Brandon Staley’s first season running the New Orleans Saints defense changed the conversation fast.
When he arrived in 2025, plenty of the attention followed him from his rough finish with the Los Angeles Chargers. There were real questions about whether his light-box, two-high safety approach could still work without the kind of star power he had with the 2020 Los Angeles Rams, when Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey were part of the picture.
That debate looks a lot different now. Heading into 2026 training camp, Staley has already delivered a quiet turnaround in New Orleans. The Saints finished 2025 as a top-10 total defense, backed by the league’s fourth-best passing defense and a major jump from the defensive line.
The next step is bigger than simply being solid. The real question is whether this group can become a nightmare for offenses.
A big reason for optimism is the pass rush. Staley’s system helped unlock pressure off the edge last season, and New Orleans finally got the kind of production it had been chasing for years. The Saints had two defenders reach double-digit sacks in the same season for the first time since 2013.
Chase Young was at the center of that surge. He posted a career-high 10.0 sacks in 2025, and with Cameron Jordan now sliding into more of a rotational, mentorship role, Young enters 2026 as the clear leader of the line.
The numbers underneath the surface tell the same story. New Orleans may not have looked dominant in total rushing yards allowed, but the Saints finished No. 2 in defensive EPA per rush and No. 6 in yards per carry. Teams were running into light boxes, and the Saints were making those snaps miserable anyway.
The bigger shift in 2026 is the roster makeup. This is no longer a veteran-heavy defense. Demario Davis and Alontae Taylor are gone, and that leaves a leadership gap Staley has to fill with a younger, more athletic group.
That puts a lot on Kool-Aid McKinstry and Jonas Sanker. McKinstry’s rookie season was a strong one, with 17 pass breakups and 3 interceptions, and now he’s being asked to help lead the back end.
Sanker, meanwhile, earned All-Pro honors as a rookie after forcing his way into the starting lineup in Week 2. He gives Staley the kind of versatile piece needed for the STAR role in this scheme.
The challenge ahead is obvious. The league has leaned harder into 12-personnel and 13-personnel looks, using multiple tight ends to attack the kind of light, nickel-heavy structures Staley likes to play. That trend is going to test New Orleans all season.
The Saints’ schedule reflects that problem. Nine of their 2026 opponents were among the league’s top heavy-personnel offenses last year, including the Atlanta Falcons and the Cleveland Browns.
New Orleans spent the offseason preparing for that exact issue. Kaden Elliss was added at linebacker, while Christen Miller and Anfernee Jennings were brought in to help the front hold up against bigger formations.
If Staley can keep his coverage shell intact while getting enough resistance in the box, the Saints have a real shot to make life miserable for opposing play-callers. With Kellen Moore running unscripted scrimmages against Staley in camp, the defense is getting tested early.
The pieces are there: length in the secondary, a revived pass rush, and a coordinator who looks like he has found his edge again. Now the Saints have to prove it can all hold up when the season starts.
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