On Sunday, the New Orleans Saints played their second preseason game of the year, falling to the San Francisco 49ers 16-10. Despite the loss, there was a lot to like about the Saints performance, and plenty to takeaway from the game.
One of the early takeaways was Bryan Bresee starting over Khalen Saunders at defensive tackle. Bresee was a first-round pick in 2023, and he looked good as a rookie, and has looked even better this year. His jump into the starting lineup was only a matter of time. However, it wasn’t clear if he’d replace Saunders or Nathan Shepherd.
In Sunday’s game, Bresee got the start over Saunders. The Saints haven’t made an official change to the depth chart, and the team still has a couple of weeks of camp left. In the weeks leading up to the regular season, anything can happen. One thing is seemingly clear, though, Saunders isn’t going down without a fight.
Shortly after the preseason game concluded, the veteran defensive tackle took to social media and said, “I’m used to the disrespect. Watch how I respond.” He surely seems motivated to get back in the mix.
Bryan Bresee starts over Khalen Saunders in Saints second preseason game
To be clear, this post could be about anything in Saunders life. Because of the on-field situation, the tweet seems football related, but that’s just an assumption. A tweet later, Saunders even laughed at people being “loud and wrong,” before adding that uneducated folks really humor him.
Regardless of what the tweet was about, Saunders is facing a ton of competition at the defensive tackle position. As stated earlier, Bresee has looked really impressive, and Shepherd is fighting to hold on to his spot. To make things even more crowded, Cam Jordan is now a part-time interior defensive lineman.
With Chase Young and Carl Granderson both shining on the outside, the Saints will have packages where Jordan bumps inside, so the team could have all the best rushers on the field at once. The only way Saunders won’t get lost in the shuffle is if he shows he can be impactful as well. It seems like he’s prepared to do that.
