The New Orleans Saints signed ex-Tampa Bay Buccaneers pass rusher Noah Spence, but what does the former Ohio State Buckeyes prospect offer?
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There’s no underselling the losses the New Orleans Saints suffered this week, with starting defensive linemen Marcus Davenport and Sheldon Rankins ending the year on injured reserve. Davenport placed second on the team in both sacks (6) and quarterback hits (16), while Rankins was finally progressing from last year’s Achilles tear before injuring the ankle in his other leg. While the defensive line is arguably the deepest position group the Saints have built, they’re going to miss the contributions those two playmakers have given them.
So to help mitigate the losses, New Orleans signed free agents Noah Spence and T.Y. McGill. McGill is a defensive tackle in the same mold as Rankins, and he figures to help round out the rotation behind starters David Onyemata and Malcom Brown, and top backup Shy Tuttle — assuming he shows enough this week to warrant playing over Taylor Stallworth, who logged 300-plus snaps a year ago and is now on the practice squad.
Spence is the really intriguing addition. At 6-foot-2 and 263 pounds, he fits the mold the Saints like for a situational pass rusher who can win with speed off the edge, much like players already on the roster in Trey Hendrickson and Carl Granderson. Davenport, the starter at this position, is more-suited to playing in base packages at 6-foot-6 and nearly 280 pounds. Without him, expect hybrid tackle/end Mario Edwards Jr. (6-foot-3, 282 pounds) to spend more time out on the edge when the Saints are in base, or defending against the run.
But let’s circle back to Spence. Before the 2016 NFL Draft, he measured out as a well-rounded but undersized athlete, posting his best results in tests for explosive bursts while lacking some straight-line speed and quick-turn agility. In other words, he profiles as someone who can beat an opponent off the snap, but might struggle to consistently bend beneath a blocker’s arms or turn the corner towards the quarterback. He’s been listed as a linebacker in his previous stops, but he plays on the line of scrimmage, usually with a hand in the dirt.
After reviewing his 7.5 career sacks (we’ll round up to 8 for ease of reference) and the 85 snaps he logged with the Washington Redskins this year, that’s been the case for Spence in the NFL. He’s obviously put in the work to develop his arm-fighting moves and shows a good understanding of how to keep his opponents off of him, using active hands to keep his pads clean.
His best attribute might be his situational awareness. He keeps his head up and vision clear to track the football. Spence consistently attacks the football when getting after quarterbacks, whether that means punching at it while wrapping up a tackle or adjusting his angle of approach to strike the football with his helmet. Those efforts have turned into four forced fumbles on eight sacks, which is a stellar ratio.
Six of his eight sacks have come on third down, which says more about Spence’s usage than any “clutch gene.” Three or four of those sacks could be attributed to tight coverage by the secondary. Teams want Spence on the field when opponents are likely to drop back and throw, giving him a shot at pressuring the quarterback.
As for where he lines up: five of Spence’s eight sacks came from the right end spot, which is where Davenport, Hendrickson, and Granderson have each played the most — Cameron Jordan predominately lines up at left end, and rarely leaves the field. What’s encouraging is that Spence can rush out of a two-, three-, or four-point stance with equal effectiveness. That’s something Davenport is still learning to do comfortably, and it’s limited him at times.
But don’t get it twisted, because Spence is not an upgrade over what the Saints already have on the roster. There are stretches in his game tape where he struggles to disengage from blockers and doesn’t win immediately off the snap. He gets pushed back in run defense, lacking the sand in his pants to hold up against a bigger, advancing opponent. And he’s on his third team in four months after washing out with both Tampa Bay and Washington, and may not even dress for a game in the regular season. It’s great that the Saints found someone with NFL experience this late in the season at a position of need; fans just need to keep their expectations realistic.
Maybe Spence carves out a role in New Orleans and really takes to coaching from defensive line mastermind Ryan Nielsen, and recaptures some of the energy he had in college when he shared the field with his old Ohio State Buckeyes teammates like Marshon Lattimore, Vonn Bell, and Eli Apple. Crazier things have happened. For now, just take some solace in the fact that even with so many injuries, the Saints defensive line is so deep and talented that Spence isn’t rushing to pick up the playbook and start this same week.
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