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As Saints coordinator Rob Ryan led his defense to a No. 4 ranking in yards allowed in 2013, rookie safety Kenny Vaccaro lined up in a multitude of positions.

He covered slot receivers at times. At others, he patrolled deep. He monitored the area that linebackers typically do. He’d occasionally creep up to the line of scrimmage and blitz, and he finished among team leaders with 79 combined tackles, a sack, an interception and a forced fumble before fracturing his ankle at Carolina in Week 16 and sitting out the rest of the season.

That level of versatility moved Ryan to at one point tell reporters he’d never seen a first-year player handle so much so well.

But if the Saints head into 2014 healthier than they did last year, Vaccaro won’t be roving around as much and will have a more focused role on which to concentrate, coach Sean Payton said during the NFL owners meeting this week in Orlando, Fla.

“Kenny played in a lot of spots last year. I think he’ll play in less of those spots this year,” Payton said. “That vision this year will be a little ... clearer.”

Read more: Saints ready to zero in on Kenny Vaccaro

dizzle88

Atleast if someone gets injured we can be confident that kenny can play all over the field and still make an impact

players like that are vital

saintsfan1976

Versatility. This is why I can see a guy like Shazier playing for Ryan. His range is what could limit a lot of those seam plays that have recently been discussed here.

Utah_Saint

What ever they were doing last year seemed to be working. I hope they don't change it completely.