IRVINE, Calif. — There is pride in the way Davon Godchaux plays, and that may be a key element to the New Orleans Saints defense this year.
At 330 pounds, the ninth-year pro is the heaviest player on the roster. The offensive linemen who have had to face Godchaux are coming to terms with what “old man strength” means as he has tossed them aside to make plays. The veteran nose tackle has stood out for a specific reason during this training camp: He is on the field to play a central role in snuffing out the opposing team’s rushing attack, and that involves playing with pride.
“It’s just got to be something you really just do,” Godchaux said. “There’s a technique to it, but it’s more about pride in stopping the run.”
The Saints used to take pride in their run defense, but that hasn’t been the case in recent years. They had a top-five run defense four straight years from 2018-21 but have been bottom 10 in each of the last three seasons. The run defense cratered last season, when New Orleans ranked 31st among 32 teams in stopping the run.
Slice the numbers any way you like, they weren’t good: 4.9 yards per carry (31st), 2.01 yards per carry before contact (28th), 60 runs of 10-plus yards (23rd), 11.9% run stuff rate (30th) and +.08 Expected Points Added per run (30th).
“Last year still doesn’t sit well with us,” linebacker Pete Werner said. “Any good defense, you’ve always got to stop the run. That has to be a given within any single year.”
Something needed to change. To the Saints' credit, plenty did.
Look at the through line on the offseason additions on the defensive side of the ball.
One of their first moves was to trade for Godchaux, giving them a physical presence in the middle of their defense that was lacking last season. Their big-ticket free agent acquisition was safety Justin Reid, who is known for his physicality. In the draft, the Saints used two third-round picks and a fourth-round selection on a defensive tackle (Vernon Broughton), a safety (Jonas Sanker) and a linebacker (Danny Stutsman) — with the latter two being known as exceptional run defenders.
New Orleans spent resources on the spine of its defense, and that didn’t come together by chance.
“(General manager Mickey Loomis, head coach Kellen Moore) and our personnel team have done a great job of trying to arm us with as many players that kind of fit the way we want to play,” defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said.
Staley is one of those changes, too.
The new defensive coordinator brought a 3-4 base defense with him to New Orleans, and while the Saints will spend most of their time in sub personnel packages with five or more defensive backs on the field, his scheme still will present different challenges to offenses than previous iterations of the Saints defense.
The new-look defense will force offenses to account for more players at the line of scrimmage. In base looks, that means three defensive linemen and two players lined up at each edge of the line. In sub packages, the same principle will apply, just with different personnel. The aim is to occupy the front so the second- and third-level defenders are free to make plays.
“The way we coach in the run game is (the defensive linemen) are taking care of it so that the guys behind the ball can just go find the ball and play it instinctively and freely,” Staley said.
If the goal of modern NFL offenses is to manipulate space to their advantage, this defense is designed to snuff it out.
“The difference is there’s less double-teams for the interior guys, and the edge players can play on the edge,” defensive edge coach Jay Rodgers said. “So we’re actually, schematically, a little bigger up front than maybe some of the years prior.
“... The enemy of run defense is space. We want to take all the air out of the running back’s run lanes and then finish on the ball carrier.”
Godchaux is a space eater, and throughout his career he has played that role well. Staley has been on the opposing sideline from Godchaux several times during his coaching career, and that’s part of what informed the trade this offseason.
“He's one of the top interior players in the game, and I still believe that's true,” Staley said. “... And the other thing that you're getting with him when you're starting a new program is that he's also bringing culture to your team experience."
That last point may be important for a team coming off a bad season defending the run, because Godchaux knows it’s going to take more than him to get the Saints back where they used to be.
Pride needs to be a defense-wide mentality.
“Everybody’s got to gel together,” Godchaux said, “because if one person is weak, we’re all weak.”