Granderson’s continued improvement is key to Brandon Staley’s Saints defense
We now stand 96 days away from the 2025 regular season opener for the New Orleans Saints. Sporting jersey number 96 for the Saints in a seventh straight year will be defensive end Carl Granderson. One of the few bright spots on the New Orleans defense last season, let’s have a closer look at Granderson, our Saints Player of the Day, and his career to this point.
- Name (Age): Carl Granderson (28)
- Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.
- Position: Defensive end
- Height, weight: 6-foot-5, 261 pounds
- Relative Athletic Score: 7.68
- College: Wyoming Cowboys
- Drafted: Undrafted, 2019 (New Orleans Saints)
- NFL experience: 6 seasons
- 2025 salary cap hit: $6,482,000
A graduate of Grant Union High School in California, Granderson took his talents to the University of Wyoming. He’d be with the Cowboys for four years, compiling totals of 17.5 sacks and 36 tackles for loss while intercepting 3 passes and scoring two defensive touchdowns. Granderson led the Mountain West Conference with 16 stops for loss in 2017, adding 9.5 sacks on his way to first team All-Conference honors. He’d earn second team All-MWC accolades in 2018 with 3 sacks and 8 tackles for loss.
A probable Day 2 pick in the 2019 NFL draft, Granderson slipped out of the draft altogether because of legal issues stemming from incidents at Wyoming. Those legal difficulties forced him to be inactive for the first half of his first NFL season after the Saints signed him as an undrafted rookie. Once behind him, Granderson began slowly working his way up the New Orleans depth chart. He was a rotational player for his first four seasons, averaging under 40% of the defensive snaps per year. However, he also showed tremendous potential and growth between 2019 and 2022. In limited opportunities, Granderson had 14.5 sacks, 28 QB hits, and 19 tackles for loss in those first four campaigns.
By 2023, Granderson was a regular starter for New Orleans, averaging around 75% of the defensive snaps over the last two years. Over that time, he has 14 sacks, 60 pressures, 33 QB hits, and 23 tackles for negative yardage. He led the Saints in all four categories in 2023 while leading the team in negative tackles last season.
There is some question where Granderson’s fit will be in a new defensive scheme under coordinator Brandon Staley expected to run more 3-4 concepts. His length and speed around the edge could make him an excellent stand-up rusher, but his size will also allow him to play as a down lineman. Arguably the Saints most disruptive defender over the last two seasons, expect Carl Granderson to again be a vital part of New Orleans defensive packages again under Brandon Staley in 2025.