Saints 2025 Year in Review: Demario Davis remained key to the defense
· Yahoo Sports
Since his arrival as a free agent in 2018, linebacker Demario Davis has been the heart and soul of the New Orleans Saints defense. His signing by the Saints created little stir, but would transform the New Orleans defense into one of the better in the NFL. In the eight seasons since, Davis has consistently been one of the league's better all-around defenders yet criminally underrated on a yearly basis.
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In 2025, Davis and the Saints would have a new defensive coordinator in Brandon Staley. While Davis remained effective amidst a crumbling defense the prior year, there were concerns about a potential decline and how well he'd perform in a new scheme.
Demario Davis Year in Review
- Position: Linebacker
- Age: 37
- Height: 6-feet, 2 inches
- Weight: 248 pounds
- NFL experience: 14 years (8 with Saints)
- 2025 season: 17 games (17 starts)
As the oldest player on the New Orleans roster, Davis would oversee a rapid defensive transformation under Staley. He was typically productive from the season opener, where he had a game-high 9 tackles and 2 stops for loss. Over the first 11 games, Davis had double-digit tackles in seven contests and less than 7 stops only once. Davis had at least 8 tackles in 10 games during the season, starting at least 15 contests for the 13th consecutive year.
More than just an iron man and filling up the tackle stat sheet, Davis remained the key to his team's defensive success. His leadership, combined with his elite instincts, good athleticism, and tenacity fueled the entire unit. Davis was the tip of the spear for a vastly improved run defense and continued to be a versatile weapon against the pass. He broke up 3 passes, forced or recovered 3 fumbles, and had 6 tackles for loss. Davis only had a half sack and 5 pressures, but had to be used in more coverage roles because of the limitations of fellow linebacker Pete Werner. He excelled in that role too, often shutting down mid-range passing options or chasing down receivers after a minimal gain.
In his 14th season, Davis had a career-high 143 total tackles. It was his ninth straight year with at least 105 tackles, with nearly half of that total being solo stops. Not surprisingly, Davis played 1,081 defensive snaps, 98% of the unit's total on the year and more than any other New Orleans player for the seventh consecutive season.
Demario Davis is set to test the free agent market next week. There's a possibility he'll return to the Saints, but he'll get interest from other teams because he's shown he is still a top-tier player. If the Saints cannot bring him back, they'll lose an elite player and leader both on and off the field, leaving a tremendous hole to fill on the defensive side.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints 2025 Year in Review: Demario Davis remained key to the defense