Allen's 4-3 scheme. The pass rush, headlined by Chase Young, proved to be opportunistic, ranking top 10 in sacks (52) despite a pressure rate of just 32.6% that landed in the bottom third of the league.
"Whatever you think of that level of talent in that room," Triplett continued, "I think he has put them in very good positions to succeed."
If things fall flat on the defensive side in 2026, though, the secondary feels like the most likely area of concern. The departure of Alontae Taylor in free agency means a heavy burden placed on second-year safety Jonas Sanker, who appears locked into the nickel corner/star position, in important role in Staley's scheme. Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley look in line to manage the outside corner spots, while Julian Blackmon and Justin Reid appear in line to start at safety. Blackmon was impressive throughout camp last year, but suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1, his second consecutive season with a shoulder injury that required surgical intervention.
With health, there's reason for optimism. But in the NFL where injury absences are all but an inevitability, it's a defensive roster that appears to have a few too many positions with single points of failure and minimal depth.
"I think there’s a ton of optimism around this team right now and I think it’s totally fair," Triplett said. "I like their starting 22 a lot. I think they’ve rebuilt very quickly, but I think we can list eight players, what if this player missed 10 games, what if this player missed 10 games, then all of a sudden you’d feel very worried.”
What could make life easier on the defense overall is an offense that looks to be teetering on the brink of formidable if several young players can continue their upward trajectory. That group is headlined by Tyler Shough at quarterback, who is heading into Year 2 after a strong second half that featured a four-game winning streak and was enough to land him second in Rookie of the Year voting despite only starting 9 games. The team also added top-of-the-market free agents in LG David Edwards and RB Travis Etienne, along with TE Noah Fant, before selecting standout WR Jordyn Tyson at No. 8 overall, followed by Georgia TE Oscar Delp in the third round.
Tyson has been a lightning rod topic throughout the offseason due to his injury history, and that spotlight has only shone brighter with the Saints opting to hold him out of practices during OTAs and minicamp. He'll be under an even bigger microscope than most first round picks when the Saints take the field for camp, the first practice of which is scheduled for July 29.
"He’s a shiny new toy. He’s the highest draft pick in 18 years and we didn’t get to see him, basically at all during OTAs and minicamp," Triplett said. "They’ve assured us that they’re just, you know, being smart, making sure he doesn’t have any setbacks early in the offseason so he can be full go in training camp. Well, now I want to see him full go in training camp. I want to see Tyler Shough throwing to Chris Olave and Jordyn Tyson.”
