Tag: Cameron Jordan

Carl Granderson is the Saints’ surest thing at defensive end

There’s a lot of question marks at defensive end for the New Orleans Saints, but Dennis Allen says Carl Granderson isn’t one of them:

Carl Granderson has earned the full trust of Dennis Allen. In his interview after Day 3 at New Orleans Saints training camp, Allen was asked to clarify a sentiment from a previous interview. He expressed concerns about each of the Saints defensive ends, singling out Cameron Jordan, Chase Young, Isaiah Foskey and Payton Turner.

Do you see someone missing? When asked about Granderson’s exclusion, Allen made it clear this wasn’t a memory lapse.

“Carl has earned the right to be someone we’re really going to count on,” Allen said. If that wasn’t clear enough, Allen took it a step farther and named the questions marks and variables surrounding all other players at the position.

“Carl’s a guy who just continued to improve,” Allen added.

This speaks volumes about the view of Granderson inside the locker room. He’s coming off the best year of his career. In 2023, he set career highs in sacks (8.5), tackles for loss (14) and quarterback pressures (58), leading the team in each category. Granderson  hit double-digit tackles for a loss for the first time in his career, and he’s looking to achieve that same accomplishment with sacks this upcoming season.

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Cameron Jordan on being a mentor in Year 14 with the Saints

Cameron Jordan is entering Year 14 with the Saints. As the most experienced pro in the room, he’s embracing his role as a mentor:

Cameron Jordan used to be the young guy in the room. Looking up to proven pros like Will Smith and Jonathan Vilma, and just hoping to make a name for himself, proving why the New Orleans Saints drafted him. But it’s been a long time since then. He’s going into Year 14 with the black and gold, and these days he’s being asked to step into the role of a mentor. There isn’t much that he hasn’t seen or done through 209 games with the Saints, and his younger teammates know it.

Jordan was busy between drills at Wednesday’s first training camp practice of the summer, offering words and examples to those around him. Not just the young draft picks lined up behind him at defensive end, but the offensive linemen opposing him like Trevor Penning.

“This is Year 3 for him. It’s time to figure it out,” Jordan said of Penning after practice. He was seen taking time between reps to give the right tackle pointers, and he said that opportunity to help Penning is important to him. “I don’t know what anybody else is seeing on the outside in, but right now in between those lines, it’s whatever I can do to help us win a Super Bowl. So if I can talk to him, ‘Hey, calm down,’ ‘Don’t worry about it,’ ‘Throw hands, anchor,’ whatever it is, let’s get him right now. Because I don’t want to get to the season and be like, ‘We should’ve (done this),’ because I don’t have time for should’ve, I have right now.”

Still, it’s not like Jordan is neglecting his fellow defensive linemen. He’s excited to see what they can do after putting in the work to prepare for what may be a pivotal training camp for some of them.

“Payton Turner is probably in the best shape of his life right now. He’s in Year 4, he’s got more than a chip (on his shoulder), he’s got everything to prove this year,” Jordan said while rattling off the list of teammates competing around him. He continued, “I just think as we grow right now, it’s the time to grow right now. It’s the time to figure out what we’re good at it, what we want to run. How we can effect the quarterback. How can we implement Chase Young in our defense as a guy we know who can be explosive?”

Not many guys can say they’ve been there, done that in the NFL like Jordan. All he has left is winning a Super Bowl. It’s the last thing he can achieve, and he’s desperate to add a championship to his trophy case. And he knows he won’t get it done alone. Improving those around him and making the team better is his priority. He just needs to keep it up.

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Saints spend top-10 pick on Penn State DE Abdul Carter in 2025 mock draft

It’s still too soon to accurately project the 2025 NFL draft, but Abdul Carter could be a good match for the Saints if they’re picking early again next year:

It’s still too soon to accurately project the 2025 NFL draft, but Penn State star Abdul Carter could be a good match for the New Orleans Saints if they’re picking early again next year. That was the case in this projection from Draft Wire’s Curt Popejoy, which had the Saints picking at No. 8 overall.

Carter has the size the Saints covet at a listed 6-foot-3 and 259 pounds, and he comes from a program that’s sent several great pass rushers to the NFL. Defensive ends Chop Robinson and Adisa Isaac were both top-100 picks this spring, which opened the door for Carter to move outside after initially playing off-ball linebacker. That was also the case for Micah Parsons, who was picked at No. 12 back in 2021.

And like Parsons, Carter is seen as a versatile defender who can make plays in coverage or rush the quarterback from a two-point stance. He needs experience playing on the line of scrimmage with his hand down but he has Pro Bowl potential if he can keep learning and developing.

He could make sense for the Saints. They haven’t gotten enough production out of high draft picks like Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey or old pros like Cameron Jordan. The hope is Chase Young can transform the group this year but he’s working his way back from neck surgery and is only signed to a one-year deal.

But if the Saints are bad enough this fall to be picking at No. 8, it’s because Derek Carr bombed in Klint Kubiak’s offense. The ramifications for that could be big — how could Mickey Loomis sell fans on a fourth year with Dennis Allen at head coach if the Saints go 7-10 (like last year’s team picking at No. 8, the Atlanta Falcons), giving Allen a 23-28 record with New Orleans? If you include his Las Vegas Raiders run, as you should, Allen’s career record would be 31-56. That’s a win percentage of .356, which would be sixth-worst out of the 128 head coaches who have worked 87 or more games in NFL history.

Neither Allen nor Carr should be in the Saints’ plans if this is where they end up, and letting a new head coach draft a new quarterback should be their priority. It would be great if Jake Haener or Spencer Rattler is ready to compete for the job by this point but there’s no guarantee that either of them will be ready for it. Hopefully the Saints are so successful in 2024 that we aren’t worrying about things like this in the 2025 draft.

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Ranking the Saints’ five best offseason additions: No. 3, Chase Young

Chase Young ranks third in our list of the Saints’ biggest offseason additions. He can transform the defense if he even gets close to his ceiling:

Chase Young is entering a pivotal season in his career with the New Orleans Saints. He signed a one-year deal with them this offseason, and his sky-high ceiling earned him the third spot on our list of the five best additions of the offseason.

Deciding between Young and linebacker Willie Gay Jr. was the most difficult part of this exercise. Ultimately, Young got the nod over Gay because of his ability to transform the Saints defense. The Saints defensive line has struggled to rush the passer in the past two seasons despite continuously investing at defensive end in the draft.

New Orleans changed their route and dipped into the free agency pool this year. He is a former Defensive Rookie of the Year who was projected to be a sack machine. He never quite reached that expectation, but showing flashes of being productive rusher. He matched his career-high 7.5 sacks last season, but his total was front loaded at the beginning of the season.

If Young can remain productive all season, he has the ability to hit double-digit sacks. The last Saints player to do that was Cameron Jordan in 2021.

The Saints lean towards big, physical defensive ends who don’t usually get to the quarterback quickly. Young breaks that mold and adds a quickness to the trenches. His speed transforms the defense by giving the team an ability to rush four down lineman more often and more effectively. This allows you to deploy more men in coverage on pass play.

He’s in a prove-it year, so it can go either way for Young. We’ll lean towards the positive projection for the sake of the list. At his best, Young has the potential to give New Orleans an impact player on each level of the defense with other new pickups helping out at the second level and on the back end.

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Saints’ expensive defensive ends overlooked on ESPN positional rankings

The Saints have spent many draft picks and salary cap dollars on their defensive ends, but the entire group was shut out of ESPN’s positional rankings:

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler has been busy polling dozens of anonymous NFL executives, coaches, and scouts to find the best players at every position group, and on Wednesday he shared their rankings for the league’s best edge rushers. It’s a broad category that lumps traditional defensive ends in with pass-rushing outside linebackers, but the key takeaway for the New Orleans Saints is that they weren’t represented.

That isn’t too surprising given the Saints’ issues pressuring the quarterback last season. Just three teams had fewer sacks than New Orleans (34), who tied with the New York Giants for fourth-worst in the NFL. Their edge rotation just hasn’t been effective enough.

It’s not for lack of trying to improve the group. Cameron Jordan is playing on a contract that carries $28.4 million in guarantees. Carl Granderson has been guaranteed $22.1 million, and Chase Young signed this offseason for a guaranteed $12.5 million. On top of that, the Saints drafted Payton Turner with the 28th overall pick in 2021 and Isaiah Foskey at 40th overall in 2023. They were guaranteed $12.5 million and $6.7 million, respectively. If you’re keeping score, that’s about $82.2 million invested in these five players.

The hope is for Young to heal up from offseason neck surgery in time for the start of the regular season in September; for what it’s worth, he’s progressing well and received positive news at a checkup to start the summer. Last season he tied his career-high with 7.5 sacks and almost doubled his personal-best in quarterback pressures (67, per Pro Football Focus charting). Granderson led the Saints with 8.5 sacks and 57 pressures.

If Foskey can settle in and earn snaps, too (and he should; he didn’t set Notre Dame’s school sacks record by accident) then this group could really get moving. But they haven’t been good enough so far, and there’s nothing wrong with admitting that. Turner has been a big disappointment. Jordan is at a point in his career where he can’t deliver as the team’s primary pass rusher, and he shouldn’t be asked to. Granderson has developed well and made big strides year over year. If the plan is for Granderson and Young to lead the charge with Turner and Foskey rotating in on passing downs while Jordan focuses on being a reliable run stopper, it just might work. We’ll see how it shakes out over the summer, and whether any of them earn a spot in the top-10 rankings this time next year.

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Payton Turner, Isaiah Foskey join Cameron Jordan at Von Miller’s Sack Summit

Payton Turner and Isaiah Foskey joined Cameron Jordan at the Sack Summit in Las Vegas, an event he co-hosts with Von Miller and Maxx Crosby:

The NFL is on summer break, but that doesn’t mean everyone is taking it easy. Cameron Jordan was joined by several of his New Orleans Saints teammates at the annual Sack Summit in Las Vegas, an event he now co-hosts along with its founder Von Miller and Pro Bowl defensive end Maxx Crosby.

Payton Turner, Isaiah Foskey, and Niko Lalos (who spent the 2023 season on the Saints’ practice squad) spent two days on the practice field and in the film room learning from the best sack artists around the league. Jordan shared photos and video from the event on his official Instagram account highlighting the event.

It’s good to see these young players taking initiative to get better. While the Saints added Chase Young to their defensive ends rotation along with Jordan and breakout starter Carl Granderson, the team is counting on bigger contributions from Turner and Foskey in 2024. An injury limited Foskey to just 10 games in his rookie season, totaling 9 tackles and a pass deflection. Turner missed most of the year with his own injury though he tallied two quarterback hits and a fumble recovery when he returned in Week 18.

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Defensive line is the Saints pivotal unit on defense

The defense has been the backbone of the Saints for years. The one thing that could break them is continued poor performance in the trenches:

The New Orleans Saints defense has been the backbone of the team for a while at this point. Since the retirement of Drew Brees, the defense has bore a significantly heavier weight.

Offense has sputtered due to injuries and inconsistencies. The hope is Klint Kubiak joining as offensive coordinator will give an immediate benefit and lessen the weight the defense has to carry. However, the Saints can’t slack up defensively if they want to maximize their potential in 2024.

The Saints pass defense was strong despite having a lackluster pass rush. Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo still form a strong tandem on the outside. Alontae Taylor and Kool-Aid McKinstry battle it out on the inside, but both have the ability to play on the outside.

The defensive strength still lies in the secondary. Dennis Allen cannot, however, continue to ask them to cover up for a nearly nonexistent pass rush. Getting after the quarterback is the headliner, but the Saints also struggled to stop the run. Last year they tied for 28th in sacks and ranked 22nd in rushing yards allowed.

For as strong as the Saints defense has been over the last two years, the trenches haven’t been great. Allen understands the value in strengthening the unit and signing Chase Young is the latest attempt to accomplish this over nearly a decade.

If there was one Achilles’ heel on an otherwise strong unit, the New Orleans Saints defensive line would be it. Their limitations haven’t caught up to the Saints yet. In order for it not to happen in 2024, recent signings and draft picks must step up to the plate.

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Bleacher Report predicts the Saints will blow it up midseason

Bleacher Report’s bold prediction for the Saints? They’ll blow up the team and be big sellers at the November trade deadline:

Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon has low expectations for the New Orleans Saints in 2024. While he doesn’t specify exactly what he thinks will happen, Gagnon expressed his belief the Saints will blow it up near the trade deadline.

The idea of New Orleans blowing it up and going full rebuild isn’t new, but Gagnon believes this is the year it finally happens. He isn’t even waiting until the offseason. He recently wrote four bold predictions for the trade deadline, and pointed to the Saints as a team that could go into the tank at midseason:

If they’re out of the picture by the end of October, I’d expect Mickey Loomis and Co. to make guys like Derek Carr, Alvin Kamara, Cameron Jordan, Ryan Ramczyk and Marshon Lattimore available.

From there, they’d tank for a high pick for the first time in decades as they finally accept that this window has to close.

The trade deadline is Nov. 5, so that would mean the writing would have to be on the wall for the Saints by Week 9. The Saints being in a bad division makes the idea of a midseason blow up unlikely. Players like Carr having no-trade clauses written into their contracts make it less likely they’d be moved even if the team is bad and losing games.

However, the Saints play the Dallas Cowboys, Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs early this season. A petty Sean Payton returns to town, and they have a road game against Jim Harbaugh, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers. Those are all the out of division games before the trade deadline. The schedule is set up for a rocky start. It wouldn’t be surprising if the writing is on the wall by that time, but blowing it up mid-year doesn’t feel like the Saints’ style.

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Saints’ Tyrann Mathieu named a ‘player to root for’ in 2024

New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu was named a ‘player to root for’ in 2024 by NFL Media. The hometown hero has plenty of fans:

2024 is a big year for Tyrann Mathieu. The veteran safety has been everything the New Orleans Saints hoped for when they signed him, rarely missing a snap while leading Dennis Allen’s defense with seven interceptions through two years with his hometown team. He’s an important leader in the locker room, someone teammates flock to looking for advice.

For those reasons and more he’s an easy player to root for, at least according to NFL Media’s Dan Parr. Parr highlighted one player to cheer on each NFC team, and he says Mathieu fits the bill:

Let’s not sleep on the Badger’s abilities, OK? I know he’s heading into his age-32 season, but he remains one of the best players at his position and should be getting more recognition for it. Mathieu was left off the Pro Bowl roster last season, but he led all safeties with a targeted EPA of -37 (expected points added allowed when the player was targeted as the nearest defender), per Next Gen Stats. That metric is one way to look at how a player affects the offense’s scoring potential, and as you can see, Mathieu is very good at wiping out the hopes of the team lining up across from him. He’s also one of only two players who have recorded three or more interceptions in each season since 2017, alongside Justin Simmons. I’m rooting for Tyrann to get the flowers he deserves in 2024, and I appreciate that he doesn’t take his opportunities for granted.  

It’s been impressive to see Mathieu playing so well this late into his career. He’s going into Year 12 in the NFL and turned 32 in May, having signed an extension with the Saints this spring. There’s a good chance he’ll play out the rest of his career in front of his hometown.

And the Saints are counting on him. We weren’t being hyperbolic about his snap counts; in 2022, he was on the field for all 1,129 snaps the team played on defense. In 2023 he was in the lineup for 1,097 of their 1,107 snaps played. He’s an every-down defender in every sense of the phrase.

Mathieu is one of several keystone veterans the Saints are leaning on defensively. Demario Davis (35 years old in Year 13) patrols the middle of the field at linebacker, while Cameron Jordan (who turns 35 in a few weeks, in Year 14) is the leader of the defensive line. At some point younger teammates must step up and lessen the load on their shoulders. For now, though, we’re anxious to see just how far Mathieu can take his career.

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WATCH: Drew Brees, Cameron Jordan test Disney World’s new Louisiana-themed ride

New Orleans Saints legends Drew Brees and Cameron Jordan were among the first to test Disney World’s new Louisiana-themed ride:

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C8DsyvopNkT/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

A couple of New Orleans Saints legends were the first to test out a new attraction at Walt Disney World. Drew Brees and Cameron Jordan had front seats on the Louisiana-inspired Tiana’s Bayou Adventure, a water ride built on the remodeled Splash Mountain which opened back in 1992. Jordan and Brees had front-row seats for the experience, interacting with characters from the 2009 Disney film “The Princess and the Frog” while bracing themselves for a waterfall.

“Never lose sight of what’s really important,” Jordan said, reading a quote from the film. “This drop is what’s important to me.”

If their reactions are anything to go by, it looks like a fun makeover for an iconic attraction that should better connect with a younger generation of Disney fans. And as the parent of a daughter who watched them all fanatically, “The Princess and the Frog” is so much better than “Frozen” and its sequel, but “Tangled” might be the best of the bunch.

Disney fans can try out Tiana’s Bayou Adventure for themselves when it officially opens on June 28 at Magic Kingdom Park in Orlando, Fla. Special limited-time concessions are rolling out to celebrate the unveiling and the story’s Louisiana themes, so look out for beignets and Chantilly cake, but the gumbo and French fries combo might be too untraditional for some.

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