# Khalen Saunders

Khalen Saunders (born August 9, 1996) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Western Illinois.

## College career

After playing high school football as a running back and a defensive lineman at Parkway Central High School, Saunders received only one Division I scholarship offer, from Western Illinois.
During his career at Western Illinois, Saunders mainly played defensive line but also sporadically continued his career on the offensive side of the ball, recording a rushing and a receiving touchdown in his career. After his senior season, he became the first Leatherneck ever invited to the Senior Bowl, and while playing in the contest, recorded the game's first sack on Will Grier, earning accolades from Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden. Saunders also picked up exposure over the offseason by having a video of him backflipping featured on prominent draft analyst Adam Schefter's Twitter account; the tweet amassed over 7,000 likes.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 0+3⁄8 in (1.84 m) | 324 lb (147 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 5.01 s | 1.73 s | 2.91 s | 4.62 s | 7.57 s | 30.5 in (0.77 m) | 8 ft 5 in (2.57 m) | 27 reps |
| All values from NFL Combine ||||||||||||

### Kansas City Chiefs

Saunders was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round with the 84th overall pick the 2019 NFL draft. Saunders won Super Bowl LIV when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31–20.
Saunders was placed on injured reserve on September 19, 2020 after suffering a dislocated elbow in Week 1. He was activated on October 24.
On November 30, 2021, Saunders was placed on injured reserve. He was activated on January 24, 2022.
In 2022, Saunders helped the Chiefs win Super Bowl LVII against the Philadelphia Eagles 38–35 with Saunders recording two tackles and a sack in the game.

### New Orleans Saints

On March 17, 2023, Saunders signed a three-year, $14.5 million contract with the New Orleans Saints.
In 2024, during the Saints' Week 5 game against the Chiefs, Saunders recorded the first interception of his career on a deflected pass in the end zone and returned the ball 37 yards. The Saints scored a touchdown on the ensuing drive, but ultimately lost the game 26–13.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| | Won the Super Bowl |
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR |
| 2019 | KC | 12 | 4 | 22 | 13 | 9 | 1.0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | KC | 3 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | KC | 7 | 0 | 8 | 2 | 6 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 16 | 0 | 48 | 22 | 26 | 3.5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | NO | 17 | 17 | 57 | 24 | 33 | 0.0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NO | 13 | 10 | 43 | 18 | 25 | 2.0 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 68 | 32 | 181 | 82 | 99 | 6.5 | 7 | 6 | 1 | 37 | 37.0 | 37 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

### Playoffs

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR |
| 2019 | KC | 3 | 0 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | KC | 3 | 0 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | Career | 6 | 0 | 8 | 6 | 2 | 1.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

## Personal life

Saunders has a daughter, who his then-fiancée gave birth to while he was preparing for the 2019 Senior Bowl.
Saunders has a brother, Kameron, a professional dancer and choreographer.