Saints DL Davon Godchaux: Does No. 23 Player in 2026 Have One More Great Season?

We take a look at the nine-year vet who will be a free agent at season’s end, as we rank the Black and Gold’s Top 25 players of 2026

Saints defensive tackle Davon Godchaux is entering his 10th season in the NFL and second in New Orleans, which is about 80 miles from his childhood home of Plaquemine, La. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Although we continue to stress the importance of a youth movement for the New Orleans Saints and Coach Kellen Moore, there is an important balance of some longtime veterans who can help not only on game day, but as leaders throughout the week.

Enter veteran defensive lineman Davon Godchaux, who is entering his 10th season in the NFL and second in New Orleans. One could deduce the former LSU Tiger from Plaquemine, La., would love to finish his career just 80 miles up the road from his childhood home.

Will he be so lucky? His contract is up after this season, and the 31-year-old took a slight dip in stats from his previous four years in New England. Heading into 2026, one defensive captain is gone (Demario Davis), one is back (Justin Reid) and one is in limbo (Cameron Jordan).

Could that be a role Godchaux would step into? He was a captain once in his career – in 2019 with the Miami Dolphins, and it was one heck of a year. He finished with a career-high 75 tackles and seven QB hits.

Let’s dive into why we are going with a defensive lineman for the second straight day in our Top 25 list …

Please share your thoughts on our Top 25 Saints Heading Into 2026 by emailing the Saints On SI Publisher and Beat Writer Jim Derry at jim@jimderry.com.

Why is Godchaux so important?

It seems as if year after year for the past half decade or so, the talk is the Saints need help on the interior of the defensive line. Whether it’s true is in the eye of the beholder, but it’s clear while the team has focused plenty on the offensive side of the football, they know they need to put as much effort as possible into stopping the run.

Last season with new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley, the Saints jumped from one of the worst units in the league to ninth overall. However, while they were fourth in pass defense, they were just 19th against the run (which was their highest rank since 2021).

Godchaux will have to be one of the main run stuffers, and he could be pushed for playing time by second-round pick Christen Miller from Georgia.  

Godchaux’s strengths and weaknesses

There’s no question the reason why the Saints wanted this 6-3, 330-pound behemoth was for his run-stuffing skills. He helped last season, but maybe not quite as much as the team had hoped for.

Saints acquiring former LSU standout Davon Godchaux- who is a solid veteran interior player, should aid in helping stop the run - an element defensively the Saints had a lot trouble doing the past two seasons. https://t.co/4x06Nl64Yf

— Michael Detillier (@MikeDetillier) March 10, 2025

He also is versatile, and that is important as the Saints go from transitioning to the 3-4 last year to – hopefully – ripping off the band aid, so to speak. He is strong in both the A and B gaps, which is key for an interior defensive lineman, who will be looking to stop the likes of Bijan Robinson (twice), Josh Jacobs (we think), Jahmyr Gibbs, Derrick Henry and other top running backs this season.

If there’s one weakness that might have popped up last season was the fact he sometimes is unable to break free from his blockers. And while one doesn’t usually count on those on the interior to collect sacks, that box can be fully left unchecked when it comes to Godchaux.

In nine seasons, including 137 games played, he has just 5½ sacks in his career, and he hasn’t had one since 2022 in New England.

Background

Acquired from New England in a trade for “future considerations” in March 2025, which ended up being a seventh-round pick, and he is signed through the 2026 season in finishing off a two-year, $11 million contract.

He was born Nov. 11, 1994 (age 31), in Plaquemine. Godchaux was an All-State defensive lineman for the Green Devils as a junior, but he tore an ACL during his senior season. He was the No. 22 overall DE prospect by ESPN and chose LSU over Ole Miss, Auburn and UCLA, among others.

Davon Godchaux (@ChauxDown) met with students from his high school, Plaquemine High School, after signing with the #Saints 💪 pic.twitter.com/10ZCCNfT6c

— New Orleans Saints (@Saints) March 17, 2025

His final season with the Tigers was a mess, as it began with Les Miles as coach, before Ed Orgeron took over five games in. Godchaux finished 2016 with 62 tackles, 8½ tackles for loss, 6½ sacks and two fumbles recovered, and he declared for the 2017 NFL Draft as a junior just after playing in the Citrus Bowl.

Godchaux was chosen in the fifth round by the Miami Dolphins, and spent four seasons there, including a truncated final season of 2020, when he only played five games because of COVID and injury issues.

He then signed a two-year free-agent deal with New England and spent four total seasons with the Patriots, collecting 250 total tackles.

The rest of the Top 25 so far …

25, RET Barion Brown, June 2

24, DE Bryan Bresee, June 3