Vernon Broughton’s path to snaps in New Orleans looks a lot tighter now than it did when the Saints drafted him.
The Saints took the Texas defensive tackle with the 71st overall pick in the third round of last year’s NFL Draft, and the expectation was that the 6’5”, 311 lb. lineman would carve out a major role for the defense in 2025. Instead, a season-ending hip injury cut his rookie year short after his regular season debut, wiping out most of his first season before it ever really got going. He was finally cleared to participate in March, but the real work now is fighting through a crowded defensive line rotation.
That competition got even steeper this offseason. New Orleans used the 42nd overall pick in this year’s draft on Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller, giving the Saints back-to-back Day-2 investments in the front line. That kind of draft capital says plenty: the team still viewed the defensive line as a need and wanted top-end help there.
The Saints didn’t stop with Miller, either. With questions lingering about whether Cam Jordan would return - he has since re-signed for “one final season” - New Orleans made another move to add to the pass rush.
The Saints sent a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders and got back a seventh-rounder and Tyree Wilson, the former 2023 seventh-overall pick. Wilson hasn’t produced much yet in the NFL, but the Saints clearly saw the appeal: a young edge rusher with talent and very little risk attached.
For Broughton, that means training camp and the preseason arrive with a real challenge attached. He should still matter to this defense, but returning from a serious injury is never a simple reset button. The Saints have Davon Godchaux helping anchor the middle, Miller stepping into the interior mix, and Wilson in the fold as well, which leaves Broughton trying to work his way up the pecking order.
At the moment, the expectation is that he slots behind Jordan while the coaching staff sorts out the rotations. Broughton has the kind of relentless athleticism that can pop on the field, but the bigger question is whether the lost time from last season slows his rise or whether he comes back stronger for a team trying to move forward from a 6-11 finish.
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Rashid Shaheeds rise in New Orleans has been built on plays that arrive fast and leave a mark, and one of the earliest came in 2022 against Atlanta. A 68-yard touchdown swing in that game captured the kind of instant-impact speed that made him stand out as a rookie, especially for a player who had already shown he could turn limited touches into points from the moment he got on the field.
Shaheed kept expanding that role in 2023, when he became a real factor as both a receiver and a special teams weapon for the Saints. His season was the kind that moved him from intriguing young piece to established contributor, which is why his injury-shortened 2024 campaign carried so much frustration for a team that had seen how dangerous he can be when healthy. [Read more 🡒]
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Saints Suddenly Linked To Proven Receiver Fans Have Been Waiting On
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Allen still has the kind of rsum that makes him attractive even as the market sorts itself out, and his production in Los Angeles showed he can still be a reliable piece when healthy. For the Saints, the appeal is obvious: Moore knows what Allen brings, and New Orleans knows it needs more certainty in its passing game, even if no signing or agreement has been reported yet. [Read more 🡒]