Gang Green Nation
The Jets recently signed defensive tackle Khalen Saunders and he has already played in four games for the team. Today we break Saunders down in detail.
The 29-year old Saunders is listed at 6’0″ and 324 pounds and was a third round pick out of Western Illinois in 2019. He has two Super Bowl rings and has started 32 games in his career, including 27 over the past two seasons with the Saints. However, he struggled to see the field with the Jacksonville Jaguars this season.
Background
Saunders was a 310-pound running back and defensive lineman in high school but didn’t have a lot of attention as he was a no-star prospect and only had one scholarship offer.
He accepted that one offer and headed to Western Illinois, where he redshirted his first season in 2014. The following year saw him record 27 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and two sacks and then his production improved in 2016 as he had 48 tackles and five tackles for loss, albeit with no sacks.
Having been an honorable mention all Missouri Valley Conference selection in his redshirt sophomore year, Saunders ramped up his production and was a first-teamer in 2017 and 2018. He had 57 tackles, 12 tackles for loss and 7.5 sacks in 2017, along with three forced fumbles and three passes defensed. Although he only had 41 tackles and 6.5 sacks in 2018, he set a career mark with 13 tackles for loss.
Saunders’ draft stock was helped by a nice showing at the Senior Bowl, a solid combine performance and a viral video of him doing an impressive backflip. The Chiefs eventually selected him in the third round.
With the Chiefs, Saunders had a promising rookie season that saw him make four starts and record 22 tackles and a sack in 12 games. The Chiefs went on to win the Super Bowl.
Over the next two years, Saunders’ progress was disrupted by injuries as he was limited to 10 games and 11 tackles. He did have one start, but entered his fourth season with no tackles for loss in his career so far.
Year four was a breakout for Saunders, who came off the bench in 16 games and had 48 tackles and a career-high 3.5 sacks. He had another five tackles in the playoffs, including a sack in the Super Bowl, which the Chiefs won again.
Ahead of the 2023 season, Saunders signed a three-year deal with the Saints and got the opportunity to start he was looking for, as he started all 17 games and had a career-high 57 tackles. He then started another 10 games in 2024 and had 43 tackles and two sacks in 17 games.
In preseason, he was traded to the Jaguars but could hardly get on the field with them as he had three tackles in two games. After his release, the Jets picked him up and he has played four games with them.
Let’s move onto some more in-depth analysis of...
