Saints’ defensive interior has severely thinned

By Ross Jackson

While much of the New Orleans Saints offseason has been focused on obtaining weapons for the team’s young quarterback and offense, one of the roster’s position groups has seen a marked exodus of talent. 

Defensive tackle was already often viewed as an area of the roster that needed attention over the offseason. But with a few weeks of the offseason now passed, no new additions and a pair of departures have turned a group primed for improvement to one apparently subject to an overhaul. 

Since the beginning of free agency, less that a month ago, the Saints have seen defensive tackles Jonah Williams and Jonathan Bullard sign away.  

The Saints returned John Ridgeway III early in free agency, on a two-year deal and signed Coziah Izzard to a reserve/future deal. However, no new additions have been made as of yet. 

It’s hard to believe that isn’t by design, though it could be purely circumstance. Right now, the Saints’ defensive tackle room includes 2022 first-rounder Bryan Bresee, 2026 sixth-round pick Khristian Boyd, last year’s third-round selection Vernon Broughton and veterans Davon Godchaux and Nathan Shepherd. 

Godchaux was added via trade last season and served his role helping the Saints’ run defense leap from No. 27 in 2024 to No. 19 across the league last year. Meanwhile Bresee and Sheiherd had quietly strong years, mostly quiet as a byproduct of their position. The three currently project to be the team’s starting interior unit in 2026. 

However the depth behind them is where questions begin to arise. 

Boyd and Ridegway didn’t see much action in 2025. Some cases were due to injury, others simply to opportunity or lack thereof. Meanwhile, Broughton (who the Saints are excited about going into year two) appeared in only one game after a Week 2 season-ending injury. 

Not only could the Saints look to revamp the depth they have at this position, but the team could evaluate its opportunity to even bolster its starting lineup in this year’s NFL Draft and late free agency. 

Draftable players like Iowa State’s Dominique “Big Citrus” Orange and Cincinnati’s Dontay Corleone offer excellent options at nose tackle while versatile linemen like Southeastern Louisiana’s Kaleb Proctor and Missouri’s Zion Young have the ability to play multiple positions, including the 3-4 hand-in-the-dirt defensive end role inside of stand-up edge rushers like Chase Young.