Khalen Saunders | DT | Western Illinois
Height | 6-2
Weight | 310
Class | Senior
A three-year starter in Western Illinois’ 3-4 defense, Saunders lined up mostly as the nose tackle, but also moved to various positions between the zero and five technique spots, and even lined up out wide as an edge rusher on occasion. Making his name known at the Senior Bowl, Saunders dominated against some of the top interior offensive linemen.
For his size, he is very explosive and has great short area quickness. Saunders exhibited flexibility, speed, and power at the point of attack as a rusher. His first step and short area twitch make it difficult for interior offensive linemen to square him up and cut him off. He’s effective at playing on the edge of blockers and penetrating through a gap.
Overall, Saunders is far from the perfect prospect and has areas that he will improve on. His play recognition, hand usage to disengage from blockers, and ability to anchor are things that will need to be addressed at the next level. Saunders best projects as as a one-gapping nose tackle in a 4-3 scheme with three-down potential.
