The New Orleans Saints defense carried the offense through some tough times last season, and turned in a much stronger performance in the playoffs. Their pass rush logged one of its highest sacks totals (51) in years, largely thanks to tight coverage on the back end. Top cornerback Marshon Lattimore was selected for this year’s Pro Bowl.
However, the analysts at Pro Football Focus weren’t quite as impressed. In their eyes, the Saints secondary underperformed, and ranked 17th in the NFL:
Just three short years ago, defensive coordinator Dennis Allen inherited a coverage defense that had just finished the 2015 season with a 32nd-ranked team coverage grade of 29.8. But even though this year’s 17th-ranked 71.3 coverage grade is a vast improvement, there is still room to grow for New Orleans’ talented coverage unit. The Saints’ secondary consisted of seven players who were drafted in the first three rounds, but only two — Marcus Williams (89.5) and Janoris Jenkins (81.2) — earned a PFF coverage grade above 80.0. Former first-round picks Marshon Lattimore (68.7), Eli Apple (59.1) and Patrick Robinson (65.0) all performed below expectations, while Vonn Bell (51.9), P.J. Williams (47.8) and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (68.7) are also expected to play a little better than their grades would suggest. They are a talented group, but they underachieved this past season.
This is one position group that should get shaken up in the offseason. Free agents include Apple, Bell, and P.J. Williams, while contract decisions must be made for expensive veterans like Jenkins and Robinson, as well as Lattimore and Marcus Williams, who will be due sizable extensions next year.
It’s easy to get hung up on the big plays Williams has allowed in critical moments throughout his career, ranging from missed tackles to untimely penalties. But those don’t outweigh his penchant for momentum-shifting plays in his own right — he was the only member of the Saints defense to intercept multiple passes last season, ranking among league leaders with four such takeaways.
The age of the group should also be considered. Williams and Lattimore are both just 23, and have been cornerstone players of the defense for three years now. Compare that to Gardner-Johnson, who is 22. This is a young core for the team to be built around, and it’s important that they be kept together.
