Scouting Jets defensive tackle Khalen Saunders

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 what Saunders brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.

Measurables/Athleticism

As noted, clips of Saunders backflipping went viral ahead of the 2019 draft and he showcased that athleticism at the combine where he worked out at 324 pounds and put up a series of solid numbers for that size.

He ran a 5.01 in the 40-yard dash, posted above average explosiveness and agility numbers and registered 27 bench press reps.

Physically, Saunders is short and squat, and lacks ideal length. However, a series of players with this kind of build have had recent NFL success and length isn’t viewed as critical for interior linemen the way it once was.

In his first few games with the Jets, Saunders has looked big and it seems likely he has added weight since the combine, although 324 is still his listed weight. Having not played much over the first half, he may still be working his way into shape.

Usage

The majority of Saunders’ reps have been as a conventional 4-3 defensive tackle at the NFL level, although he is more than capable of lining up as a conventional nose tackle and has done this at times.

Any reps over or outside the tackle have been few and far between, but he did that more often when he was in college.

As noted, he was a high school running back and he used some of those skills in college when he had five offensive touches including a touchdown run and a touchdown catch. He has also played on offense with the Chiefs including on one play where Patrick Mahomes threw an incompletion to him and another where his lead block led to a touchdown run.

Motor

Scouting reports when he was a draft prospect suggested that Saunders’ conditioning was a concern, although he averaged over 60 snaps per game in his last season at Western Illinois.

At the NFL level, he hasn’t played 50 snaps in a game since 2020 with 54 being the most he ever played. He did play over 500 defensive snaps twice in his career though, if you include postseason action.

On the field Saunders can get stuck on a block from time to time but will hustle to the ball and play to the whistle.

Pass rush

Draft analysts were proved correct when they suggested that Saunders probably wouldn’t be able to replicate his pass rushing production from his last two seasons (14 sacks) at the pro level.

He has 7.5 career sacks in regular and postseason action, 4.5 of which came in his final season with the Chiefs. His pressure rates have never been high, either.

Having said that, he can be a handful when rushing the passer with his quick feet and ability to get off blocks.

As you’d expect from someone with his kind of build, Saunders is capable of bringing some power as a bull rusher.

Run defense

Saunders’ ability to stop the run is probably the main reason the Jets have brought him in. His combination of size, strength and movement skills make him an ideal run stuffer, although his performance grades on analysis sites such as Pro Football Focus have tended to be below average.

While he didn’t record a tackle for loss until his fourth season, Saunders has showcased an ability to penetrate and get into the backfield over the past few seasons.

As noted, he moves well for a man his size, enabling him to stay in front of ball carriers in the running game.

He has had mixed results as a run stopper with the Jets so far, but showed his ability to shed blocks on this play.

Technique

Saunders is a player with a low center of gravity who brings active hands, although experts have suggested he can refine his hand placement and speed.

His go-to move as a pass rusher is the slap-swim, which he has the quickness to pull off against NFL-level talent.

As a former wrestler, he has a good understanding of leverage and can use this to gain separation and get upfield on his man.

Special teams

Saunders has only played more than 10 special teams snaps during one of his seasons in the NFL, with his primary role on the kick block unit. He did get credit for a blocked kick in college.

In high school, he was used as an upback on the punt unit, which saw him involved in a few fakes. He was also capable of punting.

Tackling

Saunders has been a productive tackler at times during his career and clearly has a nose for the ball. He can also bottle up runs where he might not always get credit for the tackle himself.

His missed tackle rates have typically been low, with six being the most he’s ever had in a season. However, he doesn’t always finish the play.

Coverage

Saunders has batted down six passes during his career as he has a knack for getting his hands up. He has also chased down some short passes.

He also had an interception, on which he made a spectacular return, on national television.

He would have had another interception on national television in a game against the Packers where he batted the ball straight up into the air and was about to catch it but a teammate batted it out of his hands.

Instincts/Intelligence

According to Saunders’ former defensive line coach from his Chiefs days, Brendan Daly, Saunders has a very high football IQ and was one of the smartest guys in the room with his understanding of calls and adjustments.

Saunders himself has said he is quick to learn and pick up systems but his comfort level within those schemes is important.

It is noticeable that he has good awareness in terms of where the ball is and when to get his hand up in a passing lane. His play recognition is also solid.

There are times when he can be caught off guard by down blocks and moved off his spot laterally, though.

Attitude/Demeanor

Saunders is a real character and a popular teammate. He was a team captain in college and has done plenty of community work off the field.

On the field, his discipline has been good, as he entered Sunday’s game with just two penalties in his NFL career, although one was for unnecessary roughness.

Of course, on Sunday, he was ejected for making contact with an official, but this did not look be anything malicious or intentional, and Saunders implied it was inadvertent on social media after the game.

He has been fined for a roughing the passer penalty that was not called on the field, though.

Injuries

Injuries wrecked Saunders’ second and third season as he missed 22 games and spent 13 weeks on injured reserve. He had a dislocated elbow in 2020, which he was able to return from but it rendered him ineffective because an ability to win hand fighting battles is so important to him. The 2021 injury was to his knee.

Saunders has also missed time during his career with a calf strain, illness and a concussion.

Scheme Fit

As noted, Saunders has mostly played as a 4-3 defensive tackle and that’s the way the Jets primarily line up, so he should fit in here. However, they’ve also been mixing in some five man fronts, in which he could play some snaps as a nose tackle, and already has.

He has been a teammate of current Jets Kene Nwangwu and Trenton Irwin, albeit very briefly in each case.

Conclusions

The Jets have brought in a series of younger players with upside but Saunders doesn’t exactly fit within that group as he’s almost 30 and out of contract at the end of the season. However, they obviously feel he has talent and can provide them with a potential upgrade.

It’s already notable that he’s been in the rotation while youngsters like Mazi Smith and Payton Page have not been active, which implies that, at the very least, the Jets were keen to get an extended look at him.

At the end of the season, they’ll no doubt assess how he fit within the locker room, and his on-field performance, to determine whether to re-sign him. He was very keen to play in New York, though, so this seems reasonably likely if there is mutual interest.