Saints: Breaking down Khalen Saunders and Nathan Shepherd
The Saints grabbed two impact players.
Khan Saunders and Nathan Shepherd are the two newcomers on the defensive line for the New Orleans Saints. They are under-the-radar players, but their role will be vital for New Orleans.
The Saints' biggest need going into this off-season was interior defensive line. It was believed that they would lose David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle.
That came to fruition this week, but how can Saunders and Shepherd pick up the slack and improve the Saints defense?
The interior for the Saints last season was not good enough. Their run defense was in the bottom half of the league, and you could argue that it costed the team a couple of wins last year.
These two players provide depth that can help the defense get better in multiple ways this season.
The Saints have to get more pressure on the QB up the middle going forward. Their edge rush play against the pass was solid last year as Cameron Jordan resurged, and Carl Granderson emerged.
Shepherd has showed consistency in pass rush win rate, and he would've been the leader in pass rush win rate for the Saints on the interior last season.
As for Saunders, he's a really impressive run defender. He even showed off better pass rush ability in his final season in KC last year.
Saunders totaled just 3.5 sacks, but that's the most of his career. That was in limited playing time, so you'd think it could increase if his snaps do with the Saints.
One trait is also clear in both players. Their effort is phenomenal. No play is over when it comes to them trying to make a play. Both defenders worked hard consistently on film.
Saunders and Shepherd will provide energy and aggression to the Saints defense instantly.
