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Did Both New Orleans Saints Safeties Crack PFF's Top Safety List?
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- Did Both New Orleans Saints Safeties Crack PFF's Top Safety List?
The New Orleans Saints defense has been a bit overlooked heading into the 2026 season. All the attention is on the offense and franchise QB Tyler Shough, but much of the late-season success is due to a stingy Saints defense. Chase Young and Cam Jordan were excellent, the secondary played better, and the team got stingy in the red zone.
Although the Saints lost Alontae Taylor in free agency, the Saints' secondary has a ton of optimism surrounding it with Kool-Aid McKinstry, Jonas Sanker, Justin Reid, Quincy Riley, and Julian Blackmon.
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Dalton Wasserman of PFF put together a list of the top 32 safeties in the NFL. Several teams have both safeties on the list, and the Los Angeles Rams have three entries on the list (10. Kamren Kinchens, 12. Kamren Karl, and 30. Quentin Lake).
The Saints do have an entry and it's Reid, who comes in at number 22, sandwiched in between Green Bay's Evan Williams and Pittsburgh's Jalen Ramsey.
22. Justin Reid, New Orleans Saints
Reid enjoyed a dynamite 2024 season with the Chiefs, earning a 78.2 overall PFF grade with 76.5-plus grades in all three major grading categories. His first year in New Orleans wasn't quite on par, with his overall PFF grade falling to a 66.7. The main culprits were worse coverage and a higher missed tackle rate, although his run defense was still effective at a 77.0 mark. The Saints are relying on Reid to show his prior self this season, especially in one of the league's youngest secondaries.
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Reid does have to improve in coverage, but another season in Brandon Staley's defense in combination with the Saints pass rush could be the recipe. Although ESPN has Sanker listed as a backup on the depth chart, there has been speculation that Staley wants to utilize Sanker in the "star" role.
The star role is essentially a swiss arm knife. The "star" is used as a nickel corner, extra linebacker, and safety and will be moved all over the defense. Reid will look to bounce back as a leader in the secondary. This defense will be very fun to watch and Staley's growth with the defense will be a blast to track.
As this Saints team continues to grow and develop over time, this is a position group that has a lot of upside. Especially with how the defense has been performing in training camp, don't be surprised if the secondary in New Orlean takes a step forward this season.
