Khalen Saunders (born August 9, 1996) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Illinois.
| No. 50 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||
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| Position: | Defensive tackle, Fullback | ||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||
| Born: | August 9, 1996 St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. | ||||||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||
| Weight: | 324 lb (147 kg) | ||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||
| High school: | Parkway Central (Chesterfield, Missouri) | ||||||||||
| College: | Western Illinois (2014–2018) | ||||||||||
| NFL draft: | 2019 / round: 3 / pick: 84 | ||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||
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| Roster status: | Active | ||||||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 5, 2024 | |||||||||||
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College career
editAfter playing high school football as a running back and a defensive lineman at Parkway Central High School, Saunders received only one Division I scholarship offer, from Western Illinois.[1]
During his career at Western Illinois, Saunders mainly played defensive line but also sporadically continued his career on the offensive side of the ball, recording a rushing and a receiving touchdown in his career.[1] After his senior season, he became the first Leatherneck ever invited to the Senior Bowl,[2] and while playing in the contest, recorded the game's first sack on Will Grier, earning accolades from Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden.[3][1] Saunders also picked up exposure over the offseason by having a video of him backflipping featured on prominent draft analyst Adam Schefter's Twitter account; the tweet amassed over 7,000 likes.[4]
Professional career
edit| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 0+3⁄8 in (1.84 m) |
324 lb (147 kg) |
32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) |
9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) |
5.01 s | 1.73 s | 2.91 s | 4.62 s | 7.57 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) |
8 ft 5 in (2.57 m) |
27 reps | |
| All values from NFL Combine[5][6] | ||||||||||||
Kansas City Chiefs
editSaunders was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round with the 84th overall pick the 2019 NFL draft.[7] Saunders won Super Bowl LIV when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31–20.[8]
Saunders was placed on injured reserve on September 19, 2020 after suffering a dislocated elbow in Week 1.[9] He was activated on October 24.[10]
On November 30, 2021, Saunders was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on January 24, 2022.
In 2022, Saunders helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 with Saunders recording two tackles and a sack in the game.[11]
New Orleans Saints
editOn March 17, 2023, Saunders signed a three-year, $14.5 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.[12]
In 2024, during the Saints' Week 5 game against the Chiefs, Saunders recorded the first interception of his career on a deflected pass in the end zone and returned the ball 37 yards.[13] The Saints scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive, but ultimately lost the game 26–13.[14]
NFL career statistics
edit| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Won the Super Bowl | |
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
edit| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 2019 | KC | 12 | 4 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | KC | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | KC | 7 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 16 | 0 | 48 | 22 | 26 | 3.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | NO | 15 | 15 | 50 | 22 | 28 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NO | 2 | 1 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 37 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 55 | 21 | 139 | 64 | 75 | 4.5 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 37 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Playoffs
edit| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | ||
| 2019 | KC | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 6 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
Personal life
editHe and his wife Ayanna Saunders had a daughter who was born while he was at the 2019 Senior Bowl.[1]
Saunders has a brother, Kameron, a professional dancer and choreographer.[15]
References
edit- ^ a b c d Rittenberg, Adam (April 20, 2019). "Backflips, basketball and a baby: The legend of Khalen Saunders". ESPN. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Saunders Represents Leathernecks as First-Ever Reese's Senior Bowl Invitee". Western Illinois Leathernecks. January 21, 2019. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Marino, Joe (February 15, 2019). "Khalen Saunders Does Rare Things". The Draft Network. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ Epstein, Jory (January 22, 2019). "Viral, backflipping DT Khalen Saunders explains why he stayed at Senior Bowl as fiancée went into labor". USA Today. Retrieved April 27, 2019.
- ^ "Khalen Saunders Draft and Combine Prospect Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ "Khalen Saunders, Western Illinois, DT, 2019 NFL Draft Scout, NCAA College Football". draftscout.com. Retrieved January 25, 2022.
- ^ Swanson, Kent; Sweeney, Pete (April 26, 2019). "NFL Draft results: Chiefs select Western Illinois DT Khalen Saunders at No. 84". Arrowhead Pride. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ "Super Bowl LIV – San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs – February 2nd, 2020". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Goldman, Charles (September 19, 2020). "Chiefs place DT Khalen Saunders on IR, elevate practice squad DT Braxton Hoyett". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ Goldman, Charles (October 24, 2020). "Chiefs make two roster moves on Saturday". Chiefs Wire. USA Today. Retrieved March 21, 2021.
- ^ "Super Bowl LVII - Philadelphia Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs - February 12th, 2023". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved February 19, 2023.
- ^ "New Orleans Saints agree to terms with defensive tackle Khalen Saunders". NewOrleansSaints.com. March 17, 2023. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
- ^ DeArdo, Bryan (October 8, 2024). "LOOK: Saints DT Khalen Saunders makes incredible interception off Patrick Mahomes, rumbles for big return". CBSSports.com. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ "Chiefs 26-13 Saints (Oct 7, 2024) Game Recap". ESPN.com. Associated Press. October 8, 2024. Archived from the original on October 8, 2024. Retrieved October 8, 2024.
- ^ Gutierrez, Lisa (July 8, 2023). "'You are amazing!' Taylor Swift backup dancer has ties to Kansas City Chiefs and UMKC". The Kansas City Star. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
