Tag: Nathan Shepherd

Saints free agent report card: Was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing?

Our next New Orleans Saints 2023 free agent report card: Was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing at defensive tackle?

Few positions looked as different last season compared to the year before as the New Orleans Saints’ defensive tackles. With their position coach leaving for a promotion, the Saints allowed the entire group to test free agency while bringing in veteran replacements and spending their top draft pick on a new centerpiece.

So how did they perform individually? We’re keeping our 2023 Saints free agent report card series going after reviewing Foster Moreau and Jamaal Williams. Which leads us to the next question: was Nathan Shepherd a good veteran signing at defensive tackle?

Dennis Allen says DT Malcolm Roach may need knee surgery after injury

Dennis Allen says defensive tackle Malcolm Roach may need knee surgery after suffering an injury late against the Lions:

This could be a key loss for the New Orleans Saints. Head coach Dennis Allen said Monday that defensive tackle Malcolm Roach is exploring his options after suffering a knee injury that may require surgery in Sunday’s loss tot he Detroit Lions. With just five games left on the schedule, this could be a season-ending injury for Roach.

And that would be a crushing blow for him. Roach, 25, is headed for free agency in the spring and figures to cash in after setting new career-highs in tackles (38), assists (25), tackles for loss (3), and passes defensed (3).

Hopefully a second opinion and further evaluation leaves Roach in a more positive position. He’s brought a lot of energy to the rotation and is an active player in the trenches, ranking third on the team with 10 tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage despite playing the fewest snaps (290) at defensive tackle behind Nathan Shepherd (415), Bryan Brsee and Khalen Saunders (366).

If he’s going to be sidelined, look for the Saints to bring up preseason standout Jack Heflin from their practice squad or take a look at outside free agents to reinforce the position group. They’ve been gashed on the ground this season and may need more upgrades at defensive tackle regardless of injuries.

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Saints’ worst defensive players through Week 10, per PFF

The New Orleans Saints defense is the strength of their team — but it isn’t perfect. That’s shown in the Pro Football Focus player grades issued up to Week 10:

The New Orleans Saints defense is the strength of their team — but it isn’t perfect. There are some underperforming veterans on the squad and a few young pros who are still working to find their way.

And that’s shown in the Pro Football Focus player grades issued up to this point in the season. Here are the 10 lowest Saints player grades from PFF at the Week 11 bye:

This two-round 2024 mock draft has the Saints prioritizing the line of scrimmage

This two-round 2024 mock draft has the Saints prioritizing the line of scrimmage, starting with finding Bryan Bresee’s new tag-team partner:

Mock drafts are all the rage, and the bye week presents a good opportunity for New Orleans Saints fans to take a look at which prospects are impressing ahead of the 2024 NFL draft. We’ve got a two-round projection from Curt Popejoy over at Draft Wire, who has the Saints investing their first-round pick on Miami Hurricanes defensive tackle Leonard Taylor III.

Taylor is a perfect fit at a listed 6-foot-3 and 305 pounds, and he’s disruptive with 22.5 tackles for loss in his 28-game career thus far. Bryan Bresee looks like the real deal and pairing him with someone like Taylor could set the Saints up at defensive tackle for years to come. They could lose Malcolm Roach in free agency in the spring which opens a slot in the rotation. Nathan Shepherd has played the most snaps at defensive tackle this season but he’s going to turn 31 next year in the second year of his three-year contract. Adding Taylor could help the Saints get younger and faster up front.

But the Saints’ pick in the second round of this mock draft would be a good get, too. Popejoy has them taking Washington offensive lineman Troy Fautanu at the No. 45 pick coming back from the Denver Broncos. Fautanu is someone we highlighted in our own recent five-round projection as someone who could help the Saints out at either left tackle or left guard, where things are very uncertain moving forwards.

Andrus Peat has looked like their best player at left tackle after taking over for Trevor Penning after he was benched, but he’s a free agent in the spring, and James Hurst hasn’t been that impressive at either spot. Maybe Fautanu can help the Saints figure out a long-term plan at one of those positions. Either way, the Saints are not winning at the line of scrimmage often enough on either side of the ball this season, and it’s clear that they should continue to invest in their offensive and defensive lines to get better up front.

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How Madden NFL 24 rates every New Orleans Saints defensive lineman

Madden NFL 24 revealed player ratings for the New Orleans Saints defensive line, with a wide gulf between Cameron Jordan and his teammates:

The developers at EA Sports revealed player ratings for the New Orleans Saints defensive line in Madden NFL 24, with a wide gulf separating Cameron Jordan from his supporting cast. Jordan is the only Saints defensive lineman to earn a grade over 80 in the version of the game accessible to fans at launch; every other player in the position group, including top rookies Bryan Bresee and Isaiah Foskey, carry ratings at 73 or lower. That’s not great.

It’s on them to turn that narrative around and prove why the Saints have invested so many resources in them. Here’s how they all stack up:

25 most important Saints of 2023: No. 25 Nathan Shepherd

With the 2023 NFL season only a couple months away, we take a look at the 25 most important Saints for this year. First up, a new D-lineman | @ClutchWDN

The New Orleans Saints are preparing and getting ready for the 2023 NFL season. With this, we see many returning players from last season on the roster, but also a new wave of free agent signings and rookies to fill positions of need. With some pretty hefty front-office turnover in terms of assistant coaches due to Sean Payton leaving for the Denver Broncos, this season sets up to be an interesting one no doubt.

Each day we will be counting down the 25 most important Saints for the 2023 season. This will be split up into the following categories:

  • Recap of their 2022 season
  • Projecting their 2023 success
  • What is the biggest question mark for them in 2023?

Today, we start off the series with No. 25, which was voted by the Saints Wire staff to be defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd. A new addition to the Saints defensive front through free agency, he is already looking to make a significant impact in 2023:

Meet the Team: Who is Saints DT Nathan Shepherd, and what’s expected of him in 2023?

Meet the Team: Who is New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Nathan Shepherd, and what’s expected of him in 2023?

Remodeling the defensive line was a major offseason priority for the New Orleans Saints this spring, and Nathan Shepherd is going to be a big part of their changes up front. He signed a three-year, $15 million contract with the Saints carrying $10.18 million in guarantees — more than his Super Bowl champion teammate Khalen Saunders.

Shepherd’s likely to be their David Onyemata replacement in the middle of the defense as a tall, disruptive interior pass rusher. Let’s get to know him a little better now that he’s wearing black and gold in our ongoing Meet the Team series:

New Orleans Saints defensive line ranked among most-improved units in NFL

The New Orleans defensive line was ranked among the most-improved units around the NFL, but are the Saints finished adding players up front?

Few teams committed as many resources to a single position group as the New Orleans Saints have used to revamp their defensive line, and all that activity has caught the attention from some analysts covering the league.

With the 2023 NFL draft behind us, Pro Football Focus’ Gordon McGuinness ranked the Saints defensive line among the most-improved units in the NFL, writing:

The Saints used their first two selections in the draft on defensive linemen, and while both were slight reaches against the PFF big board, both players do fit the type of players they like on their defensive line.

Clemson’s Bryan Bresee produced a career-high 82.0 pass-rushing grade in 2022 and can play multiple spots across the unit.

Notre Dame’s Isaiah Foskey has the size and speed that the Saints seem to love on the edge and can dominate tight ends from the alignment. He racked up 23 sacks, seven hits and 35 hurries across 595 pass-rush snaps over the past two seasons.

Take those two highly-drafted rookies with the veteran free agents the Saints have brought in — including former New York Jets standout Nathan Shepherd and nose tackle Khalen Saunders, a two-time Super Bowl champion with the Kansas City Chiefs — and New Orleans is close completing the overhaul they started up front. Gone are David Onyemata, Marcus Davenport, Shy Tuttle, and Kentavius Street. We’ll see if Bresee, Foskey, Shepherd, and Saunders are up to the task of replacing them, but it’s a good start.

Should the Saints call it a day and pivot to other positions of need? Or would it be worth looking into more help? Activity is picking up in the free agent market and there are some appealing players still out there looking for work. Defensive tackles like Matt Ioannidis and Shelby Harris could help push depth players like Malcolm Roach, Prince Emili, and Jerron Cage (undrafted out of Ohio State).

You have to think the edge-rush rotation is set, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a player like Al-Quadin Muhammad or Dawuane Smoot to the mix, putting more pressure on Payton Turner, assuming New Orleans isn’t in on the undersized sack artists like Leonard Floyd and Yannick Ngakoue.

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New Orleans Saints announce new jersey numbers for many players after free agency

The New Orleans Saints announced new jersey numbers for many players after two weeks of free agency, including a couple of changes from last year:

Here’s the hard-hitting analysis and journalism you’re looking for. The New Orleans Saints announced a series of jersey number changes after the first few weeks of free agency brought a small crowd of new players to the roster.

And some players returning from the 2022 squad are planning to wear new numbers in 2023, though that’s subject to change this far out from training camp and the start of the regular season. We’re still waiting on new numbers for wider receiver Bryan Edwards and kicker Alex Quevedo.

So don’t go placing any jersey preorders just yet (remember how long it took Tyrann Mathieu to settle on No. 32 last offseason?), but here’s a glance at each of the new number assignments listed on the team’s online roster:

Predicting the Saints’ 2023 starting defense after first wave of free agency

There have been plenty of changes to the strength of the New Orleans Saints’ team. Predicting the 2023 starting defense after the first wave of free agency:

The New Orleans Saints built their team on the strength of their defense, so seeing it be steadily eroded in free agency has been kind of alarming. They’ve lost multiple starters along the defensive line — David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle at defensive tackle, plus Marcus Davenport at the right end spot — and several key backups in linebacker Kaden Elliss and defensive back Justin Evans.

But the Saints have been active in searching for help on this side of the ball, too. Let’s take a quick look at their projected starting defense and top backups for each position group in the wake of the first wave of free agency signings: