Jonas Sanker A Bright Spot For Saints

The New Orleans Saints were defeated 31-19 by the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. Rookie safety Jonas Sanker was a major standout performer against a high-octane Bills offense. Sanker is performing like a long-term solution for the rebuilding Saints.

The former Virginia standout was credited with five total tackles, an interception, and three pass breakups against the Bills. Sanker has 16 total tackles through four games. He's been incredibly reliable on the back end of Brandon Staley's defense.

Sanker's first career interception was Allen's first interception of the season. Picking off the reigning MVP for your first takeaway is something Sanker won't forget. Aligned as the deep safety in single-high coverage, he showcased terrific range to intercept Allen's sideline shot.

The Saints have Sanker playing various roles for Staley's defense. There were several reps where he was trusted to play man coverage against Bills tight ends Dalton Kincaid and Dawson Knox. Sanker produced a pair of his pass breakups against Allen's pass-catching tight ends.

Sanker has stepped into a major hole in the Saints' secondary. Safety Tyrann Mathieu unexpectedly retired in July. His replacement, Julian Blackmon, suffered a season-ending injury in Week 1. After playing just one defensive snap in the opener, Sanker has played 182 snaps since, accounting for more than 95% of the Saints' available defensive plays in Weeks 2-4.

Sanker has taken full advantage of those opportunities. Taking minimum snap qualifiers into consideration, Sanker is currently the fifth-highest graded rookie defender (77.3), according to Pro Football Focus. His coverage grade of 79.1 is the third-highest among rookie defenders who have played more than 15 such snaps. That coverage grade is also fourth-best among all safeties, veterans included.

Sanker has allowed just one reception for five yards on three targets in coverage. If there's an area of improvement, it's as a tackler. Sanker was credited with missing five tackles versus the Bills.

The Saints had an opportunity to assess Sanker at this year's Senior Bowl. He was impressive in Mobile after coming off a 98-tackle senior season at Virginia in 2024. After registering a career-high 107 tackles as a junior in 2023, Sanker entered the 2025 NFL Draft as one of college football's most productive and experienced defenders.

Sanker also impressed the Saints at this year's NFL Scouting Combine. The two-time First-Team All-ACC selection answered questions about his athleticism by running an acceptable 4.48 40-yard dash in Indianapolis. Sanker also leaped a 10-foot-8 broad jump and 36.5-inch vertical.

The Saints pounced on Sanker's availability at No. 93 overall in the 2025 NFL Draft. He was the fifth safety drafted. He's arguably been the best-performing rookie in the league at his position. Admittedly, two of the safeties drafted in front of Sanker, Kevin Winston Jr. and Nick Emmanwori, have been injured.

The 0-4 Saints find themselves in the midst of a lengthy roster rebuild. The 2025 campaign for first-year head coach Kellen Moore is about identifying long-term building blocks. Sanker is playing like a multi-year solution at safety.