Danny Stutsman has spent a year with Demario Davis and an offseason with Kaden Elliss. It didn't take long to see how the New Orleans Saints linebacker room will look different with Elliss replacing Davis. While describing the change to media members, Stutsman also laid out how Elliss and Brandon Staley are a match made in heaven.
Elliss and Davis are such different players that it's not about whether the room got better or worse. Elliss is going to bring a pass rush element that will make the room's impact much different than it was in 2025.
#Saints LB Danny Stutsman talks about the differences playing alongside Kaden Elliss vs. Demario Davis, and the "dynamic" element Elliss brings to the defense pic.twitter.com/N0ZRFoIY5k
— NOF (@nofnetwork) August 5, 2026
Danny Stutsman makes a bold claim about Kaden Elliss
Stutsman didn't hold back any praise for Elliss. "He's really good at rushing the passer. He can get to the quarterback. I think he's the best linebacker in the league at doing that," Stutsman declared.
The last year Elliss was in New Orleans he registered 7 sacks. He didn't reach that number again in Atlanta, but he was consistently around the quarterback. Per PFF, he has the most pressures among linebackers over the last 3 years.
Stutsman then laid out how much Staley likes to blitz. You pair a linebacker who excels at blitzing and a coordinator that naturally likes to send his linebackers after the quarterback, and that's a duo with magic written all over it.
Elliss' ability to get after the quarterback isn't lost on the Saints. There's a reason that, even as a linebacker, all of the incentives in his contract are based around sacks. Both parties realize that's where his super power lies and would like to take advantage of it.
The incentives start kicking in once Elliss reaches 5 sacks. The incentives grow in amount per sack for each sack up Elliss' total reaches 12. This isn't something either side would negotiate or agree to unless there was a prior conversation on what his role would be with the Saints.
Early in camp, the evidence is already there. Elliss is slicing through the offensive line en route to Tyler Shough. That's just what he can do as a blitzer, which Stutsman focused on, but Elliss is a capable rusher off the edge too.
The STAR position is typically looked at as the chess piece of a Brandon Staley defense. Well, he just got another one in Kaden Elliss.
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