Cameron Jordan

Jordan has been the heart and soul of New Orleans' defense ever since the beginning of this unit's turnaround in 2017. The 12-year veteran has tallied double-digit sacks in four of the last six seasons, and he just missed the first two games of his career over the past two regular seasons. After securing an 8.5-sack season in 2022, along with a new two-year, $27.5 million extension this offseason, Jordan will continue serving as the Saints' top pass rusher in 2023.

Jordan will have to fall off eventually, and unfortunately there will be no clear notice before it happens, especially given that he still looked spry at 32 years old in 2021. Washed up players don’t post 12.5 sacks on 794 snaps, especially when they see as much blocking attention as Jordan tends to get. If he’s still the Jordan we know then a similar box score could await him in 2022.

Coming off a 7.5-sack effort in 2020 and heading into his age-32 season, it's possible that Jordan's best seasons are behind him. It's also possible he still has something in the tank — he posted 7.5 sacks twice earlier in his career as well, and both times he followed it up with double-digit sack seasons. Jordan was an excellent athlete when the Saints spent a first-round pick to draft him out of California in 2011, and his game has always been about power as much as speed, so even if he slows it might be a loss he can spare.

Jordan turns 31 in July, and with that comes the specter of physical decline, but the recent evidence mostly implies Jordan has reached his highest level yet in recent years. Still, last year's 53-tackle, 15.5-sack showing will likely go down as a career year for Jordan, who prior to that mostly hovered in the 50-tackle, 12-sack sort of range. Something in that territory would be a fairer expectation for Jordan, especially if fellow linemen Sheldon Rankins (Achilles) and Marcus Davenport (foot) can get healthy and secure higher shares of New Orleans' sack production.

Jordan doesn't generate much chatter in discussions of elite NFL defenders, but with 61 sacks in the last six years he's one of the top defensive linemen of the last decade. In 2018, Jordan posted his highest per-snap sack rate in six years, and after logging just 883 snaps he should see his tackle production improve if he returns to his customary workload of 990 or so snaps. Now 30, he probably doesn't have 16-sack or 70-tackle upside, but few offer the 55-tackle, 10-sack mid-range outcome that he does.

Jordan followed up five straight strong seasons with his best one yet in 2017, hitting double-digit sacks for the third time in his career while setting a new career high with 13. Most of those preceding seasons occurred with Jordan playing in a 3-4, and it might not be a coincidence that his numbers improved last year in a 4-3 front. Playing on the edge instead of the garbage heap in the middle, Jordan's hot motor and violent hands have proved fully capable of collapsing the pocket.

Jordan has been one of the league's best linemen for five years now, a span in which he averaged roughly 54 tackles and nine sacks per year despite playing as a 3-4 end much of the time. The Saints now use a 4-3, which should lead to more pass-rushing opportunities than in the past, and he should have some help collapsing the pocket while playing next to one of the league's top defensive tackle prospects in Sheldon Rankins. Jordan doesn't profile as a sack leader at nearly 290 pounds, but a career year could nonetheless be in store.

Jordan has transitioned well from a 3-4 end to a 4-3 end – a preferable change for his IDP prospects – and heading into 2016 he's one of the better DL1 options outside of the top tiers. Known for his violence at the point of attack and burst in short spaces, Jordan sheds blockers and closes hard on quarterbacks in the pocket, even if he doesn't have the speed to bend the edge. Two of his last three years resulted in double-digit sacks, and he's a good to make it three out of four this year, especially with first-round rookie DT Sheldon Rankins providing disruption inside.

Jordan is one of the league's top 3-4 ends, averaging 55 tackles and 9.5 sacks since 2012. Playing a 3-4 end spot usually limits a lineman's IDP upside, and Jordan isn't an exception to that rule, so 60 tackles and 10 sacks likely are his ceiling. But his high play count (999 in 2014) and playmaking history give him a high floor.

Jordan showed significant improvement in both of the last two years, raising his sack total from one in 2011 to eight in 2012 and then to 12.5 last season. At 6-4, 287-pounds, Jordan is one of the league's elite 3-4 ends, possessing ideal anchor ability and improving disruption skills. He'll only be 25 in July, but he has two consective years with DL1-DL2 value in almost any scoring system. As the best front-seven player in the New Orleans defense, his play-count isn't at all up for grabs, so he'll get all the work he can handle in 2014.

It will be interesting to see whether New Orleans' switch to the 3-4 harms Jordan's productivity, but given his game was always more about strength and anchoring ability than it was athleticism, he should hold up fine on the interior. Jordan excels as a lane-clogging end thanks to his motor and power, and he took a big step forward last year by more than doubling his tackle total from 31 to 67 and upping his sack count from one to eight. The 2011 first-round pick should keep his stock at the same level in 2013, but is more of a floor pick than a ceiling one – he posted five tackles or a sack in 11 of 16 games last year, though he only had one multi-sack game.

After being selected in the first round of the 2011 NFL Draft, Jordan's first season in New Orleans hardly went as expected, as he managed only one sack and 18 tackles despite appearing in every game last year. This year, Jordan will enter as an unquestioned starter along the defensive line and should improve on last year's numbers but he will have a lot to prove to show he was worthy of a first round pick a year ago.

While Jordan isn’t guaranteed to start in New Orleans, it will be a surprise if he doesn't earn a starting spot within the first month of the season or so. The Saints' 2011 first-round draft pick, Jordan is a strong, high-motor talent who projects best on the strong side, where he should get plenty of opportunities to make plays against the run. Capable of lining up inside or out, it wouldn’t be shocking if Jordan plays as many snaps as anyone on the Saints defensive line this season.