Improving the defensive line must be a top priority for the Saints this offseason

It is no secret that the New Orleans Saints struggled to get pressure on the quarterback this past year. They ranked 28th in the NFL with 34 total sacks in 2023. This is something that the Saints need to address and get fixed if they want to be competitive this upcoming season.

New Orleans had several players who were able to obtain sacks this year. Carl Granderson led the team with 8.5 sacks, which ranked him 33rd in the NFL. Demario Davis was in second with 6.5 sacks, followed by rookie defensive tackle Brian Bresee with 4.5.

Evident by the stats, the Saints do have some young promising pass rushers who have already proven to be great contributors in Carl Granderson and Brian Bresee. These two had great years and should continue to get better and better. They also have players such as Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey who we still don’t know how much they will bring to the table due to not being able to stay on the field.

The Saints have been lucky to have Demario Davis able to play at such a high level despite being 35 years old. Davis will continue to produce on the field for New Orleans, specifically with the pass rush, but the Saints need to start finding pieces to improve this pass rush group.

Saints must add new pass rushers

There are a couple of ways that they can do this. The first is that they target some players in free agency to bolster the group. There are some strong free-agent pass rushers that New Orleans could key in on that would immediately produce for them. The team could also turn to the NFL draft and find a prospect that they like.

There are prospects such as Jared Verse, Laiatu Latu, or Dallas Turner who New Orleans could target in the first round. The Saints could also wait until the later rounds to find prospects such as Mohammed Kamara or Austin Booker. All of these options should impact the Saints pass rush in a positive way.

The Saints have struggled greatly this past year to generate pressure on the quarterback. They desperately need to rank higher than 28 next year if they want a chance to be competitive. With plenty of options to choose from to fix this problem this offseason, the Saints just need to choose the right one.

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