New Orleans Saints: 5 Who Must Step Up For Keenan Lewis

Nov 9, 2014; New Orleans, LA, USA; New Orleans Saints defensive end Cameron Jordan (94) celebrates a third quarter sack against San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick (not pictured) at Mercedes-Benz Superdome. The 49ers won 27-24. Mandatory Credit: Chuck Cook-USA TODAY Sports

DE Cameron Jordan

I’m not really sure who the best defensive player on the Saints is when Lewis is healthy, but my vote would go to defensive end Cameron Jordan, whose brilliance in the 2013 season hasn’t been lost on anyone. In that breakout campaign, Jordan put up a massive 12.5 sacks and seemed to dominate on every single snap, setting the table for huge expectations in 2014 with an even better secondary assembled on paper.

That secondary’s star power never materialized due to injuries to Jairus Byrd and Vaccaro- even if he did play through them- so Jordan ended up being a disappointment. He still brought it against the run with 50 tackles and finished off plenty of plays to post seven sacks, but Jordan was one of the league’s most inefficient pass rushers, finishing with a PFF Pass Rushing Productivity score lower than Jason Jones and Eugene Sims.

Jordan definitely deserved his huge a five-year, $61.969 million extension with $33.469 million in guarantees, but the pressure is on the 26-year-old to prove he’s worth it. For the sake of the Saints defense, he needs to play like he did in 2013, and that would have been the case regardless of Lewis’s health. But now with Junior Galette gone, almost all of the pass rushing load is focused on Jordan, who will have to take pressure off of a temporarily weakened secondary.

Next: Turning To Offense