Why Saints have slimmed down, gotten more athletic to revive run defense

The changes are subtle but unmistakable when watching the Saints’ defensive front in action this summer.

Defensive tackle Malcolm Roach is down to his rookie-year weight of 295-300 pounds. End Payton Turner is down about 10 pounds from last year’s peak of 287. New DT Khalen Saunders said he is now “the lightest I’ve been in the NFL,” around 315-318, though he said that was always his ideal playing weight and the New Orleans heat and humidity has made it easier to get there.

Official.🍎: https://t.co/YMT3KpPXs0🤖: https://t.co/t0RJ2SPlDY pic.twitter.com/pk47pZcd2J— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 4, 2023

Regardless, the slimmer weights are part of New Orleans' revamped approach to be even more of an attacking, aggressive front after the Saints dipped from their usual standard as one of the NFL’s elite run defenses last season.

Drafting athletic big man Bryan Bresee in Round 1 was a big piece, as well.

“I feel like we’ve got the philosophy that we want to be a big, physical front. But yet I think we kind of went a little bit overboard on that. So we’ve kind of gotten some guys’ weight down — just a little bit,” coach Dennis Allen said. “We’re still a big front. But rather than being at the end position 290 pounds, we’re probably closer to 282 with a lot of our guys. Same thing inside.

“I do think there was a little emphasis on our part, ‘Hey, maybe we’ve gotten just a little too big.’”

“He’s just a big Gerber Baby out there”- Khalen Saunders on rookie DT Bryan Bresee pic.twitter.com/cnJJwvnOlv— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 9, 2023

Allen also stressed that the Saints aren’t changing the way they play defense: “We’ve been pretty good on defense around here for a while now.” But he said there was even more emphasis on “getting a little more twitch and suddenness, particularly inside.”

“I don’t know that it’s as much about the style of play that we want to play in terms of being attacking. I don’t think that’s ever changed. But I do think having just a little more mobility up front is good for us,” Allen said. “So we’re not changing what we do. But we are also always looking for, ‘How can we be a little bit better? What can we do to get ourselves just a notch better?’”

Roach, who has looked noticeably more dynamic in his fourth training camp, said he made a concerted effort to drop weight and “(get) more explosive” when new defensive line coach Todd Grantham talked about the team’s desire to get off the ball, get penetration and disrupt more plays.

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Turner, who has also looked dynamic throughout a fully healthy offseason, said Allen and the Saints’ sports science director, Matt Rhea, got together and studied the ideal weights that allowed each individual player to be the most explosive. And they liked Turner at the lighter weight.

Saunders described the leaner edition of New Orleans’ defensive line in hilarious fashion.

“I mean, I’m the biggest guy on the D-line, and I know I’m an athlete. We’ve got a bunch of dancing pandas in there,” Saunders said. “A lot of guys who are quick, nimble on their feet. Bresee, I always call him a big kid. He’s just a big Gerber baby out there, man. A 6-5 Gerber baby.”

On a more serious note, Saunders made an eye-opening comparison for the 6-foot-5, 305-pound Bresee — to that of his former Chiefs teammate Chris Jones, a first-team All-Pro last season and a three-time second teamer before that.

“He can move really well off the ball. He’s got a great get-off, man,” Saunders said of Bresee. “I’ve been with a guy in Chris Jones, it’s rare to have that type of get-off in that frame.”

The results have been noticeable to New Orleans’ offensive linemen too.

“Yes, no doubt. They’re attacking. I feel it on my shoulder a little more,” center Erik McCoy said. “Those guys can fricking play. I feel like I’ve said that a lot, but I really believe that.”

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Of course a lot of this can be dismissed as typical training camp lip service until we see it in action on the field. Everyone is in the best shape of their lives and “playing faster” when they haven’t even started live tackling yet.

And many of the changes the Saints made were the result of former players and coaches moving on. (They let DE Marcus Davenport and DTs David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle leave for bigger offers in free agency, while longtime defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen was hired as the Falcons’ defensive coordinator).

So the revamped defensive line remains by far the biggest question mark on New Orleans’ defense heading into Sunday’s preseason opener against the Chiefs.

However, it’s worth stressing that these philosophical tweaks were in the works even before free agency began — after the Saints fell to 24th in the NFL in run defense last year, allowing 130.5 yards per game. Before that, they ranked fourth or better for four straight years from 2018-2021.

The Saints also added free agent Nathan Shepherd (6-4, 315) and still have veteran DEs Cameron Jordan (6-4, 287), Carl Granderson (6-5, 261) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (6-7, 289) among others.

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“It’s really to me about, ‘How can we let you play fast?’” said Grantham, who said he has always believed in a mindset of attacking blockers instead of reacting to them during his 30-year NFL and college career. Coincidentally, during his college stints at Louisville and Georgia, he coached previous Saints DTs Sheldon Rankins and John Jenkins, among others).

“It’s something I wanted to bring," Grantham said. "It’s something (Allen) felt we needed. Maybe to lighten up a little bit at certain spots. The whole thing is being aggressive and attacking blocks, and at the same time, you’ve gotta be able to convert and rush the passer.”

Obviously there is always a balance between attacking on a defensive line and staying disciplined so there are no seams created. But Kpassagnon said the big point of emphasis for the Saints has been to recognize what they’re seeing from film studies and formations and attack quickly when opportunities arise.

“I think beforehand, we were more fixated on keeping our gap, which is a good thing. … But when you see what play it is, ‘Boom, go make it.’” Kpassagnon said. “You better make your play. But it’s OK to go.

“It’s really energizing. You see a lot of guys making plays now.”