
Scott Kinser-Imagn Images
By Ross Jackson
Of all of the players that were expected to see a boost under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Khristian Boyd was one of the most intriguing.
There were plenty of questions immediately following Staley’s hire as to whether or not the Saints had the appropriate player personnel to carry out his 3-4 defensive scheme. Even before New Orleans went out and traded for former New England Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux, the team had a couple of options in the building. One of them being Boyd.
Boyd saw 279 snaps at nose tackle during his final season at Northern Iowa. After being selected by the Saints in the sixth round of the 2023 draft, he made the active roster but saw very few opportunities on gamedays.
This season, that should change.
Boyd showed a lot of growth between year one and year two, notching a sack (that was initially ruled a safety and then overturned) in the first preseason game against the Los Angeles Chargers.
SAFETY! 🏈
Khristian Boyd puts the #Saints on the board!
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/ZNMQzciaDd
— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) August 10, 2025
Bo Davis’ Impact
The Saints landed a big fish in the coaching market this past offseason hiring former LSU Tigers defensive line coach Bo Davis for the same role in New Orleans. Boyd credits Davis for aiding the expedited nature of his growth, especially in the form of helping him develop more pass rushing moves.
“Our new (defensive line) coach Bo, we’ve been working a lot of pass rush especially during OTAs,” Boyd said in his post-game media availability. “Just from the beginning of OTAs to the end of OTAs, that little six- to eight-week span, I just feel like I got so much better at pass rush. He’s helped out a lot.”
Brandon Staley’s Impact
Nose tackles aren’t often noted for their pass rush ability. It’s usually a position that is more so celebrated for its run-stopping prowess, but the attacking nature of Staley’s defensive front makes all the difference.
“I feel like we didn’t really move that much last year,” Boyd said. “We were set. We had a lot of adjustments, but we were never slanting and moving. I don’t really like when defensive linemen move all the time, but I think it’s good to switch it up a lot. I feel like that’s what this new scheme does. We’re stout a lot of times, but we’re also slanting and moving and that messes up the offensive linemen’s rhythm.”
Along with the contributions of the new coaching staff, Boyd himself has simply done things the right way. He’s embraced his new staff, new responsibilities and new opportunity. He was a versatile threat in college piling on not just 22.5 tackles for a loss over his career, but 10.5 sacks as well. Now, he looks to carry over that production to his refreshed role in New Orleans.
