State of the Offseason Saints: Linebacker
The Saints will have plenty of work on their hands this week with the Senior Bowl process, as practices start on Tuesday with well over 100 of the nation's top college prospects. There's more first-round talent in this year's group than there was previously, and offensive tackle is certainly an area where things are plentiful in Mobile and in this draft.
Before we go too far into draft chatter, we keep looking at the position groups for New Orleans and check in on where they are at in the offseason. It's crazy to think that in less than a month and a half that a new league year will be here, and both Dennis Allen and Mickey Loomis face a crucial offseason, clearly their most important. Let's dive into the state of the linebacker room.
STATE OF THE OFFSEASON SAINTS SERIES: Quarterback | Running Back | Wide Receiver | Tight End | Offensive Line | Defensive Line
Saints Linebacker Overview
Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce (14) is tackled by New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis (56). Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Indianapolis Colts receiver Alec Pierce (14) is tackled by New Orleans Saints linebacker Demario Davis (56). Mandatory Credit: Marc Lebryk-USA TODAY Sports
Players Under Contract: Demario Davis, Pete Werner, D'Marco Jackson, Nephi Sewell, Monty Rice, Anfernee Orji (reserve/future)
Free Agent Outlook: Zack Baun, Ty Summers, Andrew Dowell, Ryan Connelly (SFA)
Priority Level: Medium
For starters, Demario Davis proved once again that age is just a number. How does he do it? Well, there's a tremendous interview to watch regarding the preparation he puts in from NewOrleans.Football that you should check out. Going into this season, Davis and Werner were going to be the staples at the linebacker position with the team playing a lot of nickel. They both played a lot and were certainly available.
Saints Linebacker 2023 Snap Counts
- Demario Davis - 1,075 (97.11%)
- Pete Werner - 920 (83.11%)
- Zack Baun - 301 (27.19%)
- Nephi Sewell - 57 (5.15%)
- D'Marco Jackson - 7 (0.63%)
- Ryan Connelly - 1 (0.09%)
Davis finished 27th in the NFL with 121 total tackles, while Werner tied for 68th with 93 total. It was Davis' seventh straight season of hitting the century mark, and he was also a Second-Team All-Pro for the fourth straight year. Davis also matched his sack total from a year ago at 6.5. He graded out 3rd from Pro Football Focus behind Fred Werner and Tyrel Dodson with a grade of 89.6. When you talk about value to the Saints defense, Davis is the heart, soul and backbone.
Pete Werner didn't have the best of seasons, and the grading from PFF echoes that. His 57.5 was 68th out of 82 linebackers in 2023 and fell for the second straight year. Zack Baun played as the base SAM linebacker for most of the year until the team utilized him as a pass-rusher late in the season. Nephi Sewell got the nod against the Lions with a hurt Werner in Week 13 and looked pretty good, but suffered a season-ending ACL injury against Tampa in Week 17 and now faces the long road to recovery.
Linebackers play a big role with the Saints special teams unit, which finished out second from Rick Gosselin's rankings, so it'll be interesting to see what the team does there to add to the room. Essentially, they have to replace Summers, Baun and Sewell (early on) right now. Baun could get some looks from teams to try and fill in as a 3-4 rusher if he hits free agency, but we'll see if New Orleans tries to get him to stick around. It shouldn't be too hard to assess the value, but we'll see. Baun, Sewell, Jackson and Summers were all core special teamers.
Some of the familiar cast of players could obviously return to the mix when it's all said and done, and we're not quite sure what the team has in Monty Rice and Anfernee Orji. The Saints did dodge an early bullet by not losing position coach Michael Hodges to the Patriots after interviewing for their defensive coordinator position, and it only feels like a matter of time before a team will promote him. He certainly is a well-respected coach who gets the most from his players.
The big question that always seems to linger this time of the year is whether or not the team should start looking at a replacement for Demario Davis. He just turned 35 this month, but again, he's still playing at a high level and wants to keep playing football for the foreseeable future. There's obviously some talent at linebacker in the draft, but as we've said before, the Saints have more pressing needs to address with their top two picks.
How New Orleans tackle free agency in the early stages might tell us a little bit about how they feel with the group they had. It wouldn't be surprising to see them almost run it back with what they had. A linebacker would be on the table in the draft on Day 3, and a free agent might be in play too. As always, we'll see how the Saints address the position, but it's going to need more attention than a little bit.
