Davon Godchaux, a former four-year New England Patriots starter, is headed from the New Orleans Saints to the Jacksonville Jaguars, according to a report by Tom Pelissero of The Ringer.
The deal lands a day before Tuesday’s NFL trade deadline and revives a question that has trailed New England since March 2025 — did the Patriots part with a useful starter too soon?
Jacksonville is sending a 2028 sixth-round pick to New Orleans in return, according to insider Jordan Schultz. The Jaguars also added safety Jessie Bates III from the Atlanta Falcons earlier Monday.
Godchaux, a 6-foot-3, 330-pound native of Plaquemine, Louisiana, played at LSU before the Miami Dolphins picked him in the fifth round of the 2017 draft, 178th overall. He started 42 of 52 games for Miami, making 179 tackles with three sacks, before a biceps injury ended his 2020 season after five games.
Davon Godchaux’s Four Seasons With the New England Patriots
New England signed Godchaux as a free agent in March 2021 on a two-year deal worth roughly $15 million to $16 million, with $9 million guaranteed.
The Patriots’ run defense had ranked near the bottom of the league in 2020, and defensive tackle Danny Shelton was gone. A 330-pound nose tackle could clog the middle and free the players around him.
For Godchaux, the move was a “no-brainer” given the scheme under Bill Belichick, according to NESN. Belichick simply wanted a nose tackle to absorb blockers.
Godchaux played in all 68 regular-season games in New England, starting 67, with 250 tackles, 2.5 sacks, one forced fumble, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup. His yearly tackle totals ran 65, 62, 56 and 67. He was a two-down run stopper who tied up linemen rather than chased quarterbacks.
The Patriots rewarded him twice, with extensions in July 2022 and July 2024. They were worth about $20.8 million and $18 million, each over two years.
Then Mike Vrabel came on the scene.
The new head coach, hired after the 2024 season, and defensive coordinator Terrell Williams wanted linemen who shoot gaps in a more aggressive, attacking four-down scheme, not two-gapping nose tackles who occupy blockers. At 330 pounds, Godchaux was not an ideal fit.
The Patriots gave Godchaux permission to seek a trade in February 2025. On March 10 they sent him to New Orleans for a 2026 seventh-round pick, No. 224 overall.
Why Saints Traded Godchaux to the Jacksonville Jaguars
The Saints acquired Godchaux in March 2025 as a homecoming for the Plaquemine native. They wanted a starting-caliber nose tackle to prop up a run defense that had struggled, in the scheme operated by coordinator Brandon Staley. Godchaux reworked his contract into a two-year, $11 million deal.
He played all 17 games for New Orleans last season, starting 14, with 43 tackles, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble and no sacks on roughly 456 snaps, about 41% of the defense’s total. His snaps and impact tapered as 2025 went on, according to Saints Wire, and his usage has dipped again this season. Bryan Bresee and Nathan Shepherd remain on the Saints’ interior.
Jacksonville’s need is more urgent. Nose tackle DaVon Hamilton, central to the NFL’s top-ranked run defense, tore his quad in Week 8 against the Indianapolis Colts and is expected to miss the rest of the season, according to ESPN.
Godchaux is not a pass rusher. He has 5.5 career sacks through last season. What he offers is a 330-pound run stuffer to rotate with Arik Armstead and Ruke Orhorhoro while Hamilton is out.
Did New England blunder by moving on? The reporting at the time pointed to scheme, not production, and the results since are modest. Godchaux’s tackle total fell from 67 in his last season with the Patriots to 43 in New Orleans, and the Saints are getting a sixth-round pick for him, one round better than the seventh they paid in 2025.
Ex-Patriots 330-Pound DT Traded to Division Leader After Short Saints Stint