Top 10 interior defensive linemen in the 2019 NFL Draft

#T.-10 Khalen Saunders, Western Illinois

Saunders displays outstanding athleticism for a guy his size

This former FCS standout was already well-known in the Missouri Valley Conference, as he was a first-team all-conference selection for consecutive seasons and an AP second-team All-FCS performer last year, having combined for 25 tackles for loss and 14 sacks over that two-year stretch.

However, Saunders only got national attention when he became an internet sensation with his backflips at 320 pounds a couple of months ago.

He wanted to show his athleticism at the Senior Bowl and when his wife asked him to stay in Mobile despite their daughter being born during day one of practice, he had a huge week and even celebrated with a little flip after the session.

Saunders displays outstanding athleticism for a guy his size. He showed he can punch, extend and disengage better than most FBS D-linemen and if he works on hand-placement and timing that should translate to the next level.

He can also slip blocks with a quick arm-over or just pulling cloth against leaning offensive linemen, as well as going back-door on some blockers and flattening towards the sideline, where he shows incredible burst for a such a large man.

Once the ball-carrier gets past the line of scrimmage, Saunders utilizes a quick spin move to chase down the running back from behind and actually makes some stops after just a yard or two.

When he meets the ball-carrier in the whole, he wraps up and those two guys are going straight backward. Saunders also shows a pretty good feel for blocking schemes and when to go over the top of an offensive linemen.

That explosiveness in his lower body that you see on his backflips also shows up when Saunders drives opponents back as a bull-rusher. He displays great power and an ability to take advantage of offensive linemen lunging by pulling them off balance. He also shows an excellent late spin to free himself.

Saunders ran a bunch of T-E twists for the Leathernecks and even came off the edge from a two-point stance on occasions, where he shows a mind-boggling up-and-under move too. He has surprising wiggle for a big guy and just the way he moves around when the D-line is getting lined up late is impressive.

He had a hilarious play versus North Dakota State last year, where the guard slid away from him and the running back tried to stand in there against him, but the defensive tackle just shoved him a couple of yards backwards to help clean up the sack. Saunders finished the Senior Bowl week off with an early sack followed by another pressure in the actual game.

When Saunders gets a jump on the snap and just gets upfield, he creates instant penetration, but he lacks some snap anticipation and usually is a split-second late off the line. He has this bad tendency of trying to look over the top of blockers, which exposes his chest and allows movement.

Moreover, Saunders becomes a little reactionary as a pass-rusher occasionally and is just looking to knock down passes at the line, which a little of times is not even possible. He is still quite raw without a pass-rush arsenal he can utilize accordingly with a plan behind it.

Saunders wasn’t nearly as disruptive on long series and his conditioning might not be good enough for such a large amount of snaps.

It is ridiculous how loose somebody can be at 320 pounds. Saunders has a rare combination of flexibility, power and sheer explosiveness.

However, while those gifts were enough for him to dominate at his level, he will face similar athletes in the pros and will need to develop better overall technique. I think his best fit is as a shade nose in a 4-3 where he can dominate his one gap and potentially make centers look stupid when left one-on-one.