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The New Orleans Saints got deeper at linebacker by signing Anthony Chickillo, a backup and special teams ace for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And Chickillo immediately faced questions about how he’d adapt to live in the Saints defense — largely built around four-man fronts — after a career in the Steelers’ 3-4, where he often played with a hand in the dirt.
Fortunately, the Saints are one of many modern defenses embracing versatility in today’s NFL. They don’t limit themselves to a 3-4 or 4-3 on every snap, or even ask the big men up front to always play with a hand in the dirt. There’s room for a variety of skills sets in their scheme. And that appealed to Chickillo when he was weighing his options in free agency.
“I’m not entirely sure (where he’ll be lining up), but I know I’m putting my hand back down in the dirt,” Chickillo said in a recent conference call with local media. “In Pittsburgh, we were in a two-point stance. We were in a 3-4 and still on some passing situations I was able to put my hand down, so it’s not like I haven’t done in the past five years.”
Chickillo added that he’s looking forward to rushing against blockers from a three-point stance, which he did often in college at defensive end for the Miami Hurricanes. The added leverage and burst off the snap he enjoys from that stance is, in his words, “a lot of fun.”
He’s not the only new addition with that background. Zack Baun, one of the four Saints draft picks, often played up on the line of scrimmage at Wisconsin. Like Chickillo, Baun was sometimes asked to rush upfield out of a three-point stance, though the rookie did his best work from a stand-up look. Having two comparable skills sets should push both players to give it their all, making sure that every opportunity is fully earned.
However, it shouldn’t be a shock if both Baun and Chickillo end up getting looks at defensive end. The Saints lost veteran reserve Noah Spence to a torn ACL while he was working out privately, and could use any boost they can get. The mix-and-match personnel alignments the Saints feature up front would have probably seen the two linebackers slide over anyway, but the Saints are incentivized even more now to try them out in different spots.
When asked whether he anticipates an adjustment to his new team, Chickillo anticipated some sort of learning curve, but nothing he couldn’t handle: “Like I said in Pittsburgh, I was rushing out of a three-point stance, really whenever we ran our nickel package.”
And Chickillo doesn’t think that it’s an accident that the Saints came calling with this role in mind. He recalled two games against New Orleans in which he showed the Saints coaching staff what they may have been looking for.
He continued, “I got to (play in a three-point stance) a whole bunch and when we played New Orleans in the (2016) preseason, I was rushing out of a three-point stance in the Superdome and when we played in the (2018) regular season I was rushing off a three-point stance. I’m sure the coaches saw that I was able to do that.”
Chickillo also said that his background in special teams — where he’s taken more career snaps than on defense — should help his chances of making the roster in New Orleans. The Saints have several linebackers competing for a handful of roster spots, and any edge they can provide in the game’s third phase could be what decides who makes it through roster cuts in September.
Now, whether Chickillo ends up being a better option than Craig Robertson, Kaden Elliss, Joe Bachie, or even Kiko Alonso remains to be seen. But he’s not lacking for confidence, and there’s a lot to be said for that. It’s just another fun training camp battle for fans to watch later this summer.
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