Will Smith has been with the Saints since 2004. He has led the team in sacks from 2005 to 2007. Smith has a career total of 49.5 quarterback sacks and yet he’s not considered one of the top flight defensive ends in the league “It simply has to do with the fact that before the Saints won the Super Bowl nobody knew who he was because he played in New Orleans,” WWL’s Bobby Hebert said. Smith is one of the quiet leaders in the locker room. He’s survived a coaching change and is one of three remaining players from the previous coaching regime still on the roster. That is no coincidence. “There is a reason he’s around. He’s highly productive. He’s a tremendous leader and a good character guy something that Coach Sean Payton places a lot of emphases on,” Hebert explained.

Smith might be getting better with age. Last season the former Ohio State Buckeye posted a career high of 13 sacks including 7.5 from November through the Super Bowl in February.