Second-Year Jump: Will Khalen Saunders See a Spike in Production in Year 2?

Kansas City Chiefs 2019 third-round pick Khalen Saunders was a relatively unknown player to the common fan heading into last season's draft. After a year under his belt, how will he improve in year No. 2?

Defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, the Kansas City Chiefs' 2019 third-round pick out of Western Illinois, was a relatively unknown player to the common fan heading into the draft. He had a great week at the Reese's Senior Bowl, positive meetings with Kansas City coaches and management and he ultimately won over the room. The Chiefs were looking to add depth at the position and hoped Saunders could fill a need both in 2020 and beyond.

Saunders was inactive the first four weeks of the season but ended up working into the defensive line rotation as the season went on and even started four games due to starting defensive tackle Chris Jones being injured. Gaining 303 defensive snaps as a rookie, Saunders was able to add 22 total tackles (13 solo) to his resume. His lone sack of the season came against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. He also added two more quarterback hits and a pass deflection to his season totals.

Amidst the strange offseason involving COVID-19, the Chiefs were able to keep a majority of starters on both sides of the ball. Despite the Chiefs having three free-agent defensive tackles heading into the offseason, the team was able to retain Chris Jones via the franchise tag and brought Mike Pennel back on a one-year deal as well. With Jones and Derrick Nnadi projected as starters, it seems likely that Saunders will fill in as a rotational player.

Saunders will compete for snaps with Pennel, but both men will need to be ready to step up in case of injuries. Defensive Coordinator Steve Spagnuolo likes to use a heavy rotation along the front line and Saunders could see a jump in production as he has a year under his belt in this system. It would not be crazy to see his numbers see a slight increase this season. Give him 30 total tackles, adding a sack and a couple more quarterback hits to his totals from 2019.

If Saunders is a starter by the end of the season, he will have taken a bigger leap forward than anyone anticipated, or there was a devastating injury to one of the guys ahead of him. It wouldn’t be the worst thing to see Saunders’ role grow a little bit more in the defense for the 2020 season. However, like Mecole Hardman, due to the volume of guys returning at his position, he may need to wait until year three to see a significant increase in snaps and overall production. 

For Mark Van Sickle's second installment of the "Second-Year Jump" series about Juan Thornhill, click here.

For Mark Van Sickle's first analysis on the "Second-Year Jump" pertaining to Mecole Hardman, click here.