Saints see both Christen Miller, Vernon Broughton sharing the field

Last offseason, the New Orleans Saints turned around the entire direction of the franchise, bringing in head coach Kellen Moore and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley to run the show. This saw a pretty substantial change both on offense and defense when it comes to scheme building and potential fits for prospects and players. The 2025 NFL Draft was their first opportunity to really build for what they wanted, and one of their selections ended up being Texas Longhorns defensive tackle Vernon Broughton. Bryan Bresee figures to take the lion's share of snaps, but there are other top-100 draft picks jockeying for position in the lineup, too.

Just one year later, the Saints selected Georgia Bulldogs lineman Christen Miller in the draft as well, making two interior lineman picks in back-to-back drafts who were taken rather highly in the order. Moore discussed this during the draft process and noted that the two will both get playing time, even at the same time.

"They can certainly play on the field at the same time," Moore said when asked if Broughton and Miller might be competing for snaps. "One of the things that Christen has done is he's played a number of spots across the front. And I think that versatility is going to provide you with some fun chess piece games. ... He's played, you know, plenty of nose, but he'll play the shade. He'll work his way out all the way out to five technique in some 3-4 structures."

This is a relief, and also the expectation, as both were taken on Day 2 of their respective classes. While Broughton did not get much playing time in 2025 due to injury, the expectation is that he will be a big part of this defensive line rotation this year. With Davon Godchaux and Nathan Shepherd also aging options, it seems as though the Saints may be phasing the two of them out long-term, with their contracts both running out soon.