Saints’ UDFA Keeshawn Silver brings size, reach to DT group

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

By Ross Jackson

The emphasis on the interior of the defensive line has been obvious for the New Orleans Saints this offseason. After re-signing defensive tackle John Ridgeway III during free agency and drafting Georgia interior lineman Christen Miller, the Saints went on to add more interior line help in undrafted free agency, signing three more players at the position.

Jay’Viar Suggs from Wisconsin, also a former LSU Tiger, Ole Miss defender Zxavian Harris (though, his signing has still not been formally announced by the team) and USC Trojans defensive tackle Keeshawn Silver.

Silver in particular is an intriguing prospect. The 6-foot-4, 319 pound nose tackle plays a specific position that the Saints could be looking to address.

Unless a more athletic, pass-rushing 3-tech defensive tackle like Bryan Bresee, A bigger bodied space-eater is tasked with lining up over the center and helping to crash the offense from its center. This is something Silver has a lot of experience doing.

Per Pro Football Focus, Silver generated 26 career pressures on just 470 total pass rushing defensive snaps over his five-year collegiate career. He also added 28 career run stops on 520 run defense snaps.

This is a player that has proven to be effective in rotational use from the nose tackle spot. That could give him a notable chance to land a spot with the Saints via the practice squad to help provide depth to a specialized role.

Silver added 64 combined tackles, five tackles for a loss and two sacks over the last three years as his still-limited snaps began to rise after transferring away from North Carolina, first to Kentucky before one year with USC.

His 35-inch arms and 84 ⅜-inch wingspan rank in the 94th and 93rd percentiles respectively. That alone may be why the Saints were quick to bring him to New Orleans. His size and length aren’t teachable, his disruptive attitude isn’t as well. But technique and fundamentals are. Silver will be a promising canvas to work on throughout the offseason.