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On Tuesday, the New Orleans Saints made their first personnel move of the 2026 offseason when they re-signed safety Julian Blackmon. It was a one-year deal that likely won't cost the Saints much against their salary cap for next season. He'll come back for a second year with the team and rejoin a young secondary and pass defense that ranked fourth in the league this past regular season.
Blackmon wasn't signed by the Saints until early in training camp after the sudden retirement of Tyrann Mathieu. Unfortunately, Blackmon wasn't able to contribute much to the Saints in 2025. He started the opening game of the year alongside fellow new acquisition Justin Reid at safety. In that game, a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Blackmon broke up pass and led New Orleans defensive backs with 7 tackles. He also suffered a shoulder injury in the game that would end his season.
Blackmon, 27, was expected to be a big part of the Saints defense under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. With him out, rookie third round choice Jonas Sanker stepped into a prominent role. Sanker played well, intercepting 2 passes, breaking up 6 others, recovering a fumble, and recording 3 tackles for loss among his 80 stops. Reid didn't play as well as expected, but came on stronger down the stretch. Blackmon's return gives the Saints three quality safeties, with Jordan Howden as a decent backup.
Adding Julian Blackmon back to the secondary will probably alter the Saints offseason focus. Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs is sure to be a top-10 draft choice, with New Orleans owning the eighth overall selection. Downs is a terrific playmaker, but the Saints are stronger and deeper here with Blackmon's return. They may still view Downs as a big addition if they lose the versatile Alontae Taylor in free agency, but wound still likely use that eighth pick to fill a bigger need.
New Orleans is almost sure not to use free agency money at the safety spot, even if they lose Taylor. If that happens, they'll more likely try to replace his loss with a big and versatile cornerback in the middle rounds of the draft, where they struck big with Sanker and Quincy Riley last spring. Neither safety or cornerback has anyone considered to be a sure top-20 pick outside of Downs. However, both positions look to have some talented prospects through Day 2 and early into Day 3 of the draft.
A third round choice by the Indianapolis Colts out of Utah in the 2020 NFL draft, Blackmon spent his first five seasons with the Colts. Over that span, he had 10 interceptions along with 22 pass breakups and 6 fumbles forced or recovered to go along with 1.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Blackmon had 7 interceptions and broke up 12 passes in his last two seasons in Indianapolis. The Saints hoped for that kind of playmaking ability in 2025 and are counting on that for 2026. Re-signing him does not preclude New Orleans from adding other pieces to their secondary, but definitely lessens the need to do so.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 Saints offseason: Re-signing Julian Blackmon is a key first step
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Blackmon wasn't signed by the Saints until early in training camp after the sudden retirement of Tyrann Mathieu. Unfortunately, Blackmon wasn't able to contribute much to the Saints in 2025. He started the opening game of the year alongside fellow new acquisition Justin Reid at safety. In that game, a loss to the Arizona Cardinals, Blackmon broke up pass and led New Orleans defensive backs with 7 tackles. He also suffered a shoulder injury in the game that would end his season.
Blackmon, 27, was expected to be a big part of the Saints defense under new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley. With him out, rookie third round choice Jonas Sanker stepped into a prominent role. Sanker played well, intercepting 2 passes, breaking up 6 others, recovering a fumble, and recording 3 tackles for loss among his 80 stops. Reid didn't play as well as expected, but came on stronger down the stretch. Blackmon's return gives the Saints three quality safeties, with Jordan Howden as a decent backup.
Adding Julian Blackmon back to the secondary will probably alter the Saints offseason focus. Ohio State Buckeyes safety Caleb Downs is sure to be a top-10 draft choice, with New Orleans owning the eighth overall selection. Downs is a terrific playmaker, but the Saints are stronger and deeper here with Blackmon's return. They may still view Downs as a big addition if they lose the versatile Alontae Taylor in free agency, but wound still likely use that eighth pick to fill a bigger need.
New Orleans is almost sure not to use free agency money at the safety spot, even if they lose Taylor. If that happens, they'll more likely try to replace his loss with a big and versatile cornerback in the middle rounds of the draft, where they struck big with Sanker and Quincy Riley last spring. Neither safety or cornerback has anyone considered to be a sure top-20 pick outside of Downs. However, both positions look to have some talented prospects through Day 2 and early into Day 3 of the draft.
A third round choice by the Indianapolis Colts out of Utah in the 2020 NFL draft, Blackmon spent his first five seasons with the Colts. Over that span, he had 10 interceptions along with 22 pass breakups and 6 fumbles forced or recovered to go along with 1.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss. Blackmon had 7 interceptions and broke up 12 passes in his last two seasons in Indianapolis. The Saints hoped for that kind of playmaking ability in 2025 and are counting on that for 2026. Re-signing him does not preclude New Orleans from adding other pieces to their secondary, but definitely lessens the need to do so.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: 2026 Saints offseason: Re-signing Julian Blackmon is a key first step
Continue reading...
