Vernon Broughton

Vernon Broughton II (born July 15, 2001) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the Saints in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft.

Early life Broughton attended Cypress Ridge High School in Harris County, Texas. He was rated as a four-star recruit and the 79th overall player in the class of 2020, and committed to play college football for the Texas Longhorns over offers from schools such as LSU, Ohio State, and Texas A&M.

College career In his first three collegiate season from 2020 to 2022, Broughton appeared in 25 games for Texas, where he totaled 13 tackles with two being for a loss, and a sack. In 2023, he tallied 17 tackles with five being for a loss, a sack, and a fumble recovery for the Longhorns. Broughton entered the 2024 season as a starter on the Longhorns defensive line. In the 2024 regular season finale, he recorded two sacks and the game-sealing fumble recovery against rival Texas A&M, earning SEC co-defensive player of the week honors. In the 2024 SEC Championship Game, Broughton totaled six tackles against Georgia. During the 2024 season, he played all 15 games, notching 39 tackle with four and a half being for a loss, four sacks, two forced fumbles, and three fumble recoveries.

College statistics

Year Team GP Tackles Interceptions Fumbles Solo Ast Cmb TfL Sck Int Yds Avg TD PD FR Yds TD FF 2020 Texas 2 2 0 2 1 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2021 Texas 12 1 4 5 1 0.5 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2022 Texas 12 5 2 7 1 0.0 0 0 0.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2023 Texas 14 7 10 17 5 1.0 0 0 0.0 0 1 1 0 0 0 2024 Texas 16 24 15 39 5 4.0 0 0 0.0 0 2 3 0 0 2Career 56 39 31 70 13 6.5 0 0 0 0 3 4 0 0 2

Professional career Broughton declared for the 2025 NFL draft.

Broughton was selected by the New Orleans Saints with the 71st pick in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft. He signed his four-year rookie contract worth 6.64 million. Broughton made his NFL debut in Week 2 against the San Francisco 49ers and recorded 3 tackles. However, he suffered a season-ending hip injury in the contest, and was placed on injured reserve on September 17.

Personal life Broughton is married to his wife Camille.