Danny Stutsman was given the starter treatment by the New Orleans Saints this preseason, despite the fact that Stutsman is behind Kaden Elliss and Pete Werner on the depth chart. The Saints sat him in the first two because he has a defined role, and that defined role could give him a breakout season.
Stutsman was a part of the Saints’ great 2025 draft class. Kelvin Banks Jr., Tyler Shough and Jonas Sanker were the standout players during their rookie seasons and made the largest impacts so far. It can be almost hard to remember that Stutsman was actually one of the most anticipated players in the class when the draft first concluded.
The linebacker got off to a slower start than some of his fellow draftmates, but he was able to showcase why the hype wasn’t unjustified in the limited action he saw. Stutsman flew around the field and was a strong run defender.
Danny Stutsman could replace Pete Werner as early as this week
Many fans are wondering is when Stutsman will replace Werner in the starting lineup. That may still be a year away, but Stutsman will come much closer to being a starter in his second season.
By the end of his rookie campaign, Stutsman was on a rotational schedule where he’d occasionally step in for Peter Werner. There’s no reason to believe his role will be limited to just that in 2026. At worst, the rotation should be more frequent.
One thing Stutsman did amazingly is tackle. While it may sound basic for a linebacker, it really begins to highlight one major difference between him and Werner. He only missed 5 tackles last year compared to Werner's 15, and Werner missed tackle rate was 3% higher.
The way the tackles look is another difference between the two linebackers. Stutsman is the more violent tackler, and you can visually see it. It’s the little things.
A starting role feels like it’s a year away, max. The transition could be during the season, but until it happens, Stutsman will have to feast in his growing role. He’s stepped in for both Werner and Elliss during certain segments of practice.
This switch was framed more like a package rather than being a part of a rotation. We’ll have to wait to see exactly what that role looks like in live action to judge it.
One thing we could see more of is Stutsman and Werner at linebacker while Elliss is an edge rusher. The latter has sack incentives in his contract, so this could be a frequent deployment in obvious passing and 2 minute defense situations.
The increase in snaps and usage in critical moments will give Stutsman more chances to shine. From that point, it’s just about being too good to be taken off the field. He appears to be the future next to Elliss, and Stutsman is being put in position to grab the reigns.
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