The New Orleans Saints had a defensive emergence in 2013. A downtrodden defense leaped from the pits of NFL despair in 2012 to a top-five unit the following season.
The Saints lost to the defensive-minded Seattle Seahawks in the 2013 NFC Divisional playoff round. They figured they were one player away to creating their version of Seattle's vaunted "Legion of Boom."
So the Saints unexpectedly opened owner Tom Benson's vault and landed three-time Pro Bowl safety Jairus Byrd. He created takeaways aplenty during his time with the Buffalo Bills and inked a six-year deal that was to max out north of $50 million.