In last year’s NFL Draft, the New Orleans Saints selected Vernon Broughton from Texas with the 71st overall pick in the third round. The 6’5”, 311 lb. player was expected to have a large role along the Saints’ defensive line in 2025, but was sidelined for a majority of the year after suffering a season-ending hip injury in his regular season debut. Fast forward to this offseason, and Broughton was finally cleared for participation in March, but now faces an uphill battle to earn snaps in a competitive DL rotational group.
New Orleans put itself in a position to improve while having high hopes and expectations of playing for a spot in the postseason this year. The Saints set a heavy focus on adding offensive firepower in both the run and passing games, but also filled holes in its defense, especially within the trenches.
In this year’s draft, the Saints selected Georgia defensive tackle Christen Miller in the second round, 42nd overall. Back-to-back Day-2 selections in Broughton and Miller showed that New Orleans still thought of the defensive line as a team need and wanted to address it with top-end talent. The additions did not stop there.
With lingering questions about whether longtime Saints DE Cam Jordan (who has since re-signed for “one final season”) would return to the team, New Orleans found itself in a sort of “no man’s land” and decided to make a move. The Saints traded a 2026 fifth-round pick to the Las Vegas Raiders for a seventh-rounder and former 2023 seventh-overall pick Tyree Wilson. Although Wilson has had minimal production to this point in his professional career, New Orleans added exactly what it was hoping for with a low-risk, high-reward young, talented pass rusher.
Now with training camp and the preseason on the horizon, Broughton may find himself on the outside looking in as he competes for snaps in a crowded defensive line room. Although Vernon will still be an impactful player, coming off of a serious injury is no small task.
As Christen Miller fills in the middle with Davon Godchaux and New Orleans not committing to Wilson beyond 2026, I would expect Broughton to slot in behind Jordan while rotations continue to flex and be worked out by the coaching staff. The former Longhorn is a relentless athlete on the field, but will his time spent off of it last season stymie his progression, or will he bounce back better than ever as a key player for a team hoping to improve on from a 6-11 record last season?
What are your thoughts on Broughton’s progress and potential this season? Let us know in the comments below.
