Few positions looked as different last season compared to the year before as the New Orleans Saints’ defensive tackles. With their position coach leaving for a promotion, the Saints allowed the entire group to test free agency while bringing in veteran replacements and spending their top draft pick on a new centerpiece.
So how did they perform individually? We’re keeping our 2023 Saints free agent report card series going after reviewing Foster Moreau and Jamaal Williams. Which leads us to the next question: was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing at defensive tackle?
Free agent contract
Last year the Saints signed Shepherd to a three-year deal valued at $15 million, carrying just over $10.1 million in guarantees — that’s coming from a $5 million signing bonus and the first two years of his base salary. It puts his 2024 cap hit at $5.1 million, but the Saints can lower it to about $2.8 million with a standard restructure. The downside is that would raise his 2025 cap hit to more than $6.2 million when he’ll be turning 32 years old, so if he underperforms he’ll leave a chunk of dead money behind should the team release him.
It’s good money for a veteran defensive tackle, but not great. Shepherd’s $5 million average per year ranks 44th among interior linemen (his teammate Khalen Saunders, who we’ll talk about soon, ranks 50th). If there’s a position the Saints could justify a big investment in free agency, it’s this one.
Snap counts
Shepherd played in all 17 games for the Saints this season, recording a career-high 593 snaps — 54% of the team’s total. He saw a clean split with 303 snaps in run defense and 290 reps on passing downs. He was consistently playing ahead of Saunders, Bryan Bresee, and the team’s other defensive tackles. Shepherd was also on the field for all 65 snaps with the field goal blocking unit on special teams, and they brought him in for a handful of looks on the punt return squad.
Season stats
The Saints asked Shepherd to play more often than he ever did with the New York Jets, and he responded well: he bagged a career-high 3.5 sacks and was credited with 23 quarterback pressures at Pro Football Focus, another new personal best. He had 4 tackles for loss, tying the second-highest number in his career.
But personal stats like this are just one aspect of evaluating defensive line play, and it isn’t the best one for defenders. Shepherd was a big part of the team’s run defense and that was an area of concern last year. New Orleans finished 11th in both rushing yards per carry and per game allowed. Teams were able to make too much headway and break into the second level far too often. It’s good that Shepherd was disruptive, but he should also be holding ground more effectively than we’ve seen.
Season recap, future outlook
Shepherd had big shoes to fill with David Onyemata, Shy Tuttle, and nearly everyone else in the rotation leaving in free agency. And that’s a tall task for a career backup. But he did his job well, for the most part, and it’s good that he was penalized just twice (once for roughing the passer, and once for tripping an opponent) after drawing eight flags in his last two years with the Jets. He didn’t hurt the team when he was on the field even if you’d like to see more from the volume of reps he was given.
He should return to the lineup in 2024 and play a big role again. But the Saints have to be expecting Bryan Bresee to unseat him on top of the rotation. That’s why Bresee was drafted. If that goes as planned and Shepherd can maximize his reps while playing a reduced role — averaging, say, 30 snaps per game instead of 35 — the interior line should be in good shape. That leaves plenty of room for Saunders and either Malcolm Roach (if he’s re-signed) or a new addition to factor in.
Report card grade
We keep coming back to this phrase: good, not great. For what the Saints are paying him and what he was asked to do, Shepherd was a good pickup. But he wasn’t great. He wasn’t performing at the same level as Onyemata or other defensive tackles earning double-digit salaries, and that’s fine. It wasn’t the expectation for him. Still, you’d like to see a stouter run defense than the Saints fielded last year, and Shepherd has to take some of the blame for that given how often he was on the field. Few players had as many chances to be impactful against the run as he did.
But overall he made a positive impact on the team. He’ll be back in 2024 and still be playing a notable role in the interior rotation. If he can keep that up there’s no reason he won’t see out his contract and maybe earn an extension to finish his career in New Orleans. At the same time, his presence shouldn’t stop the Saints from looking for an upgrade or real blue-chip interior lineman.
Grade: B
