Another member of the New Orleans Saints‘ nine-man 2025 NFL draft class has put pen to paper on his rookie contract. Defensive lineman Vernon Broughton, who was selected at No. 71 in the third round of this year’s draft, signed his four-year rookie deal on Tuesday. After playing college football for the Texas Longhorns, he is officially a member of the Saints.
Broughton, 23, spent most of his 56-game Texas career lining up over the guard’s inner or outside shoulder as a 2i and 3-technique defensive tackle. But the Saints were already introducing him to some new responsibilities at their rookie minicamp where he was seen working from the offensive tackle’s outer shoulder as a 5-tech defensive end. Brandon Staley is installing a 3-4 base as the Saints’ new defensive coordinator, but he’s known for using versatile fronts that could move guys like Broughton all over the line of scrimmage.
With Broughton signing on Tuesday and his fellow third rounder Jonas Sanker inking his own deal on Monday, just one player is left unsigned from the Saints’ rookie class: Tyler Shough. The second-round quarterback will probably take longer in negotiations than everyone else, but that’s become standard. These second-round contracts have become a battlefield between teams and agents haggling over guaranteed money, offset language, and other minutiae. The Saints tend to act faster than other front offices around the league in hammering out these deals, but it should still get finished before training camp starts in late July. Stay tuned.