It didn’t take the New Orleans Saints long to address their top roster need in the early hours of free agency, with the team agreeing to deals with free agent defensive tackles Nathan Shepherd and Khalen Saunders — who will be replacing two departed free agents in David Onyemata and Shy Tuttle.
But who are these guys? Are they upgrades or Band-Aids? How do they compare to the players New Orleans put on the field last year? That’s something we’re going to explore with the help of some advanced stats and each player’s resume so far:
Khalen Saunders (Western Illinois)
Age: 26
Experience: 38 games in 4 years (plus 6 playoff games)
Height: 6-foot-0
Weight: 324 pounds
Relative Athletic Score: 7.59
2022 defensive snaps: 511 (39.5% vs. run, 58.7% vs. pass), 26.9 snaps per game
PFF run defense grade: 55.8
PFF pass rush grade: 57.2
PFF pass rush win rate (PR productivity): 6.7 (4.0)
PFF average depth of tackle vs. run: 3.1
Contract: Three years, $14.5 million ($4.8 million per year), guarantees TBD
Saunders played a bit part for the Chiefs through his first three years, posting career-highs in defensive snaps (511), quarterback pressures (18), tackles (30), and PFF defensive stops (22) last season. He’s a steady player who offers more against the run than against the pass, so it’s odd to see that Kansas City played him on so many passing downs last year. The Saints can dictate that better by adding more depth to the line and carefully rotating him on and off the field. But Saunders is a great athlete for his size and he should do a lot to help the New Orleans defense win at the line of scrimmage. He makes a lot of hustle plays and was surprisingly effective corralling mobile quarterbacks looking to make a play outside the pocket.
Nathan Shepherd (Fort Hays State)
Age: 29
Experience: 73 games in 5 years (but no playoff games)
Height: 6-foot-4
Weight: 315 pounds
Relative Athletic Score: 9.19
2022 defensive snaps: 416 (50.2% vs. run, 49.7% vs. pass), 24.5 snaps per game
PFF run defense grade: 58.6
PFF pass rush grade: 79.5
PFF pass rush win rate (pass rush productivity rating): 15.2 (4.8)
PFF average depth of tackle vs. run: 3.2
Contract: Three years, $15 million ($5 million per year) with $10.18 million guaranteed (67.8%)
Shepherd is an elite athlete who plays with a lot of power, which he uses to collapse the pocket and hold ground up front. He’s always been an effective part of the New York Jets’ pass-rush unit but he made real strides as a run defender last season by getting more active along the line of scrimmage; his 17 quarterback pressures were the second-most of his career, but his 15 PFF defensive stops were a new personal-best. One area he can continue to improve is finishing plays. He missed seven tackles last season and his relatively-low pass rush productivity rating (compared to his high pass rush win rate) is a reflection of quarterbacks getting out of his arms too often. Penalties were a problem for him in 2021 (he was flagged twice each for defensive holding, neutral zone infractions, and roughing the passer) but he cleaned it up in 2022.
How they compare to other Saints defensive tackles
| Nathan Shepherd | Khalen Saunders | David Onyemata | Shy Tuttle | Malcolm Roach | Kentavius Street | |
| Age | 29 | 26 | 30 | 27 | 24 | 26 |
| Experience | 73 games in 5 years (0 playoff games) | 38 games in 4 years (plus 6 playoff games) | 106 games in 7 years (plus 7 playoff games) | 63 games in 4 years (plus 3 playoff games) | 29 games in 3 years (0 playoff games) | 52 games in 4 years (plus 3 playoff games) |
| Height | 6-foot-4 | 6-foot-0 | 6-foot-4 | 6-foot-3 | 6-foot-3 | 6-foot-2 |
| Weight | 315 | 324 | 300 | 300 | 290 | 287 |
| Relative Athletic Score | 9.19 | 7.59 | 9.49 | 7.11 | 8.42 | 7.73 |
| 2022 defensive snaps | 416 (24.5 per game) | 511 (26.9 per game) | 682 (40.1 per game) | 557 (32.7 per game) | 316 (24.3 per game) | 518 (30.5 per game) |
| PFF run defense grade | 58.6 | 55.8 | 53.0 | 67.1 | 47.9 | 42.3 |
| PFF pass rush grade | 79.5 | 57.2 | 66.9 | 55.8 | 56.6 | 59.8 |
| PFF pass rush win rate (PR productivity) | 15.2 (4.8) | 6.7 (4.0) | 12.7 (5.5) | 4.4 (2.6) | 11.0 (4.1) | 9.7 (4.8) |
| PFF average depth of tackle vs. run | 3.2 | 3.1 | 3.0 | 3.9 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
| Contract | Three years, $15 million ($10.18M guaranteed) | Three years, $14.5 million (guarantees TBD) | Three years, $35 million ($24.5M guaranteed) | Three years, $19.5 million ($13M guaranteed) | Unsigned free agent | Unsigned free agent |
