There are only 97 days remaining until the New Orleans Saints kick off their 2025 regular season opener against the Arizona Cardinals. Wearing No. 97 for the Saints this year is second-year defensive tackle Khristian Boyd, a Round 6 draft choice by the Saints in the 2024 draft. Here’s some background on Boyd, our Saints Player of the Day.

Name (Age): Khristian Boyd (25)

Hometown: Blue Springs, Mo.

Position: Defensive tackle

Height, weight: 6-foot-3, 320 pounds

College: Northern Iowa Panthers

Drafted: Round 6, 199th overall in 2024

Upon graduating Blue Springs High School in Missouri, Boyd would attend Northern Iowa University in the Missouri Valley Football Conference. He’d play in 49 games over his five seasons with the Panthers, redshirting in 2018 and Covid limiting his team to seven games in 2020. Over his collegiate career, Boyd collected 9 sacks and 24 tackles for loss. In 2022 he was 2nd Team all-conference, following that up with 1st Team all-conference honors in 2023 and a 3rd Team All-FCS selection.

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Boyd appeared in just six games for the Saints as a rookie, playing only 20% (74) of the team’s defensive snaps. He totaled 3 tackles for a defense that ranked 30th overall and 31st against the run. He’s expected to be on the roster bubble this offseason, but a change in defensive scheme may fit perfectly into his best skills.

A natural nose tackle, Boyd may be a much better fit in new defensive coordinator Brandon Staley’s 3-4 system. The Saints traded for Davon Godchaux this offseason, but the team only has Boyd and Godchaux as prototype nose tackles on the roster. Boyd plays with tremendous strength and good leverage, allowing him to stand his ground against double-team blocking and clog inside running lanes.

Khristian Boyd isn’t a lock to make the roster out of training camp. However, his outstanding power and potential abilities as a run defender make him a possible Year 2 breakout player for a Saints squad desperate to upgrade their run defense.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Khristian Boyd is the Saints Player of Day 97