Several Kansas City Chiefs wasted an opportunity against the Steelers

Khalen Saunders, Defensive Tackle

Khalen Saunders excited a lot of Chiefs fans when the Chiefs selected him in the third round. Saunders, on paper, has the size and athleticism to be a force at defensive tackle. The challenge for Saunders was to prove that he could handle the jump from Western Illinois to the NFL. While I am in no way insinuating that the Chiefs should give up on Saunders, it looks like he is going to need a year of NFL-level strength, conditioning, and technique coaching before he is able to make an impact for K.C.

So far this preseason Saunders has mostly been relegated to third string duties. Given his physical tools you would like to see him dominating or at very least flashing against third stringers from other teams. That hasn’t happened. In fact, unless you were looking for him you may have missed him all together because he simply hasn’t been much of a factor. In two games, he’s totaled one assisted tackle. That’s it.

Defensive tackle isn’t a position where players typically pile up a bunch of statistics, so the tackle numbers aren’t a huge deal, but against third stringers you would like to see him get some penetration into the pocket or clog up a running lane that shuts down a play—even if he doesn’t actually make the tackle. Again, its not time to panic with Saunders, but he hasn’t used the first two preseason games to prove that he deserves to be a rotational contributor as a rookie. I fully expect Saunders to make the roster and be given time to develop, but don’t be surprised if he’s one of the inactives on game day if he doesn’t start flashing more soon.