Defensive line, Western Illinois, 2016–18
Khalen Saunders
- Number
- No. 99
- Height
- 6′2″
- Weight
- 310 lb
- Hometown
- Andrews, TX
- Born
- Aug 9, 1996, in St. Louis, Missouri
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Khalen Saunders played defensive line at Western Illinois (2016–18). The Kansas City Chiefs took Saunders in round 3, No. 84 overall in the 2019 NFL Draft.
At a glance
Defense
| Season | Team | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD | Hur |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Western Illinois | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | Western Illinois | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | Western Illinois | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 13 | 8 | 2.5 | 1.5 | 0 | 0 | |
Season lines from CollegeFootballData, regular season and bowls.
Defense before 2016
| Season | G | Solo | Ast | Tkl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1 of 1 | 2 | 2 | 4 |
Our box scores carry tackles, tackles for loss and sacks from 2016 only, so these come from other sources: ESPN play-by-play participants, via SportsDataverse: tackles only, counted in the games whose play-by-play names tacklers (G: those games, of his team’s), so part of the season, not its total. A dash: the source has no number for it.
On the roster
| Season | Team | No. | Pos | Ht | Wt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Western Illinois | 99 | DL | ||
| 2017 | Western Illinois | 99 | DL | ||
| 2018 | Western Illinois | 99 | DL | 6′2″ | 310 |
As each season’s roster listed the player (CollegeFootballData). Classes before the latest listing are counted back from it; “Yr 1” is the year on file where that count can’t place a season he played (a redshirt, transfer or 2020 year); height and weight as last listed.
Game by game
2018 Western Illinois 1 game, 7 tackles
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 8 | at Illinois | L 14–34 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
No box score in the source for Aug 31 at Montana State; Sep 15 vs. Montana; Sep 29 vs. Youngstown State; Oct 6 at Illinois State; Oct 13 vs. North Dakota State; Oct 20 at Missouri State; Oct 27 vs. Northern Iowa; Nov 3 at Southern Illinois; Nov 10 at South Dakota; Nov 17 vs. Indiana State, so those games are not listed.
2017 Western Illinois 1 game, 3 tackles, 1 sack
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 23 | at Coastal Carolina | W 52–10 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
No box score in the source for Aug 31 at Tennessee Tech; Sep 9 at Northern Arizona; Sep 30 vs. South Dakota; Oct 7 at Northern Iowa; Oct 14 vs. Missouri State; Oct 21 at North Dakota State; Oct 28 vs. South Dakota State; Nov 4 at Illinois State; Nov 11 at Indiana State; Nov 18 vs. Southern Illinois; Nov 25 at Weber State, so those games are not listed.
2016 Western Illinois 1 game, 3 tackles, 0.5 sacks
| Date | Opponent | Result | Tkl | Solo | TFL | Sacks | PD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 24 | at Northern Illinois | W 28–23 | 3 | 2 | 0.5 | 0.5 | 0 |
No box score in the source for Sep 1 at Eastern Illinois; Sep 10 vs. Northern Arizona; Oct 1 at South Dakota State; Oct 8 vs. Indiana State; Oct 15 at Missouri State; Oct 22 vs. North Dakota State; Oct 29 at South Dakota; Nov 5 vs. Illinois State; Nov 12 vs. Northern Iowa; Nov 19 at Southern Illinois, so those games are not listed.
Box scores from CollegeFootballData, 2004 on. ✦ postseason; ★ a career high on file.
Before the draft
Played in the 2019 Senior Bowl (North team, won 34–24).
| Drill | Combine 2019 |
|---|---|
| Height | 6′0⅜″ |
| Weight | 324 lb |
| Arm length | 32¼″ |
| Hand size | 9⅛″ |
| Wingspan | 78⅜″W |
| 40-yard dash | 5.01 s |
| 10-yard split | 1.73 sW |
| Vertical jump | 30½″ |
| Broad jump | 8′5″ |
| Bench press | 27 reps |
| 3-cone drill | 7.57 s |
| 20-yard shuttle | 4.62 s |
Unmarked: Combine and pro day results compiled by array-carpenter (nfl-draft-data); W: Pre-draft measurables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Rosters and honors: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA).
In the NFL
7 seasons, 66 games with a stat; latest team: New York Jets.
| Season | Team | G | Tkl | Sacks | Int |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Kansas City Chiefs | 10 | 20 | 1 | 0 |
| 2020 | Kansas City Chiefs | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | Kansas City Chiefs | 3 | 7 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | Kansas City Chiefs | 16 | 44 | 3.5 | 0 |
| 2023 | New Orleans Saints | 16 | 52 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | New Orleans Saints | 12 | 42 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | New York Jets | 7 | 12 | 1 | 0 |
| NFL career | 66 | 180 | 7.5 | 1 | |
Regular seasons, from nflverse (CC BY 4.0). G counts games in which the player recorded a stat.
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