Broughton is expected to upgrade the interior defense for New Orleans
The New Orleans Saints start their 2025 regular season 91 days from today against the Arizona Cardinals. Currently wearing No. 91 for the Saints is one of several newcomers to the team, rookie defensive lineman Vernon Broughton. As our Saints Player of the Day, it’s time to take a closer look at the rookie defender.
- Name (age): Vernon Broughton II (23)
- Hometown: Houston, Texas
- Position: Defensive tackle
- Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 311 pounds
- College: Texas Longhorns
- Relative Athletic Score: N/A
- Drafted: Round 3, 71st overall in 2025 (New Orleans Saints)
- NFL experience: Rookie
- 2025 salary cap hit: $1,206,872
Broughton has an explosive first step off the snap and good athleticism for his size. He’ll need to get stronger and show more consistency against the run, but plays with good leverage against double-teams and shows good lateral movement down the line of scrimmage. Broughton’s frame and athleticism gives him some versatility as both an interior lineman or a big end in 3-man fronts.
New Orleans ranked 30th in overall defense and a putrid 31st against the run and yards per rush. It’s clear that the Saints and new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley wanted to get more skilled up front. They picked Vernon Broughton midway through Day 2 of this year’s draft to hopefully help them do exactly that.