The defense was a priority for the New Orleans Saints in the 2023 NFL draft, and their efforts paid off — the defensive line in particular is seen as one of the league’s most-improved units. But how many rookies and veteran free agent acquisitions will be running with the starters when the season starts?
That’s something we won’t learn for sure until training camp, but here’s our first projection for the Saints’ starters and immediate backups on defense going into the summer (click here for a preview of their offense):