Kaden Elliss was presented as an absolute chess piece for Brandon Staley’s defense when the New Orleans Saints signed him in free agency. He’s justified that hype in camp so far, and Bleacher Report's scouting department gave Saints fans more reasons to be excited about the signing. Ellis was ranked the best player on the roster by a good margin over Chris Olave and Chase Young.Â
When fans tend to think of the top players in the Saints, Olave and Young tend to be the first names that pop up on their side of the ball. Both players are coming off the best seasn of their career, and Olave just made second-team All-Pro.
Even with their stock at its peak, Elliss is regarded as the top player on the roster. If the Saints picked up a player of that caliber, the results could stabilize the defense after losing Demario Davis. It could even elevate it.
Kaden Elliss is Brandon Staley's shiny new toy
Staley is no stranger to having a piece on the defense he can move around to different positions. Derwin James lined up all over the field and played every position on the defense at some point. Elliss gives Staley that same ability but at linebacker.
When you think of positionless football, it is often connected to defensive backs. It's just much easier to move them around. Elliss is what a positionless linebacker should look like, and you can't say that about many players at that position.
Elliss isn't going to move back to safety. Like most positionless players, his versatility works top down, and his ability as a linebacker is matched by what he can do as a rusher.
The best linebackers can defend the run and drop into coverage. Elliss does that and excels at rushing the passer too. He can do that regardless of the alignment.
Staley can have Elliss lined up at linebacker and blitz or on the edge as a true edge rusher. He'd be effective at either position. This versatility allows Staley to do a lot of disguising on his defense and play with different packages.
Knkowing Elliss' pass rush is a premium part of his game allows Staley to just threaten offenses with it and back out. They'll have to respect it, and could easily lead to false adjustments when Elliss doesn't rush.
If Elliss is an edge rusher, you could have just Pete Werner at linebacker, which would make sense for obvious passing situations with more defensive backs on the field and a speedy pass rush. Or the Saints could put Werner and Danny Stutsman on the field together while Elliss is at edge rusher.
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