The New Orleans Saints made quick work of finding a replacement for Tyrann Mathieu, who abruptly announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday. While the Saints did sign Justin Reid this offseason, they needed one more safety to solidify their secondary and they turned to former Indianapolis Colts safety, Julian Blackmon.
And in making quick work with the acquisition, they have just found an upgrade in Blackmon. Not only is he younger, but he graded really well in Pro Football Focus last season. The Honey Badger led the team the last three seasons in interceptions so he’ll have some big shoes to fill. But when it came to Justin Simmons, who’s a 31-year-old veteran, versus Blackmon, the Saints went for the better option.
New Orleans Saints just benefitted from Tyrann Mathieu’s retirement better than they could have imagined
Blackmon was one of the top safeties last season in both pass coverage and pass rush in Indianapolis. He graded 69.3, which is above the position average and 48th out of 171 safeties. That grade ballooned to 73.5 in coverage and then went up to 69.4 in pass rush, ranking 23rd in each.
Along with the top grades, he also had three interceptions last season which ranked 12th among safeties. What makes the addition big for the Saints is they were able to get him despite his age and production.
More than what he’s done last year, he’s had a pretty solid NFL career. He has 10 interceptions in five seasons, all with the Colts, and has had an interception in every season except his second, which was cut to just six games. He’s also a tackle machine with 225 solo tackles in his NFL career.
I don’t know if the Saints did this intentionally or simply lucked out, but they got a massive pickup with Julian Blackmon. Maybe this is good karma for not getting the perfect replacement at quarterback for Derek Carr’s abrupt retirement. Either way, they got a big addition in Blackmon.
Now with a Super Bowl champion on one side of the field and a young star on the other, they can happily move on from the frustration of losing Mathieu. Mathieu was a great addition to the Saints when he arrived from Kansas City. They’re hoping Blackmon can have that same impact.