There’s a surprising amount of upheaval in store for the New Orleans Saints defense in 2023, having moved on from a number of established starters as well as several high-profile assistant coaches. What’s the end product going to look like? Can Dennis Allen keep his defense in shape with so many changes swirling around them?
Odds are, yes, he’ll continue to field an elite group. Even if the starting lineup looks different from what fans have grown used to. We’ve written up the entire 90-man roster by jersey number here, and shared our way-too-early predictions for the 53-man depth chart and practice squad in Week 1 as well. Now let’s take it a step further and project the starters on defense:
Left end: Cameron Jordan
Jordan returns to start yet another league in the NFL, this time with the Saints’ all-time sacks record in tow.
Defensive tackle: Nathan Shepherd
Rookie first-round pick Bryan Bresee will play plenty of snaps, but Shepherd has more experience and should play early and often for New Orleans as their David Onyemata replacement.
Nose tackle: Khalen Saunders
Saunders is coming off a breakout season with the Kansas City Chiefs and is looking to keep it up after joining the Saints as a high-profile free agent to replace Shy Tuttle.
Right end: Carl Granderson
Granderson is the immediate choice to replace Marcus Davenport, but don’t sleep on second-round rookie Isaiah Foskey, who could push for the starting job here.
SAM linebacker: Zack Baun
Baun needs to do more than play special teams to make the roster, but he has the clearest skill set for a strong side linebacker replacing Kaden Elliss.
MIKE linebacker: Demario Davis
Davis returns as one of the best at what he does in the NFL. There aren’t many linebackers with his combination of hard-earned experience, playmaking ability, and leadership qualities.
WILL linebacker: Pete Werner
There’s high hopes for Werner given how well he’s performed in his first two years, but he needs to prove he can be an every-down player and stay healthy.
Nickel: Bradley Roby
This is a familiar role for Roby, who covered the slot well for the Saints last year and in the past with the Denver Broncos — coached at the time by his current defensive coordinator Joe Woods.
Left cornerback: Alontae Taylor
Paulson Adebo won’t make it easy, but Taylor has more upside, and he should win this battle. Taylor doesn’t panic when the ball is thrown over his head and he yielded fewer penalties while making more plays as a rookie last year.
Strong safety: Tyrann Mathieu
The Saints weren’t able to get as creative with Mathieu’s usage as they hoped last year, what with all the injuries in the secondary, but he should have a more fluid role in 2023.
Free safety: Marcus Maye
Maye has sideline-to-sideline speed no one else in the secondary can match, but if he misses more time with a suspension the Saints should be able to lean on some combination of Lonnie Johnson Jr. and Jordan Howden during his absence.
Right cornerback: Marshon Lattimore
It kind of felt like Lattimore would be perpetually 24 years old, but he’s taken on a leadership role in the secondary and is a critically important piece of this defense as a lockdown corner who has seen everything NFL offenses can throw at him.
