Saints Defensive Line Changeover A Non-Issue Through 6 Games

The New Orleans Saints defensive line returned only one starter from the 2022 season this year and has not missed a beat in the process.

While the New Orleans Saints offense continues to go under the microscope, the defense has consistently impressed. One of the biggest curiosities coming in from the off-season centered around whether or not the Saints defense would regress with an overhaul on the defensive line. This far, that has been far from the case.

Jan 9, 2022; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) reacts after sacking the quarterback against the Atlanta Falcons during the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

New Orleans returned only one of its starters on the defensive line from the 2022 season this year, veteran leader Cameron Jordan. Beside him, new new arrivals at defensive tackle like vets Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd have been added along with first-round rookie Bryan Bresee. There are some familiar snd returning faces like defensive end Carl Granderson who stepped into a new starting role opposite Jordan. Meanwhile defensive linemen Tanoh Kpassagnon and Malcolm Roach also returned on new deals and have made their own impacts as well.

But with the amount of changeover experienced at the position, and the team’s drop-off as a run defense in 2022, the concern was whether or not the defense could rise to the occasion and reclaim its usual stop near the top of the NFL by season’s end.

Thus far, they are on their way. The defense through its first six weeks ranks as the No. 6 scoring defense, No. 5 defense in total yards allowed, No. 5 against the pass and have leapt to No. 9 in defending the run. Last year, the team finished No. 24 in rush defense after previously finishing in the top-5 every year since the 2018 season.

When Jordan spoke with New Orleans media on Wednesday, he said that the defensive line’s connection off the field is what has aided them on the field. “Defensive linemen usually hang out a lot,” Jordan said. “When you’re able to get along off the field, it’s just as important as on the field. Because if we can hang out, if we can eat together… If we can talk and have an open line off communication off the field, how much clearer is our communication on the field? And so when I tell you ‘Hey, we’re going to run this.’ And he can nod at me and just nod his head and it’s know, you can’t just feign that.”

Jan 1, 2023; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) stands on the sidelines against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports

Despite its impressive start, the group still has some improvements to make. The team is currently tied at No. 23 in the NFL with just 13 sacks and falls just below the middle of the pack in defensive pressures, per Pro Football Reference. Not that those starts are purely impacted by a team’s defensive line, but these are areas wherein the group could be having a larger impact.

Improvements and adjustments are not too much for the veteran-led position room however. They have run into such challenges in-game and found ways to adjust in the moment, surely they have what it takes to improve these areas as well.

“There’s still so much we can do,” Jordan said. “Even last game, there was a miscommunication and I was like ‘Alright, we’ve got to clean that up before our next game.’ We talked about it, understood and moved in.”

Despite the lack of continuity year-over-year along the starting defensive line, creating and maintaining cohesion has not been a challenge. And the communication that has been leaned upon is grown through organic, off-field connections. With improvements still left to be made, the New Orleans defensive line has set an example on how to tackle them.