Saints projected to have a top-10 defense yet again

The New Orleans Saints have consistently put together some of the best defensive performances in recent history. Why should 2022 be any different?

Year after year, the Saints lose a handful of talented defenders due to salary cap restrictions, but year after year, the team still manages to build an elite defense.

This offseason, NOLA notably lost Marcus Williams and Malcolm Jenkins, but they bounced back by signing Marcus Maye, Daniel Sorensen, and Tyrann Mathieu, to name a few names.

Those additions more than likely mean the Saints will resume their position at the top of the league in defense, as is already projected by quite a few NFL pundits.

CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin predicted which teams could field a top-10 defense in 2022 and had NOLA ranked among the best:

"New Orleans has Dennis Allen adding more responsibility as head coach just like Tampa has with Bowles, but the Saints have a more reliable defensive backfield than their division rivals, thanks to their adding Tyrann Mathieu to rebound after losing Marcus Williams."

New Orleans Saints have yet again assembled a potentially lethal defense in 2022

After an unimpressive 2021 season, many of the team’s standout performances came on the defensive side of the ball. The Saints’ shutout of Brady’s Bucs comes to mind, and with Dennis Allen at the helm, NOLA’s defense should only get better.

According to Dubin’s rankings, the Saints’ D is up there along with the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are farther behind, listed as being “somewhat likely” to have a top-10 defense.

Along with Allen, the Saints promoted in-house defensive assistants Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard to co-defensive coordinator positions which bodes well for team morale and chemistry overall.

The Saints have a shot at winning the NFC South only if their defense stays elite, as New Orleans is scheduled to play some offensively sound teams including the Bucs, Rams, Bengals, and 49ers.

Is another top-10 defensive ranking in the cards for the Saints in 2022? We certainly think so.