New Orleans linebacker corps is their most top-heavy group.
It’s no secret that the New Orleans Saints defense struggled last year. They ranked 27th against the pass and 31st against the run while being one of just three teams to allow more than 6,400 yards in 2024. The Saints linebackers are perhaps their most top-heavy position group, as starters Demario Davis and Pete Werner are both Pro Bowl level players, but the roster behind them leaves a lot to be desired.
Pete Werner is starting to develop into a solid player, but a lack of depth means that the defense is very limited if he or Demario Davis are not in the lineup. The Saints allowed 32 points per game in the five games missed by one of either Davis or Werner and were 0-5 in such games. Meanwhile, in games where both Davis and Werner played, the Saints allowed 19.5 points per game and went 5-7.
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It is clear the Saints defense needs both of them on the field to be successful. Davis finished the season with a career high 136 tackles while Werner finished second on the team with 92 tackles in just 13 games. The next closest linebacker was Anfernee Orji with just 30 tackles on the year.
The Saints will likely have their pick of linebackers at #9 other than edge rusher Abdul Carter. Jihaad Campbell from Alabama is the highest rated purely off-ball linebacker in this draft, but to take him at 9th overall would be seen as a reach. The Saints could trade back into the teens and presumably still get him if they want to acquire more draft capital. Other names to keep an eye on in the draft would be Clemson’s Barrett Carter, Ole Miss’s Chris Paul, Jr., or Georgia’s Smael Mondon, Jr.
The Saints need another linebacker badly, do you think they should take one with one of their first two picks in the draft?
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