Saints Sophomore Spotlight: Shy Tuttle

After bursting onto the scene as an undrafted rookie, Shy Tuttle looks to make an even bigger impact for the Saints in 2020.

The 2019 New Orleans Saints already had a deep defensive tackle rotation of David Onyemata, Sheldon Rankins, Malcom Brown, Mario Edwards Jr., and 2018 undrafted rookie Taylor Stallworth. Rankins would miss the first portion of the 2019 season while recovering from an Achilles injury though. The team did not select a DT in the draft, although both Brown and Edwards were added as free agents. New Orleans would also receive more interior line help from an unlikely source.

Tennessee defensive tackle Shy Tuttle was not selected in the 2019 draft but was immediately signed by the Saints at the end of the event. The 24-Yr old Tuttle not only battled his way to a spot on the active roster, but impressed his coaches enough to earn an opening day start. Tuttle had a half sack against Houston on opening night and would see action in all 17 of his team’s games. He played in 32% of the Saints defensive snaps, and had 2.5 sacks, 6 quarterback pressures, 3 tackles for loss among his 18 stops, batted down 4 passes, and had 1 interception. His interception was one of the Saints top highlights of the season. It was an acrobatic pick-off of Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan on Thanksgiving night, where Tuttle plowed over the Falcons signal caller during his athletic run back.

Nov 28, 2019; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Falcons quarterback Matt Ryan (2) throws an interception to New Orleans Saints defensive tackle Shy Tuttle (99) in the second half at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jason Getz-USA TODAY Sports

The 6’3 300-Lb tackle was far more than that highlight-reel play in 2019. Tuttle has an explosive first step off the snap and is a powerful player next to impossible to block one on one. He provided a good inside disruption as a pass rusher and is a stout run defender. Shy Tuttle has gone from unheralded undrafted rookie to a key part of the Saints defensive tackle rotation. His ability to disrupt opposing offenses should lead to an increased role for New Orleans in 2020.