The New Orleans Saints haven't seen Kaden Elliss since the Week 3 matchup versus the Las Vegas Raiders, and his presence on the defense has been felt. There was hope that he'd return to action when he, along with Jordyn Tyson, made the trip to Paris. Mickey Loomis may have squashed the small hope around Tyson, but the hope around Elliss returning just grew.
Elliss returned to practice for the first time as a limited participant. That's no indication that he is a lock to play, but it is a great sign after three straight weeks of not practicing at all.
It's hard to exactly pinpoint exactly when Elliss got injured because he played every snap against the Raiders, but his calf injury has kept him out of action ever since. He's been spelled by Danny Stutsman. While it hasn't been all bad, it's been obvious why the Saints went out to get Elliss in free agency this year.
Aggressiveness has been missing from Saints defense since Kaden Elliss has been out
There's a couple of things about Elliss' absence that have nothing to do with Stutsman or Pete Werner. It's about who Elliss is as a player that makes him unique.
Elliss is one of two true impact players on this defense next to Chase Young. It's simply hard to replace an impact player, and there's an inevitable drop off. Granderson has had multiple sacks in each of the last two games, but if Young had to miss three games, the drop off of that unit would be noticeable.
That drop off was apparent once Elliss had to leave the lineup. Elliss is a strong run stopper and a pass rusher. That's a skillset that makes him unique in the league, let alone on the team. The Saints have sent Stutsman and Werner on blitzes, but Elliss is a natural pass rusher.
Then, there are some things that are Stutsman and Werner have made apparent through their play.
The downhill speed and aggressiveness that Elliss plays with was noticeably absent when he was absent. It didn't feel like it was just him playing that way when he was on the field, but Werner hasn't kept that same intensity when playing next to Stutsman.
The Saints interior defensive line isn't stout, so when the linebackers aren't coming downhill, the yards before contact are only goint to increase. Elliss would shoot gaps and take plays away from running backs even when he didn't make the tackle.
Without Elliss, there was more catching and less attacking, and the defense suffered at times because of it. If he's able to return to the Saints should see their pass rush and run defense take a step forward.
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