The starting secondary will total 17 interceptions

Fans should be content with the depth of New Orleans’ secondary, especially regarding the starters. Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen likes to employ a nickel package often, as a coach should in today’s NFL. Last year, this tenacity led to 16 total interceptions by the secondary alone. Their 20 interceptions as a team was good enough for third best in the league, so it’s very important for the backfield of the defense to get takeaways.

Luckily, that corps, too, has improved this past offseason, mainly in regards to the extra nickel-back on the field. 

Kenny Vaccaro is now in Tennessee, and the Saints replaced him with Kurt Coleman. Vaccaro struggled often in coverage last season, and Coleman is a decorated cover-safety. For the slot-cornerback man, PJ Williams has slid down the depth chart due to the offseason reunion with now-Super Bowl champion Patrick Robinson. 

Last season, on their respective teams, the starting secondary for the Saints going into 2018, which features Coleman, Robinson, Marcus Williams, Marshon Lattimore, and Ken Crawley, combined for 13 interceptions. I’m tacking on four more for the group heading for 2018, as Coleman will steal some passes, unlike he did last season. Crawley will also pick off more than just one pass, and the addition of Robinson will be huge. The total team interceptions could then balloon up to 25 possibly, which would most likely lead the entire league. Talk about a huge turnaround compared to how the secondary was just four short years ago.