The Saints came into 2026 with one of the bigger questions in the building centered on whether Brandon Staley’s defense could hold its ground in Year 2. Through seven weeks, the answer has been rough: New Orleans is giving up 27.7 points per game, and only five teams are worse. The Saints are also surrendering 372.7 yards per game, which puts them in the bottom four leaguewide.
What makes the slide more troubling is that it doesn’t come with a clean explanation. The Saints brought back most of the starting 11 after finishing last season with the NFL’s No. 9 total defense, the No. 4 pass defense, and the No. 3 run defense by Expected Points Added.
They’ve also avoided catastrophic injury through the first seven games. Yet the results have fallen off anyway, and even in last week’s 16-point outing, the defense couldn’t get off the field late and left the offense without another shot at a go-ahead score.
The biggest issue starts up front, where the defensive line has simply not held up. Bryan Bresee went down with a season-ending injury in the first week of training camp, and the group hasn’t recovered.
Davon Godchaux and Nathan Shepherd have combined for just one tackle for loss, Vernon Broughton has shown flashes but disappeared for long stretches, and Christen Miller has contributed very little while dealing with injury. The Saints have been too easy to move at the line of scrimmage, and that weakness has showed up everywhere else behind it.
The one part of the defense that has consistently flashed is the edge rush. Chase Young and Carl Granderson have carried the group almost by themselves, combining for 12.5 sacks.
Young has seven sacks, second-most in the NFL, and ranks sixth in total pressures with 32 according to NextGenStats. He has at least half a sack in five of seven games, a total that should really be six if not for a questionable Week 1 ruling that wiped out a strip sack.
Granderson has been nearly as disruptive with 5.5 sacks, tied for fifth in the league, and he’s also been one of the Saints’ better run defenders.
After those two, the drop-off is steep. Cameron Jordan has eight pressures and no sacks on 108 pass-rush snaps, while Anfernee Jennings and Tyree Wilson have managed one sack and six pressures combined on 72 pass-rush snaps.
At linebacker, the Saints have gotten mixed results. Pete Werner, now working as the MIKE linebacker in place of Demario Davis, is playing what might be the best football of his career.
Kaden Elliss has fit Staley’s system well and made an impact as both a rusher and run defender when healthy, though he missed three games with a calf injury and New Orleans clearly felt that absence. Danny Stutsman, meanwhile, struggled badly when asked to play bigger snaps during Elliss’ injury.
The unit has also been part of the problem against the run and has offered little in coverage, even if there’s reason to think it can improve as Elliss gets more time back on the field.
The secondary has had its own uneven start. The Saints opened with one of the youngest cornerback groups in the league, with Kool-Aid McKinstry and Quincy Riley outside and Jonas Sanker in the slot.
Sanker has made more of an impact against the run than in coverage, McKinstry has been mostly steady but has also given up his share of big plays, and Riley has already been benched in favor of Martin Emerson after Emerson’s two-interception game in New York. The Saints are using more Cover 3 than almost anyone, and opponents have taken advantage underneath.
New Orleans has also allowed 24 completions of 20 or more yards, tied for fourth most in the NFL.
The safety play hasn’t helped much. Julian Blackmon is tied for the team lead with two interceptions, and both directly helped the Saints win games.
Outside of that, there hasn’t been much to point to. Blackmon and Justin Reid have not been credited with a pass breakup other than those interceptions, and the two have combined to miss 11 tackles.
Pro Football Reference lists them as having allowed five passing touchdowns in coverage.
By the numbers and by the eye test, this is a defense that has taken a real step backward. Some pieces are still holding up, but too many others have slipped at once.
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