Countdown to Kickoff: Jordan Howden is the Saints Player of Day 31

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Countdown to Kickoff: Jordan Howden is the Saints Player of Day 31

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Bob Rose , Saints Wire · Saints Wire

Thu, Aug 13, 2026 ·

2 min read

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As of Thursday, we have only 31 days to wait until the New Orleans Saints regular season opener. New Orleans will open 2026 on the road, traveling to take on the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Wearing No. 31 for the team currently is Jordan Howden , a backup safety.

Howden has been with the Saints for all of his three-year NFL career. However, he may be pushed hard to keep his job for a fourth season. The Saints look deep at safety with several versatile players. For now though, we take a look at Howden as our latest Saints Player of Day.

Name (age): Jordan Howden (26)
Hometown: Las Vegas , Nev.
Position: Safety
Height, weight: 6-foot, 209 pounds
College: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Relative Athletic Score: 8.88
Drafted: Round 5, 146 overall in 2023 (Saints)
NFL experience: 3 years
2026 salary cap hit: $3.76 million

From Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, Howden attended the University of Minnesota. He'd see relatively meaningful time as a freshman in 2018 and was a starter by 2019, intercepting one pass each year and second on the team in solo tackles as a sophomore. Howden was among the Golden Gophers tackle leaders for defensive backs the next two years. He'd record a career-best 58 total tackles to end his collegiate career in 2022, including 4 for loss.

New Orleans selected Howden with an early fifth round pick in the 2023 NFL draft. He made some significant contributions as a rookie, appearing in 16 games with seven starts and playing 55% of the defensive snaps. Howden played fewer snaps on defense (47%) in 2024, but appeared in every game with four starts. In 2025, Howden played 16 games but saw his fewest defensive snaps yet with 261, only 25% of the team's total. His struggles in coverage and limited range had him relegated to mostly special teams duty, where his 267 snaps were the most of his career.

Jordan Howden faces battle this training camp and preseason just to keep a roster spot. Starter Julian Blackmon returns from injury to join Justin Reid and Jonas Sanker in the lineup. Additionally, the Saints also added athletic Lorenzo Styles Jr. in the draft and return veteran Terrell Burgess . Howden could keep his spot through special teams, but will need to show improvement in coverage and make an impact in run support this preseason.