New Orleans Saints make potentially smart bet on Tanoh Kpassagnon’s ceiling

The K.C. Chiefs waited for Tanoh Kpassagnon as a draft-and-develop prospect for four years. Now the New Orleans Saints are reportedly ready to step in and commit to his fifth and sixth seasons in the NFL in hopes of watching him reach a ceiling envisioned for him as a former second round choice in the 2017 NFL Draft.

NFL reporter Tom Pelissero reported on Monday that the Saints are locking in Kpassagnon on a two-year contract in free agency, a move to bolster the team’s pass rush and depth at defensive end.

Four years ago, John Dorsey, who was then the general manager for the Chiefs, decided to take Kpassagnon in the second round of a class that would also include quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the first round and running back Kareem Hunt in the third. Sandwiched by these powerful offensive selections was Kpassagnon, a player who was compared to Sean Jones with an enviable blend of length, athleticism, and burst.

What was known at the moment at his selection was that Kpassagnon was going to need considerable time to reach his ceiling in the NFL. Not only had Kpassagnon not played organized football for as long as most other pro hopefuls, but he’d also played collegiately at Villanova (FCS), which meant a considerable leap in competition was ahead of him. However, the Senior Bowl showed he could play with anyone and the Chiefs decided to take that chance.

The Saints made a potentially savvy play for Tanoh Kpassagnon.

There’s a reason the Chiefs decided to let Kpassagnon walk in free agency rather than bring him back, despite a clear need at the position. That’s telling in free agency, which is why Kpassagnon was still available in late March. Last year, he played in a career-high 67 percent of all defensive snaps and had a single sack to show for his efforts. It’s not that he was even close to getting more, considering he had only 5 total pressures on the year. (By comparison, he had 16 QB pressures in 2019 in approximately 20 less snaps.)

Coming into 2021, the Chiefs decided the experiment was over and they allowed Kpassagnon, Alex Okafor and Taco Charlton to hit unrestricted free agency. The team acted fairly quickly to bring back Charlton on an inexpensive single-season deal, but the others are/were still free.

But here’s the thing to also remember about some of the league’s better pass rushers: they can take some time to develop. Shaq Barrett flamed out after five seasons in Denver, yet became an elite pass rusher with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Nick Perry needed more than four years to finally turn the corner in Green Bay. The Saints themselves just watched Trey Hendrickson leave in free agency after putting up 13.5 sacks last season. However, that came in a contract year, and his previous three seasons netted just 6.5 sacks total.

Basically it feels weird to write off Kpassagnon just yet given the clear label on him when selected that he was going to need time. A new team is going to try new things, and that might be exactly what he needs to make the leap in efficiency as an edge threat. The stats say that if a player hasn’t blossomed by now that he’s likely shown what he’s going to do, but there are also enough examples out there of potential late bloomers that this could be a very savvy play for a perennial contender like the Saints.

It’s hard to call this a smart move at this point, but it’s a potentially smart one, and those are the right sort of moves for teams to make in free agency at this stage.