Jonas Sanker went from being a rising rookie thrust into the lineup quicker than expected as a rookie to being one of the most important players on the New Orleans Saints defense in year 2 due to his position change. The trend of Sanker's stock and importance increasing continued with Sanker being regarded as the Saints' best young defensive building block.
ESPN's Bill Barnwell recently ranked every NFL team by their talent under 25, and also listed which of those players were blue chip players. He defined blue chip players as "the top 60 cornerstone assets around the league from whom teams will likely derive their biggest future value." Kelvin Banks Jr., Jordyn Tyson and Sanker all made the cut for the Saints.
Banks and Tyson should come as no surprise. They were both top-10 selection, and Banks had a strong rookie campaign, while Tyson has yet to hit the field. Sanker is the name that was a bit unexpected but possibly not unwarranted.
Jonas Sanker is the Saints' best young DB
A blue chip player at one of the most important positions in Brandon Staley’s defense is the type of player you build around. We’ve spoken about joining the line of great STAR defenders in Staley’s system. Sanker may not be Jalen Ramsey or Derwin James but being a blue chipper gives him a ceiling of being mentioned next to those guys.Â
There isn’t a better scenario for the Saints. You want your blue chip players at your premier positions like cornerback, wide receiver, edge rusher, etc. While that may not be the case in every defense, the value Staley puts on the STAR role makes Sanker just valuable to the Saints as those traditionally premier positions.
Barnwell quietly revealed he views Sanker as the best young defensive back in the Saints secondary. Most notably, Sanker is above Kool-Aid McKinstry in these rankings. Quincy Riley turned 25 earlier this year, but he would likely be under McKinstry anyway if he was eligible.
McKinstry is the Saints top cornerback and enters the season with a massive spotlight on him as a potential breakout star. He's no slouch for sure, so Sanker being a blue chip player both holds weight and gives optimism for the future of the secondary.
Bryan Bresee isn't a part of the secondary, but he's a player under 25 who had 7.5 sacks as an interior defender. He's shown and proved that he can be an impact player. That's one more player Sanker is ahead of.
It's not a slight to the players who weren't considered blue chip players but rather a testament of how Sanker is viewed. He has the ceiling to be a special player. If he hits the ceiling, the Saints defense will greatly feel the impact of hitting gold at that position.
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