Report: Saints Add XFL Defensive Tackle

New Orleans adds defensive line depth by pulling from an XFL playoff team.

Bob Rose | May 15, 2023

Report: Saints Add XFL Defensive Tackle /

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New Orleans Saints

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero reports that the New Orleans Saints are signing XFL defensive tackle Jack Heflin on Monday. Heflin played collegiately for three seasons at Northern Iowa and one at Iowa. He compiled 21 tackles for loss and 10 sacks in those four years.

An undrafted rookie out of Iowa in 2021, Heflin played one season with the Green Bay Packers and last year with the New York Giants, appearing in five games. He just finished this spring with the Houston Roughnecks of the XFL.

The Roughnecks were eliminated in the XFL semifinals by the Arlington Renegades. They finished the season with a 7-3 record and entered the playoffs as the top seed in the XFL's South Division. Heflin finished the year with a sack and three tackles for loss among 19 total stops for the Roughnecks.

August 12, 2022; San Francisco 49ers running back JaMycal Hasty (23) is tackled by Green Bay Packers defensive tackle Jack Heflin (96). Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

The 6'3" and 304-Lb. Heflin joins a Saints defensive tackle position that has had tons of changeover. New Orleans spent a first-round pick on Clemson DT Bryan Bresee and signed free-agent tackles Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders this offseason.

The Saints ranked just 19th against the run in 2022. Their defensive tackles contributed just 13.5 of the team’s 94 sacks over the last two seasons.

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