SmashMouth

Despite having veteran starting safeties, Kenny Vaccaro and Jairus Byrd, the New Orleans Saints want safety Vonn Bell to have a role on defense as a rookie.

And even though the Saints drafted Bell for his speed and coverage skills, another talent could help the second-round pick see the field this season.

"I think he's a pressure player, so when he comes, I think he can really get to the quarterback pretty quickly," coach Sean Payton said of Bell. "(He has) good burst. He's done a really good job. He's opened some eyes."



Told of Payton's analysis, though, Bell wasn't surprised. He had a sack and tackle for loss in Saturday's preseason game against the Texans and has been working on his blitzing skills for years because of former LSU defensive back Tyrann Mathieu, who's now a star with the Arizona Cardinals.

"I always watched Tyrann, so I said, 'I think I can do a little bit better than him,'" Bell said. "So, we got the one-on-one drills with the running backs, and I won every one. So, I said, 'Nobody can block me out here.'"

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