Saints select Georgia DT Christen Miller with No. 42 pick

By Ross Jackson

The New Orleans Saints have a new space-eating run-stopper on the defensive interior after their newest draft investment. 

With the No. 42 overall selection, the Saints selected Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller. The 6-foot-4, 321-pound interior defensive lineman is an outlandishly athletic player for his size. He will bring the Saints an excellent run defender on the interior and also provide some untapped pass rush and disruption.

Miller is often noted for his quickness and early down value.

He had 23 total tackles in 2025, four of which for a loss and 1.5 sacks while appearing in and starting all 14 games during the season. As a fun fact, he wanted to be a theater student, but couldn’t do so because of the schedule conflicting with football.

The Georgia-native had an extensive injury history in high school, but has only missed three games in the last three years of his collegiate career. 

He totaled an impressive 11.3% pass rush win rate on the interior along with a 7.4% run stop rate, both strong numbers for his position. He’ll join the competition awaiting at nose tackle going into 2026 with the Saints. The Saints traded for defensive tackle Davon Godchaux last year and was one of the veterans to see his snaps decrease as the 2025 NFL season drew to a close.

The Saints’ next selection will come in the third round at No. 73 overall.