Khalen Saunders

Khalen Saunders (born August 9, 1996) is an American football defensive tackle for the Kansas City Chiefs of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for Western Illinois and high school football at Parkway Central High School.

Khalen Saunders
No. 99 – Kansas City Chiefs
Position:Defensive tackle
Personal information
Born: (1996-08-09) August 9, 1996
St. Louis, Missouri
Height:6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight:318 lb (144 kg)
Career information
High school:Parkway Central
(Chesterfield, Missouri)
College:Western Illinois
NFL Draft:2019 / Round: 3 / Pick: 84
Career history
Roster status:Active
Career highlights and awards
Career NFL statistics as of 2019
Total tackles:22
Sacks:1.0
Forced fumbles:0
Fumble recoveries:0
Pass deflections:1
Player stats at NFL.com

College career

After playing high school football as a running back and a defensive lineman at Parkway Central High School, Saunders received only one Division 1 scholarship offer, from Western Illinois.[1]

During his career at WIU, Saunders mainly played defensive line but also sporadically continued his career on the offensive side of the ball, recording a rushing and a receiving touchdown in his career.[1] After his senior season, he became the first Leatherneck ever invited to the Senior Bowl,[2] and while playing in the contest, recorded the game's first sack on Will Grier, earning accolades from Oakland Raiders coach Jon Gruden.[3][1] Saunders also picked up exposure over the offseason by having a video of him backflipping featured on prominent draft analyst Adam Schefter's Twitter account; the tweet amassed over 7,000 likes.[4]

Professional career

Saunders was drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round (84th overall) of the 2019 NFL Draft.[5] Saunders won Super Bowl LIV when the Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers 31-20.

Personal life

He and his wife Ayanna Saunders had a daughter who was born while he was at the 2019 Senior Bowl.[1]

References
  1. Rittenberg, Adam. "Backflips, basketball and a baby: The legend of Khalen Saunders". ESPN. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  2. "Saunders Represents Leathernecks as First-Ever Reese's Senior Bowl Invitee". Western Illinois Leathernecks. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  3. Marino, Joe. "Khalen Saunders Does Rare Things". The Draft Network. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  4. Epstein, Jory. "Viral, backflipping DT Khalen Saunders explains why he stayed at Senior Bowl as fiancée went into labor". USA Today. Retrieved 27 April 2019.
  5. "NFL Draft results: Chiefs select Western Illinois DT Khalen Saunders at No. 84". Arrowhead Pride. April 26, 2019.
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