By: Jake Rajala

The versatile, maniac Chauncey Gardner-Johnson was sent away (with a seventh-round pick) from his ride-or-die brotherhood in the Big Easy to wreak havoc in the city of brotherly love. I honestly believe the Eagles, who only coughed up a fifth-round pick in 2023 and the worse of their sixth-round pick in 2024, have a steal in CGJ.

CGJ had his best season in 2021 — as he unveiled three interceptions, seven pass deflections, two sacks, four tackles for loss, and four QB hits in 13 contests a season ago. The former Saint had a 62.2 grade by PFF last season, as well.

The scary part is that CGJ was climbing the ladder this off-season. Carson Caulfield of CSC nicely noted that he started training camp on a very positive note. Caulfield nicely pointed out that he had an interception against Jameis Winston on the first day of a Saturday practice. Yet, the Saints awarded his efforts by sending him out of town

Well, it’s safe to say that CGJ has made his presence felt immediately as an Eagle. According to The Philadelphia Inquirer, he made a beautiful pass deflection. Josh Tolentino (author of the article) noted that it’s also expected that he starts across from Marcus Epps at safety. Per ESPN, the current starters in the Eagles secondary are CB Darius Slay, CB James Bradberry, FS Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, and SS Marcus Epps. The starting slot CB is slated to be none other than Avonte Maddox.

The Eagles ranked 11th in passing yards allowed last season & I undoubtedly believe they can be a Top 5 unit in passing yards allowed in 2022. Between the new electric faces in their secondary and the shiny alpha-like profiles in their front seven (such as Haason Reddick and Jordan Davis), I believe the sky is the limit for the Eagles pass defense.

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By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints shockingly (to say the least) traded the versatile and ultra-competitive safety Chauncey Gardner-Johnson and a seventh-round pick in 2023 to the Philadelphia Eagles for their 2023 fifth-round pick and the worse of their sixth-round pick in 2024. CGJ was undoubtedly a menace for Who Dat Nation last season by registering 3 interceptions, 7 pass deflections, 2 sacks, and 4 tackles for loss in 2021. I’m quite confident that his most impressive moment in a Black and Gold uniform was his interception against Tom Brady in Week 15 last season. With that said, I’m going to simply unveil the grades for each team after the trade.

Saints grade: C-

I wish Ricky Gervais could roast Mickey Loomis and the Saints for at least 10 minutes after that decision. The Saints are competing for the Super Bowl in 2022 and they shipped away one of their top DBs – who was having a potent off-season. I understand that they brought in Tyrann Mathieu and even Marcus Maye, who was the NY Jets most valuable player in 2020. However, CGJ could excel from many spots and he could potentially be a star long-term at the safety spot – as he is five years younger than Maye. If the Saints wanted to move on from him, I would rather have seen them do so at or near the trade deadline.

Eagles grade: B+

I’m sure that Eagles fans want Howie Roseman on the cover of Time Magazine in 2023 after the Eagles off-season. Philly acquired the gifted wideout A.J. Brown, made a bold and witty trade in the draft for Jordan Davis, made a sneaky late-signing in James Bradberry, and then found a way to reel in CGJ. I love the direction of the Eagles defense with Fletcher Cox, Davis, a healthy Brandon Graham, the new edge rusher Haason Reddick, the top-tier CB Darius Slay, and of course: CGJ. The Eagles aren’t planning to just win the NFC East in 2022 – as they clearly have their sights set on winning Super Bowl 57.

Let’s not forget that the Saints and Eagles will square off on January 1st of 2023, too.

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By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints simply have one of the most talented secondaries in the NFL. They arguably have a Top-5 cornerback in Marshon Lattimore — who made his third straight Pro Bowl last season. The former DROY and kryptonite to Mike Evans also signed a five-year contract extension worth $97.6 million dollars in September of 2021.

The Saints CB2, also known as Paulson Adebo, could be the x-factor on the Saints defense. The former Stanford CB ousted three interceptions and eight pass deflections last season. He really showed promise in the back-end of last season. He particularly stood out against the Bucs in their second match-up — as he allowed zero catches.

The Saints will also feature the rook Alontae Taylor in their secondary. Per Saints Wire, Dennis Allen has been impressed with the rookie thus far. Allen expressed that he’s further along than expected and that he’s excited about his ability in 2022.

P.J. Williams was an underrated re-signing by the Saints, to say the least. Williams absolutely had a personal-best season in 2022 — as he recorded three interceptions (including a pick-six), 2 sacks, and 42 combined tackles. He will look to be a ball-hawk and a big hitter in 2022.

The Saints display one of the top safety groups in the NFL with Tyrann Mathieu, Marcus Maye (who is somewhat in the shadow of Mathieu), and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson. Of course, the shiniest DB on the Saints is the Honey Badger. The former Chiefs DB has been named All-Pro in two of the past three seasons. Per New Orleans.Football, he was standing out in OTAs earlier this off-season.

The former Jets safety Marcus Maye was arguably the Jets best player in 2020 and then took a slight dip in performance last season. Maye has a similar skill-set as Mathieu and it’s clear that Allen will enjoy utilizing the two new safeties. Last but certainly not least, the Saints will have their chippy, ascending safety in Chauncey Gardner-Johnson (3 ints, 2 sacks, and 4 QB hits in 2021). CGJ might just be the key ingredient in finishing off Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in their next battle.

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By: Jake Rajala

The New Orleans Saints impressively flexed the fourth-best defense in points per game allowed last season. The Saints long-time pass-rusher Cameron Jordan made his seventh Pro Bowl trip and eclipsed 100+ career sacks as a Saint last season. Outside of Matt Ryan’s least favorite human being, the Saints CB Marshon Lattimore (aka the eraser of Mike Evans) notched Pro Bowl honors last season.

The pre-game speech warrior and maniac LB Demario Davis may not have been highlighted in the slight popularity contest in the Pro Bowl selection, but he was awarded second-team All-Pro in 2021. It’s clear that the NO defense rose to the challenge on a Brees-less Saints squad last season, but the new ultimate question is: can the Saints defense ascend with some new horses in 2022?

The Saints lost Marcus Williams in the early wave of free agency, but they were able to bring in the underrated safety Marcus Maye in free agency. Dennis Allen was also able to retain the late bloomer in safety P.J. Williams. The former Florida State DB recorded a career-high three interceptions in 2021 (including a game-sealing pick-six against Tom Brady). Fast forward to April 3rd, the Saints officially made their biggest splash signing on defense: Tyrann Mathieu.

The Honey Badger decided to come and help the Saints strive to win their elusive second Super Bowl trophy. Mathieu might be 29 years old, but he is still an overly impressive football player. He’s cracked the All-Pro team in two of the past three seasons and he made the Pro Bowl in 2020 and 2021. The former Chiefs safety had a career-high 6 interceptions in 2020. All in all, it seems far from likely that Mathieu will have a similar outcome as Jairus Byrd in a Saints uniform.

Mathieu will not only join Lattimore and Maye, but he will play next to a juiced-up Chauncey Gardner Johnson that has frequently expressed his love for the New Orleans icon on Twitter. CGJ produced a career-high season in ints (3) and sacks (2) for Allen last season. Mathieu, CGJ, and Maye are very versatile defenders and Allen (who is expected to retain play-calling duties) will enjoy utilizing their instincts and physical abilities to their highest capacity.

Similar to former Saints defensive coordinator Gregg Williams, Allen loves to insert his safeties in the box. The past success of hybrid Saints safeties under Allen (former Saints DB coach) in Roman Harper (Pro Bowler in 2009) and Malcolm Jenkins was an underrated reason why the 2009 Saints defense led the league in takeaways and helped the Saints win their first Lombardi trophy. In 2011, Harper recorded 7.5 sacks as a Saint (second-most sacks by a safety in a single season). Each of the Saints ring-leaders in the past decade (Payton, Williams, Rob Ryan, Allen) is infamous for blitzing safeties on first down and even pivotal third-down moments. Expect Mathieu to not only excel in coverage but also as an OLB in countless creative packages.

I believe that Saints safety tandem has progressed from 2021 to 2022 and the shiny Saints safety group will help the Saints be more dangerous moving forward. The old Saints safety that left to Baltimore has five interceptions in the past two seasons combined, while Mathieu has nine interceptions in his two prior seasons in KC. Mathieu will also benefit from playing behind a Saints pass rush (eight in sacks in 2021) and front seven that’s noticeably more impressive than the Chiefs front seven (29th in sacks a season ago). The SEC legend that strangely wasn’t offered a contract to reunite with KC also has two touchdowns in the past two football seasons combined, so it’s clear he’s a big play waiting to happen.

The Saints LB hero and former NY Jet in Davis was one of the Saints best value FA signings of all time in the 2018 offseason. The former Jet safety in Maye might be a bit in the shadow of Mathieu, but he could honestly be a superstar and expected upgrade over fellow ex-safety Malcolm Jenkins for the Saints, too. Maye was voted the Jets MVP in 2020, as he was “one of three players with at least 60 tackles, 2 INTs, and 2 FF” in the regular season. Maye missed 11 games last season via a torn Achilles, but he is healthy and primed to be an immediate difference-maker for Who Dat Nation.

I feel a lot of bliss for the Saints outlook on defense in 2022. I fully expect large contributions from Marcus Davenport, who sadly missed a career-high six contests in 2021, to continue to climb the ladder and likely unleash a career season of sacks in 2022. The Saints will also welcome a healthy Payton Turner (first-round pick in 2021) back to their defensive unit. Plus, I don’t foresee Cameron Jordan and Demario Davis on their “last stand” next season, as the veteran defenders should be forces for at least a few more seasons. At last, it would make sense if Paulson Adebo (rookie CB last season/3 ints in 2021) and Pete Warner (second-round pick in 2021) rose to become effective defenders for their beloved squad in 2022.

I could realistically see a Tyrann Mathieu featured Saints defense improving from their 15th ranked pass defense in 2021 to become a Top 6 pass defense with Mathieu, Bradley Roby, Lattimore, Maye, CGJ, Adebo, Williams, and rookie Alontae Taylor out of Tennessee. The likelihood of the Saints showcasing a Top 3 run defense for another season is on par with the chances of Avatar 2 being a high grossing film, so it’s fairly high. The NFL world could potentially witness a defense in the Big Easy that is more special than any previous Saints defense since the days of “the Dome Patrol”. The Saints could honestly have the top defense in PPG allowed and/or total yards allowed if the defense can have strong chemistry early, stay healthy, and continue to make life hell for Brady in both matchups. The team that has won the NFC South in four out of the past five seasons may not have Payton or Brees in the building, but the hungry (and confusingly underrated) NFL team could really lean on their defense to dominate most of their competition next season.

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