Gone are the days of people assuming the New Orleans Saints are going to be one of the worst defenses in the league. The Saints have finished top-10 in NFL the past two seasons, and Jared Dubin of CBS Sports predicts that trend to continue in 2022. Dubin’s feelings about the defense are much higher than the offense, which he put into the middle of the league.
Recently, Dubin ordered all of the defenses in the league in different tiers in terms of likeliness that they will finish in the top 10. The Saints were put into the ‘most likely’ tier along with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams. About that ranking, Dubin said this:
“New Orleans has Dennis Allen adding more responsibility as head coach just like Tampa has with Bowles, but the Saints have a more reliable defensive backfield than their division rivals, thanks to their adding Tyrann Mathieu to rebound after losing Marcus Williams.”
The Saints defense should be improved from last year for a few reasons. Tyrann Mathieu and Marcus Maye could be a net improvement from last season, at worst it should be a fairly minimal change in either direction. Paulson Adebo and Pete Werner had impressive seasons after being thrown into the fire, they should be better in their sophomore seasons. The health of Marcus Davenport and Payton Turner will play heavily into the pass rush, both are healthy heading into the season.
Lastly, as Dubin mentioned, the top of the coaching staff is defensively focused. Allen’s involvement with the team should allow for minimal change in the defenses locker room. Elevating key assistants like Ryan Nielsen (defensive line) and Kris Richard (secondary) to new co-defensive coordinator spots should help Allen delegate some responsibilities without rocking the boat.
The Saints are predicted to be the best defense in the NFC South. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the ‘somewhat likely’ tier, the Carolina Panthers are listed as ‘somewhat unlikely,’ and the Atlanta Falcons were given the ‘very unlikely’ tier. If New Orleans is going to reclaim the division title they won four years in a row, it’ll be because their defense met these high expectations.
