Over the offseason, the New Orleans Saints reunited with a former draft pick of theirs: Kaden Elliss. He’s back after three seasons in Atlanta, and he’s better than ever. But can the Saints actually use the version of the linebacker that the Falcons were able to unlock?
The first time that Elliss was in New Orleans, he was just finding his footing. When he left for the rival Falcons, he found a (possible) ceiling that was higher than anyone on the Saints seemed to have imagined. In 2024, he actually spent most of his time as a chess piece at the line of scrimmage blitzing on 24.6% of snaps. That was his best season as a pro, and he was the only player in the NFL that season with more than 150 tackles and five sacks.
It'll be fascinating to see how often Elliss is used as a rusher. Elliss' history would suggest it'd be often. That’s up to Staley’s scheme and whether or not he actually commits to the disguise heavy LOS deployment.
Saints LB Kaden Elliss is expected to the same role in New Orleans that he did in Atlanta
Luckily, Staley has already alluded to how he’ll use Elliss. In an interview with NewOrleans.Football's Mike Triplett, he said that the returning Saints linebacker will likely have the same role that he had in Atlanta.
That means that he’ll have the green dot/signal calling duties, previously held by Demario Davis. “We're not trying to move him. We're trying to keep him where he's been such an effective player,” Staley said. “So he really plays the Jack linebacker and then the Money when we're in soft nickel. So really, it would be one of our other guys taking Demario's place in the middle, where Kaden's played a little bit more on the edge."
With that question now answered, it’ll be interesting to see if New Orleans is actually able to establish a defense around him. If Staley commits to the deployment and if the pieces around him hold up, the Saints aren't just getting a familiar face; they're getting one of the most productive off-ball linebackers in the league.
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