What are the New Orleans Saints getting in Khalen Saunders? The big defensive tackle was one of their first free agent signings this offseason, and head coach Dennis Allen has a smart comparison in mind. When asked for his thoughts on the team’s pickup, he offered a throwback to his early days in New Orleans.
“Khalen Saunders reminds me a lot of Hollis Thomas,” Allen said at NFL owners meetings in Phoenix this week. “Kind of a big square body, athletic, can move. Good run stopper but yet some sneaky pass-rush ability. The ability to push the pocket inside. I think he can help us in that regard. Maybe slightly more athletic than what we saw with Shy.”
“Tank” Thomas wasn’t quite as big as Saunders — the Saints listed him at 6-flat and 306 pounds; Saunders tips the scales at 324 — but it’s a good comparison. He joined the Saints as a veteran in 2006 and started 30 of the 38 games he played in black and gold, ultimately seeing 1,259 snaps across his three-year run in New Orleans. He averaged about 33 snaps per game and was active defending the run as well as the pass. Pro Football Focus charting found he generated 32 pressures in that time, with the NFL officially crediting him with 6.5 sacks and 16 tackles for loss. If Saunders can return similar production, Allen and the team probably feel great about the move.
And like Saunders, Hollis had a big personality. He was known as an always-positive, charismatic face in the locker room. A former undrafted free agent who got his first break in the NFL by sending his highlight tape to all 30 teams at the time (his career began in 1996, before the league expanded to 32 franchises in 2003) while a student at Northern Illinois.
Thomas recounted the story to PhiladelphiaEagles.com’s Jim Gehman in 2021: “I got the audio-visual department to make me one. It wasn’t too long and it wasn’t too short. I was just trying to give them pretty much a highlight of what I do in games. … I talked to (former Eagles head coach) Ray Rhodes before I committed to come here. And one of the things that Ray told me was if I came and did the things that I did in college, that I will make the team. No ifs, ands, or buts.”
Saunders is arriving in New Orleans with a little more fanfare. The Kansas City Chiefs’ former third-round draft pick signed a three-year contract with the Saints valued at up to $12.3 million, with half of it guaranteed. He’s expected to start next to Nathan Shepherd in the middle of Allen’s defense and set the tone early.
Like Thomas was before him, he’s going to be a key piece of the New Orleans defensive line at a pivotal moment in franchise history. After working hard to recruit free agent quarterback Derek Carr and coming off their first losing season in seven years, it’s vital that Saunders helps the Saints shake back and chase an NFC South title. We’ll see if he has it in him.
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