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Alex Anzalone has early looks of the linebacker the Saints have needed

Alex Anzalone has impressed so far, and he looks just like what the Saints have needed for several years.



by lok12lok
Aug 17, 2017, 10:00am CDT

Covering running backs and tight ends have been a big problem for the Saints for several years now. Almost none of their linebackers have had the athleticism and the sideline-to-sideline speed needed, and the one that had (Dannell Ellerbe) could never stay healthy and is set to be cut as soon as possible.

To help fix this issue, the Saints drafted Alex Anzalone in the 3rd round of this year's draft. And at this early stage, it's looking like a good decision.

Anzalone has played really well throughout camp and has shown up in the running game - and maybe more importantly in the passing game, where he has been tasked with covering running backs and tight ends. Furthermore, he also had a great showing against the Browns where he finished with 3 tackles. To explain how good Anzalone played, here is what Pro Football Focus had to say about his performance.

Anzalone showed sideline-to-sideline speed and range and he had some really impressive snaps. Here is one of them.

“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity. The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.” — Winston Churchill