At the beginning of the 2019 season, Khalen Saunders was a development project along the defensive line. It appeared as if the Kansas City Chiefs planned for his rookie year to sit and develop, and through the first four weeks of the season, Saunders had zero snaps.
Injuries to Chris Jones and Xavier Williams sent Saunders onto the field for the first time in Week 5, and he would start the next four games before moving back to a rotational role. Initially, he played both as a nose tackle and a 3-tech. Once Mike Pennel was signed, defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo was able to put his rookie into position to have the most success. With Pennel and Derrick Nnadi as stout nose tackles, Saunders would start to get more work as a 3-tech.
On the field, Saunders showed his physical gifts, but his overall technique needed a massive overhaul—not surprising as he made the leap from Western Illinois. He doesn’t possess the elite size and length of Jones (who is six inches taller and only 15 lbs. lighter), so technique becomes even more vital for a player like Saunders. Processing blocking schemes, his timing off of the snap, his consistency with leverage and hand usage, and his pass rush counters were all areas that needed improvement. [Reply]
I was starting to think he was the only bust in this draft class but by the end of the season I was cautiously optimistic. He's not ever going to be Chris Jones but:
Originally Posted by :
Overall, consistency and developing technique will be what we need to keep an eye on in 2020. As of right now, Saunders looks to be a good run defender that can play early downs when needed. His pass rush has a lot left to be desired, but given Spagnuolo’s structure of bringing defensive ends to play the interior on obvious passing downs, there’s still time for him to work on that part of his game.
Originally Posted by srvy:
I'd be very careful with Rankin if they can. He seems to be made of breakable parts. Make sure he is at 100% as I am sure they will.
Other than blowing out his knee last season, has he had any other serious injuries? Just curious.
But I'm sure they won't bring him back unless he's actually ready to go. Not like they have to rush him back to service. Just good news to hear that he's able to practice and possibly even play in the near future. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Megatron96:
Other than blowing out his knee last season, has he had any other serious injuries? Just curious.
But I'm sure they won't bring him back unless he's actually ready to go. Not like they have to rush him back to service. Just good news to hear that he's able to practice and possibly even play in the near future.
Hurt his ankle his senior season of college which led to a subpar season and caused his draft stock to drop.
He then hurt his foot (which required surgery) and missed his entire rookie training gamp. [Reply]
DTs can take time and the NFL competition is a big step up from what he was doing in college. Would love to see him become a nice piece for us. [Reply]
