AJ Klein
If Davis is who the Saints think he is he should take over playcalling lining guys up duties sooner than later. If that's Kleins biggest trait then it's not a good one...his play also needs to back it up and Klein missed a lot of plays last year that could have been game changing along with not grading very well.
Saints like to take chances on ascending players and Klein looked like a player who could do that if given a chance to be a starter but I think it's pretty egregious that up until his injury he'd played a little under 100% of the snaps and still finished with a low tackle count. There were guys playing fewer snaps out pacing him in that department. Some guys ascend like Keenan Lewis did some are better as backups and Klein to me is good depth/spot starter like he showed in Carolina. He is who he is.
With that being said Davis showed a similar ability to make adjustments at the LOS that everyone is pumping up about Klein except he showed an ability to make plays in the run/pass game along with it. He also showed an ability to be the only LB on the field in some 6DB packages and that translates well to what we do with our multiple DB packages. Meanwhile Anzalone is a more rangy guy than Klein so in a perfect world you likely WANT both as your starting LB's but a lot depends on Anzalones ability to stay healthy...that will be the major sticking point.
Robertson/Teo/Klein isn't a bad 2nd team of LB's and neither is Robertson/Teo/Kikaha....but either way I think Klein will have plenty of time in TC to prove he can cement it and yet I don't think it's all the way his just yet.
A few thoughts:
I think what might b overlooked about AJ is that in the first 3 of his 4 years there, the Carolina D ranked 6th, 10th, and 2nd! Even Carolinas 21st ranked D in 2016 was far better than our consistently near bottom ranked D. So while there are *players* who make “others” around them BETTER, is it possible that while in Carolina, Klein was one of those “others” who benefited more from the talent surrounding him that made him better THERE, and struggled more without similar talent HERE?
:scratch:
This year, hopefully we’ll have the athletic Demario in the middle and making all the calls, a healthy AA at WIL, a D line that’s shaping up nicely, and what could be a scary good D backfield, IF I’m right, for AJ, who’ll now have to focus mostly on just playing SAM, the table set. The rest is up to him.
As for Kikaha, I think the combination of injuries and being moved around so much have set him back. But I’d also like to see him focus on playing SAM and see how he does. Obviously, pass coverage is probably his biggest liability, so that’ll be his biggest challenge. But I think he has the size, quickness, and physicality to play as 2down SAM. He could also be an effective blitzer from that position too.
I think Demario Davis is gonna be a really good player for us for a few reasons. Not only do I think Davis is an upgrade at LB, I think he’s has the potential to be one of those *players* who can make “others” around him better. He’s got the smarts, athleticism and leadership to make it happen. But in finally playing on a team that has a top O, and a young but talented D, it’s possible that the surrounding talent can make him even better too!
Your line about Davis being the lone LB in a 6 DB set actually came as no surprise to me. I already thought about some kind of NASCAR package, with Cam, AO, and Davenport as 3 of the 4 D linemen, and Davis roaming around right behind the D line. Davis could blitz, or drop in coverage OR Davis could “zone blitz”, with one of the 3 Dline men dropping in coverage. Throw in a S or CB blitz, and the possibilities are endless!
Man, don’t know about y’all, but TC can’t get here fast enough for me! LOL