Saints rookie Jonas Sanker impressed in debut

By Ross Jackson

The Week 2 bout between the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers served as the defensive debut for rookie safety Jonas Sanker. The opportunity opened after veteran safety Julian Blackmon saw his season come to an unfortunate, premature end due to a shoulder injury suffered in the Week 1 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. Sanker was quickly named the starter, though with an expectation that never came to fruition.

“Jonas is going to do an awesome job,” head coach Kellen Moore said during his Wednesday media availability. “Jonas is prepared, ready, he’s done a phenomenal job this whole entire training camp, preseason games. There’s other guys that’ll rotate in there as well.”

Sanker did indeed step in and do an impressive job manning the position in Blackmon’s stead. However, the rotation Moore mentioned never came.

Sanker played all 71 defensive snaps against the 49ers, 100%. Likely, his strong performance made it unnecessary for the Saints to utilize any kind of rotation. A testament to his performance.

He finished No. 2 on the team in combined tackles with eight, only linebacker Demario Davis (11) had more. He was also targeted only once as the nearest defender in coverage, a five-yard reception by 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey on second-and-10. 

On the play, Sanker crashed down in the flat area immediately as McCaffrey vacated the backfield to the offensive left as a passing option. The safety made immediate contact with the back as soon as the ball was caught, limiting any opportunities for yards after the catch.

Sanker was credited with one missed tackle on wide receiver Jauan Jennings as he crossed the first down line on a 13-yard first-and-10 reception late in the first half. Jennings would have had the first down with the tackle, but was able to pick up an additional three yards after slipping Sanker’s grasp. The safety’s performance was otherwise reliable.

He spent 42 of his 71 defensive snaps playing deep safety, per Pro Football Focus. He also saw 26 snaps in the box and a trio of reps as a slot defender as well. Sanker had more than 500 snaps of experience at all three of those positions during his collegiate career at Virginia.

Altogether, Sanker’s first action was far more positive than usually anticipated for a first-time rookie starter. He’s done more than enough to earn continued reps with the responsibility and will have a bigger test in his next matchup. The Seattle Seahawks attempted nine passes of ten or more air yards against the Pittsburgh Steelers last week; a lot for a run-heavy offense.

Should Seattle look to reprise its downfield success, Sanker will see some pressure in pass coverage. Conversely, if Seahawks offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak returns to his run-first ways, he’ll be active in trying to limit the ground game.