No one is talking about Tyrann Mathieu leaving this underrated void on Saints defense

Tyrann Mathieu left a massive hole in the New Orleans Saints secondary when the Louisiana legend decided to hang up his cleats earlier this week. Jonas Sanker, Jordan Howden and Julian Blackmon are vying to step into Mathieu's role next to Justin Reid.

While there's a lot of attention on who is going to start at safety, but there's a valuable void left by Mathieu that isn't getting nearly enough attention. Who is going to replace Mathieu's production in the turnover department?

Leadership is a key part of Justin Reid's game, and he should naturally take command as the leader in the secondary. Instead of sharing that role with Mathieu, Reid will stand alone as the voice in the room. While it's clear who will take control as the leader, who can replace Mathieu's turnover production is much more murky.

Where do the Saints get their interceptions from without Tyrann Mathieu or Paulson Adebo?

The Saints were one of the best teams in the NFL at bringing down interceptions. They ended the season with 14 picks, 11th best in the league. The Green Bay Packers were third in the league with 17, so the separation wasn't wide.

Tyrann Mathieu has led the team in interceptions in all three of the seasons he was in New Orleans. The loss of Mathieu is compounded with the loss of Paulson Adebo. Despite only playing seven games, the cornerback matched Mathieu's three interceptions to share the lead on the team.

The duo also led the team in 2023, each notching four interceptions on the seasons. Adebo was blanked in 2022 but registered three interceptions as a rookie. Mathieu had at least three interceptions every year in the black and gold. Adebo reached those numbers in three of his four seasons in the league.

Over the last four seasons, either Adebo, Mathieu or both led the team in interceptions. Losing Adebo was impactful. Losing Mathieu on top of that could be disastrous. The Saints lost nearly half of their interceptions just by losing those two players.

Where do the interceptions come from? Jordan Howden, Julian Blackmon, Quincy Riley are the leading contenders to step up in this department.

Howden was third on the team with two interceptions and the only other player with multiple interceptions. He'll have to beat out Blackmon, and Jonas Sanker, if Howden wants to see the field.

The Saints brought Blackmon in right after Mathieu's retirement, and the former Colts safety has excelled in this department. Blackmon's seven interceptions over the last two seasons would have tied for the most on the Saints in that span. He's the most natural replacement.

Quincy Riley is a wild card in this conversation. He finished his collegiate career with 15 interceptions. He's already recorded his first interception in training camp. If he can win the battle against Isaac Yiadom, this is a trait he could carry into his professional career.

It'll be difficult to replace both Mathieu and Adebo's interception production, but one of the players named needs to step up for the Saints. There's question marks on how effective the defense will be on a play-by-play basis, but turnovers will always be the great equalizer.