Saints Defensive Tendencies: Lower Than Most in 3 Categories, Not in Packing the Box

Looking at where the Saints D lands when it comes to three specific schemes: heavy box, light box, and blitzes.

Sep 20, 2026; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Baltimore Ravens running back Derrick Henry (22) is brought down by New Orleans Saints linebacker Kaden Elliss (55) and defensive line Vernon Broughton (91) in the first quarter at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jamie Sabau-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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One of the highlights of Week 2 for the New Orleans Saints, in addition to the 15-0 comeback in the 4th, is the side of the team that helped Baltimore lay that goose egg on the scoreboard in the last quarter of play: the Saints defense.

The defense has blossomed quickly over the first two games, finding ways of making a difference no matter the scheme Brandon Staley's half of the team is in.

See Saints offensive tendencies here.

Let us remind you that two games is not enough to determine a solid tendency. It gives us a very small sampling, but it does give us insight as to what the Saints and other team's defenses have done through the first two weeks of the 2026 season. This also doesn't give a picture of why these tend to happen. How far ahead is each team or how far behind?

We get this data from Sharp Football Analysis.

Three tendencies we're going to look at in Staley's second year as defensive coordinator are the heavy box rate, the light box rate, and the blitz rate for the Saints compared to the rest of the NFL. Please note: heavy box and light box do not add up to 100%, as their are other factors we do not mention here.

Among the Lowest in Heavy Box

The Heavy Box Rate measures the percentage of plays where a defense lines up with 8 or more defenders in the box at the snap. The box is the area closest to the line of scrimmage on the defensive side, extending from offensive tackle to offensive tackle and closer than seven yards to the line of scrimmage.

Though not the lowest team to do so, New Orleans has 8 or more defenders within seven yards of the line only 19.4% of the snaps. The team that does it the very least is Seattle at 10.5% of the time. On the other end of the scale, Miami uses 8 or more that close on 40.5% of their defensive snaps.

In the Middle for Light Box

A Light Box Rate is the percentage of defensive snaps where a team puts six or fewer defenders in the box. Usually in this set, a defense will have extra defensive backs on the field at the time.

In this case, Staley lines his team up in this package 40.3% of the time, right in the middle of the NFL pack. The team that uses this set up the least is Minnesota at 19% of the time. On the other end of the scale, Cincinnati has their defense with six or fewer defenders in the box 69.2% of the time.

Also in the Middle for Blitzes

New Orleans lands smack dab in the middle again for its blitz rate. Staley blitzes 25.6% of the time, landing the Saints at 14th least. The team that sends more people than anyone is Minnesota, blitzing an ungodly 75.9% of the time. Doing it the least is Cincinnati, sending extra men only 13.5% of the time.

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