Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Kaden Elliss is an underrated New Orleans Saints free agent, having broken out in 2022 with career-highs in defensive snaps played (632), quarterback pressures (20, 8 of them sacks per Pro Football Focus charting), and tackles (45), along with a pair of fumbles.

The veteran linebacker has been a top special teams player for the Saints ever since they drafted him out of Idaho back in 2019, and now the former sixth-round pick is looking to establish himself as a starter — somewhere around the league.

“I’d love to be back,” Elliss told The Spun’s Chris Rosvoglou. “They’ve made it clear they want me back. It’ll come down to the numbers and scheme. We’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”

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Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Translation... he ain't coming back.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

It would be foolish to pay him starter money if the scheme dictates he is only playing special teams and backing up Werner. He knows he can start elsewhere and make that coin.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I may be alone here, but why is Elliss sounding like he thinks he's owed the world after playing pretty well for 1 season since 2019?

Don't get me wrong I'd like to keep him, but let's not forget this is the first time he's made anything above a minimal impact in 4 years.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

It's also the first time he's seen extended time as a starter with Werner's injury. He's selling himself to the market. Pretty sure it's being prompted by his agent. This will be his only second contract. Rarely do players last much beyond the first. He needs to get as much as he can while he still can. I wish him luck.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Speaking of LB's, Bobby Wagner was just released by the Rams.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

‘We don’t plan to use him, he doesn’t fit our scheme’ is code for ‘he is going to be one of the two or more key players we lose this offseason due to Loomis’ mismanagement of the cap.’ If he just didnt fit our scheme we would replace him with a player who is as young and as good and costs as much and just better fits or scheme. Instead we will just watch him walk and sign some fading old veteran to a long term backloaded contract because thats all we can afford. And thats all we can afford because all our miney is locked up in old players we signed to long term backloaded contracts a few years ago because that was all we could afford then.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

There are a few great reasons to keep Kaden on the team. DD is getting old, PW may be injury prone, and Kaden is a pretty darn good player. With that said, the Saints have no QB and no cap space, dude is likely gone.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

It's not the cap that would make us let him go. There's enough reserve left to open about $30 million in 2023 cap. We can sign him to a deal with near vet minimum in the first year if he wanted to stay. The main issue is that he wants to start now. That's not going to happen here.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I like it.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Who should be starting ahead of him?

He had a really good year and he's earned his payday... and playing time.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Saints 2022 Year-In-Review: Kaden Elliss

An injury to a key New Orleans defender opened the door for the Saints best breakout player of 2022.

When Werner suffered an ankle injury early in a Week 9 game against Baltimore, it opened the door for the 27-year-old Elliss to flourish.

Elliss finished with 7 sacks, 11 pressures, two passes broken up, and 7 tackles for loss among 78 total stops. All were career best numbers. Six of his sacks, along with 63 tackles, came in the last nine games. He was not only disruptive against the run and as a pass rusher, but also showed vast improvements in coverage, thought to be a weakness in his game.

Despite not seeing full-time duty until the mid-season point, Elliss was second on the team in sacks, third in QB hits, and fourth in total tackles and tackles for loss. His 2022 statistics dwarfed the combined numbers he had over his first three NFL seasons.

In the last nine games with Elliss in full-time duty, the Saints gave up an average of less than 15 points and 309 yards per contest while recording 29 sacks. Elliss was as disruptive as any of the more highly publicized New Orleans defenders over this stretch.

An unrestricted free agent entering the offseason, Elliss should be a top priority for the Saints to re-sign. His emergence, along with Werner's development and the elite presence of Davis gave New Orleans one of the league's best trio of linebackers.

Full article

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Demario Davis and Pete Werner. Which one of those two would you propose we bench? The Nickle is our base defense these days so we almost always have only two LB's on the field. On occasion we only have one LB out there. When you total up all defensive snaps for the Saints LB's (2458) it comes out to slightly more than twice the total of all defensive plays (1132) on the the season. That means we average slightly more than two LB's on the field at any given time over the entirety of the season.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

That would be great if we played a 4-3 defense. We don't. We field a 4-2-5 the vast majority of the time. Don't get me wrong, I would love it if we keep him, but I really think he wants to go somewhere that he can be the fulltime starter. It's not so much about the money, but more so the playing time.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

In that specific alignment, no I would not start Eliss above either. Key word is specific. As our 3rd LB'er, he still can be considered a starter. A team needs more than 2 linebackers and there's plenty of snaps available for all three. Let's not forget Davis is 34 years old.

But we do. Our base is a 4-3.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I beg to differ, papz. We are in the 4-2 front probably 80% of the snaps or more, usually with three safeties, but I've seen as many as four CB's and a single safety. It is extremely rare when we have three LB's on the field at once. I've seen it labeled by some as a 4-3 solely because of the four down linemen, but that's a misnomer. Here's just a few of our starting lineups from last season. Source: https://www.pro-football-reference.com/

Player Pos

Marcus Davenport DE

Cameron Jordan DE

David Onyemata DT

Shy Tuttle DT

Pete Werner LB

Demario Davis LB

Marshon Lattimore CB

Bradley Roby CB

Tyrann Mathieu FS

Marcus Maye S

Justin Evans S

Player Pos

Marcus Davenport DE

Cameron Jordan DE

Shy Tuttle DT

David Onyemata DT

Pete Werner LB

Demario Davis LB

Bradley Roby CB

Alontae Taylor CB

Tyrann Mathieu FS

Marcus Maye S

Justin Evans S

Player Pos

Cameron Jordan DE

Marcus Davenport DE

David Onyemata DT

Shy Tuttle DT

Demario Davis LB

Pete Werner LB

Marshon Lattimore CB

Paulson Adebo CB

Bradley Roby CB

P.J. Williams CB

Tyrann Mathieu FS

Player Pos

Marcus Davenport DE

Cameron Jordan DE

Shy Tuttle DT

David Onyemata DT

Pete Werner LB

Demario Davis LB

Bradley Roby CB

Paulson Adebo CB

Tyrann Mathieu FS

Marcus Maye S

Chris Harris Jr. S

Player Pos

Tanoh Kpassagnon DE

Carl Granderson DE

David Onyemata DT

Malcolm Roach DT

Kaden Elliss LB

Demario Davis LB

Alontae Taylor CB

Paulson Adebo CB

Tyrann Mathieu FS

Chris Harris Jr. S

Marcus Maye S

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I would resign him. Contract friendly, not just insult him at vet minimum.
1. He's young
2. He played really well in this scheme
3. Should come cheap knowing he's not elite.
4. Would be a great 3 man rotation (possibly league best)
5. Could grow into a stud given more time.
6. Did I mention HE"S YOUNG.
I really don't see a downfall in signing him. He can play in 4-2-5 or 4-3-4. It would be crazy not to sign him. He already knows he's not getting an elite status contract wherever he goes. And one less position to worry about.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I would pay Ellis before I pay Wagner. I like Wagner but he's not the player he was with the Seahawks. Ellis is younger and should be as cheap or cheaper.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Once again, I hope we can keep Elliss, but it's not going to be about the money. The key is playing time. If he gets an offer elsewhere as a three down backer this season he's gone.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

That seems to be what it will all come down to. The playing time and not the money. I think most football players dedicate their lives to play football and not for the paycheck.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I don't disagree that we run nickel more often than not, but our base is considered a 4-3. Any and every site I've checked list that as our base package. We can continue to talk in circles, but the fact of the matter is that you said we don't run a 4-3... and we do. Maybe not as much, but we do. Should Elliss re-sign and play at the level that he did during the second half of the season, we're probably going to see more and more of it as well.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

I never said we never run a 4-3. It may only be a handful of times per game,
but yes, we do run it on occasion. But I also said our base is going to be labeled as a 4-3 not because of three LB's, but because of the four down linemen. The opponent's offensive scheme drives the defensive alignment in Allen's defense for the most part. As long as the emphasis remains on the passing game we can probably expect the third LB on the field to remain the rare exception rather than the norm for the Saints moving forward.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Either I'm crazy or you just like to hear yourself talk.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Ur not crazy!!

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Just typing, papz. It would be crazy for sure if someone talked as they typed.

:cool:

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

Demario Davis isn't getting any younger and I am worried just how long he can play at this level at his age. He's been lucky with injuries and we need every healthy player we can get. I would like to resign Kaden Ellis and use the 4-3 a little more often since we don't have very good safety depth.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

No, Demario isn't getting any younger, but at the level he is playing now he can easily be the best LB on our roster for the next five years. The guy is a physical freak.

Re: Kaden Elliss says 'numbers and scheme' will determine return to Saints in 2023
 

You definitely aren't crazy Papz :bng:.