The Saints’ defensive tackle group hasn’t exactly been the loudest part of the roster conversation, but it’s turned into one of the more interesting rooms on the team.
That matters because, heading into the offseason, the position felt easy to overlook again. The group wasn’t bad, but it looked thin enough that one injury could throw everything off.
That concern eventually became reality when Bryan Bresee was sidelined for the entire season, though that hadn’t happened yet when free agency came around. Even then, the Saints passed on adding help there.
The real swing came in the draft, when New Orleans brought in rookie Christen Miller in the second round. That move gave the room a major lift.
Davon Godchaux remains the starting nose tackle for the regular season, but Miller has pushed hard enough to make that job uncomfortable. In preseason, he wasn’t just solid - he was a major part of the defensive line, using his size to occupy space and looking far more seasoned than a rookie usually does.
That kind of early impact has to have the staff fired up.
For most of the offseason after that, the Saints still didn’t make any other meaningful additions at defensive tackle. Then, after the 53-man roster deadline, they signed Colby Wooden. Wooden entered the league as a Packers draft pick in 2023, and after Green Bay traded for Zaire Franklin, he was sent to the Indianapolis Colts.
Wooden had some good moments with Green Bay and was one of the standouts in training camp this offseason, even if the preseason didn’t go nearly as smoothly. Even so, he gives New Orleans valuable depth, and at 25, he still has room to grow into that role over time.
Put it all together, and the Saints now have a group that includes Vernon Broughton, Godchaux, Nathan Shepherd, John Ridgeway III, and Christen Miller. On paper, that’s a pretty intriguing defensive tackle room.
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