Saints Re-Sign DL Darryl Tapp

The Saints announced that they have re-signed defensive lineman Darryl Tapp. Terms of the deal are not yet known. "<strongDarryl

Heading into today, we had Tapp ranked as the ninth-best edge defender left in free agency, placing him ahead of guys like Devin Taylor, Eugene Sims, Howard Jones, Wallace Gilberry, Sam Acho. Notables like Dwight Freeney, Elvis Dumervil, Chris Long, Mario Williams, Connor Barwin, Paul Kruger, Trent Cole, Erik Walden, and Jason Jones remain on the board.

Tapp, 33 in September, appeared in all 16 games for the Saints and now has three consecutive seasons of perfect regular season attendance. He had just 17 tackles and half a sack last season, but the advanced metrics were fond of his work. He graded out as the 43rd best edge defender in the league last year out of 109 qualified players, according to Pro Football Focus. The 78.0 overall score was his best showing since 2012.

With the re-signing of Tapp, the Saints now have five defensive ends on their roster (Cameron Jordan, Paul Kruger, Obum Gwacham and D.J. Pettway are the others). The only member of the group with multiple sacks last year was Jordan, who finished with a team-leading 7.5 on a club that had the sixth fewest in the NFL. Thus, it stands to reason that the Saints will continue looking for edge rushers, especially in the draft.

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