2 weeks Ago
New England Patriots defensive tackle Davon Godchaux (92)reacts during the second half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, Dec. 3, 2023, in Foxborough, Mass. (AP Photo/Greg M.
Cooper) Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Davon Godchaux sees himself as a versatile interior defensive linemen, but when asked to describe his game at his introductory news conference, he likely hit on exactly why the New Orleans Saints traded for him. "I'm just a dominant run player," Godchaux said. New Orleans sent a seventh-round pick to the New England Patriots to acquire Godchaux because he brings that trait to a unit that finished with one of the NFL's worst run defenses a year ago.
The Saints allowed 141.4 yards rushing per game and 4.92 yards per carry last season, with only the Carolina Panthers faring worse in either category.
Rather than blowing up their defensive interior, the Saints chose to add the 330-pound Godchaux to the existing group to help shore up their leaky run defense. Godchaux, a Plaquemine native and LSU alumnus , spent the last four seasons anchoring a New England Patriots defense that posted two top-five finishes in run defense. Three of those seasons were spent under future Hall of Fame coach Bill Belichick.
His 67 tackles ranked fourth among NFL defensive tackles last season, and his 50 run stops — defined as a tackle that resulted in a successful play for the defense — ranked ninth among all NFL defensive linemen, according to NFL Pro. Godchaux has never put up gaudy pass rushing stats, but he is still an excellent run defender as he nears his ninth professional season. "Whatever it takes, if I've got to take the double team up on that play so someone else can come free and make a play, I'll do it," Godchaux said.
"It's all about team defense. I'm excited about that. I'm excited to join this group.
" He'll be an important part of the Saints' attempt to turn their run defense around, but he was quick to point out he will not be alone in that. "It takes 11," Godchaux said. "It takes the safeties to come down, it takes the linebackers to be in great fits.
It takes everybody. And that's what I learned playing in New England, playing with Bill Belichick. It's a team defense.
" As he explained, Godchaux clasped his two large hands together. "It's nice to have a group come together like this, all from different backgrounds to come together and play as one," Godchaux said. "Team ball.
If we can do that, we can stop anybody. I'm a firm believer in that." He may fit into new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley's defensive machinery as a nose tackle — which felt like his obvious placement, as the Saints did not have a nose tackle before the trade.
But while Godchaux played nose tackle in New England, he also played snaps all along the defensive interior. The Patriots sometimes asked him to play a four- or five-technique, which aligned him either directly in front of the offensive tackle or over the tackle's outside shoulder. So, while he's comfortable doing what he described as the "dirty work" — playing up the gut and taking on double teams to free others behind him to make a play — he also believes he can add more than that.
Being able to help in multiple roles is something that he said was drilled into him during his college football days at LSU. "When I was there, coach (Ed) Orgeron always told me, 'The more you can do. Stay versatile.
Play with your left hand down, play with your right hand down.' I thank him for that today, because now you see in this day and age in this league, they ask you to play multiple positions.".
