Saints Draft All-American Linebacker With Fourth Round Pick

The Saints drafted Oklahoma linebacker Danny Stutsman with the 112th overall pick. Stutsman is the third straight defender New Orleans has drafted in the 2025 draft.

Stutsman, 6-foot-3 and 233 pounds, played four years in college earning awards such as Second-team Associated Press All-American, First-team All-SEC, and was a Finalist for the Butkus Award (nation's top LB). The former Oklahoma linebacker has posted 100+ tackles in each of his last three seasons and accumulated 8 sacks over his career.

While not the fastest linebacker, Stutsman possesses high game intelligence and processes the field quicker than the other off-ball linebackers in the draft. His high-level processing allows the former All-Pro to recognize plays quickly and get to the ball carrier. 

The Saints have emphasized stopping the run throughout the draft and adding Stutsman only continues that trend. After housing one of the bottom-five run defenses in 2024, the new regime in New Orleans wants to patch the holes to stop the run. 

With an aging Demario Davis, the Saints had to start looking to get younger. Stutsman has the tools to be a solidified piece in the team's defense and has the opportunity to get playing time early as a rookie. Stutsman's tackling resume will get him early playing time on special teams and he could hopefully develop and earn playing time on the starting defense.