Khalen
Saunders.
Khalen
Saunders.
Western Illinois· 6'0"· 324 lb· 5.01s 40
Khalen Saunders is a good fit for a one-gap 4-3 penetrating front, or a 3-4 front that asks its linemen to get upfield and disrupt.
Initially a rotational interior lineman, he could develop into a starting 1-Tech or 3-Tech due to his athleticism and power.
He would struggle in a two-gap system that requires him to consistently hold the point of attack against double teams without immediate penetration.
Saunders' quickness and power make him a versatile interior defensive lineman, despite his size.
Selected #84 overall in Round 3 of the 2019 NFL Draft by Kansas City Chiefs out of Western Illinois.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 5.01sp50
- Vertical
- 30.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 101inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.57sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.62sp50
- Bench
- 27repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Tkl | Sk | Int | PD | FF |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Western Illinois | — | 3 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Western Illinois | — | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Western Illinois | — | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | — | — | 13 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Khalen Saunders has played five seasons in the NFL, primarily as a rotational defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs, winning two Super Bowls. He later signed with the New Orleans Saints, continuing his role as an interior defensive lineman.