State of the Saints: Safety

The Saints seem pretty set on the back half defensively, but will have to shore up their depth going into the new season.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Jan 21, 2023 8:55 AM EST

In this story:

New Orleans Saints

The Saints made plenty of news on Thursday after seeing their massive fines rescinded and having some extremely important coaching news. However, it wasn't all sunshine, as many that anticipated the team moving on from Pete Carmichael Jr. as offensive coordinator were given the reality that he'll stay on for 2023. The offense is going to have tons of questions to answer over the next couple of months, and Dennis Allen's future is directly tied to this move.

We'll see if 'trusting the process' works for New Orleans, but we conclude our defensive look at the 'State of the Saints' by checking out their safety spot, which is an area that will need attention in the offseason, specifically their depth plan.

State of the Saints: Cornerback | Linebacker | Defensive End | Defensive Tackle

Safety Overview

USATSI_19677158_168388561_lowres — November 27, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; New Orleans Saints safety Tyrann Mathieu (32) during the fourth quarter against the San Francisco 49ers at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Players Under Contract: Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye, Smoke Monday

Free Agent Outlook: P.J. Williams, Daniel Sorensen, Justin Evans, J.T. Gray

Priority Level: High

New Orleans was in a critical space last offseason having to fill both of their starting safety spots after the departures of Marcus Williams (Ravens) and Malcolm Jenkins (retirement). They landed 'The Honey Badger' in May after securing Maye in March. Mathieu's year started somewhat slow, which is probably an understatement, as there were a few things going on during training camp and in the beginning of the season that were major factors. However, Mathieu turned things around in a big way and had an incredible back half of the season.

The biggest controversy came into play after the team traded away C.J. Gardner-Johnson to the Eagles at the end of August. The thought, at the time, was that they would be fine at nickel with players like Bradley Roby, Justin Evans, and others. His energy was absolutely missed by the Saints, and the injuries ended up being a big concern.

Marcus Maye ended up missing 7 games due to various injuries, while replacements like P.J. Williams and Justin Evans also ended up getting hurt. Still, New Orleans was able to figure things out at the spot. It was far from perfect, and at the end of the day, the two ex-Chiefs (Mathieu and Sorensen) led the team in interceptions.

As far as free agency goes, there needs to be a really good contingency plan in place for Maye. Some of the injuries he suffered were definitely bad luck, but he just wasn't right. However, you saw glimpses of what he could bring to the table and what the Saints saw in him from games against the Bucs in Week 13.

The year-to-year deals with P.J. Williams might have run its course, as Evans probably has more upside to bringing him back. Sorensen played the Jeff Heath role very well, and even made big plays for the Saints when they least expected it. Put it this way, New Orleans giving a little north of a veteran minimum would be a smart thing for someone like him and Evans.

Smoke Monday was a promising addition as a priority undrafted free agent, and he was it was hard to see him suffer a season-ending injury after really developing a comfort level in training camp. Perhaps he can be a bit more in 2023, but we should expect New Orleans to look at free agency to address some of these glaring holes.

The best we can hope for is that Mathieu plays like he did down the stretch and Maye returns to health and can be a more reliable option. The Saints will have to do some shopping in free agency if they can't retain some of their own, but history has taught us that you can't have too many in the secondary.