Prior to and in the early portions of the 2025 NFL regular season, things appeared bleak for the state of the New Orleans Saints’ defense behind new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. Many pinpointed a diminished pass rush, injuries, and the retirement of Tyrann Mathieu as factors that would lead to a lack of success in Staley’s first season in the Big Easy.
However, Staley and Co. have not only blocked out the noise and proved doubters wrong, but they’ve actually put together a squad that is in
large part responsible for the Saints’ late-season turnaround, which is putting many teams and analysts alike on notice.
ESPN’s Mina Kimes has made a couple of recent posts on her X social feed that showcase the immense growth and progression of the New Orleans defense in a few key metric stats from the 2024 season under former head coach Dennis Allen and from earlier points of the 2025 season to where the team is now.
Before the Week 11 bye, New Orleans was ranked near the bottom of the league in points allowed, giving up almost 30 per game to opposing offenses. Since then, the Saints have reduced that total to just 22.5 points given up, a mark good for 14th overall.
Just a month ago, New Orleans was giving up over 316 yards a contest and had the 12th-ranked defense in the NFL before the latter of back-to-back losses versus the Atlanta Falcons and Miami Dolphins. Staley’s group is now the ninth-best overall defense in the NFL, giving up an average of just over 300 yards per game while rattling off three straight victories.
What makes the adjustments and turnaround that much more impressive is the highly-touted performances from this year’s defensive draft class, especially within the secondary. In addition to defensive tackle Vernon Broughton and linebacker Danny Stutsman, safety Jonas Sanker and cornerback Quincy Riley have stepped up for New Orleans and played a ton of reps early in their careers, earning invaluable experience and proving to be cornerstone pieces for the future of the Saints’ defensive units. Sanker and Riley have combined for three interceptions and 14 pass deflections this year.
While the youth are flourishing and expected to progress next season, how are the aging veterans within Staley’s defense performing in 2025? Actually, they’re playing quite well late into their football days.
Longtime New Orleans Saint, edge rusher Cameron Jordan, is currently tied for 15th-most sacks in the league with eight and a half on the year. The sack total is the highest he’s had since 2022 and the third-most since he finished with 15.5 in 2019.
Fourteen-year vet Demario Davis sits with 131 total tackles this year, tenth-most in the NFL. The ironman linebacker has only missed two games since joining the Saints in 2018 and is always bound to be involved with the play when he’s on the football field.
With two games remaining in the season for New Orleans, they are riding high and would love nothing more than to finish out 2025 on a long winning streak. As for Brandon Staley and the defense, it’s safe to say the former Los Angeles Chargers’ head coach has found a home in Louisiana and will likely make the most of this opportunity to keep the Saints competitive for years to come.
