Mike Triplett, ESPN Staff Writer 8y

Saints' Hau'oli Kikaha 'still a hybrid' but is having fun at DE

METAIRIE, La. -- In the simplest terms, Hau'oli Kikaha is switching positions this year from outside linebacker to defensive end.

In football parlance, the New Orleans Saints' second-year pass-rusher is moving from “Sam” to “Jack.”

But in some ways, his role isn’t really changing all that much.

“I’m still a little hybrid. I'm still a hybrid,” Kikaha explained. “I mean, I can be used in multiple schemes, different places. That’s what I play -- whatever they want me at on a specific day.”

Kikaha’s move is a bit more subtle than that of fellow second-year linebacker Stephone Anthony, who will switch from middle linebacker to strong-side linebacker in New Orleans’ 4-3 base defense.

Kikaha essentially lined up as a defensive end for much of his rookie season, since the Saints are in nickel defense nearly 75 percent of the time anyway. But the Saints appear poised to make that more of a full-time role for him.

That makes sense, considering Kikaha was an outstanding pass-rushing defensive end at the University of Washington, where he racked up 19 sacks as a senior.

“We have a bunch of stuff, different packages. But ... it’s early in install. So I play an edge person, whatever you want to call it, Jack, Buck, weak end, strong end sometimes,” said Kikaha, who added that he likes the move. “It’s fun, definitely fun. Really fun.”

The Saints used Kikaha as an outside linebacker last year because he is a bit small for an every-down defensive end at 6-foot-3, 246 pounds. But he appeared to be more effective the closer he played to the line of scrimmage, and he was less effective when he dropped back in coverage.

The second-round draft pick was a dynamic playmaker early in the year with four sacks and three forced fumbles in the first six games. But a nagging ankle injury sapped his production as the year went on.

Anthony and Kikaha aren’t the only two guys in New Orleans’ front seven playing musical chairs this offseason.

Pro Bowl DE Cameron Jordan spent some time at the “Jack” edge rusher position last year, but he will likely stick with a more traditional defensive end role, occasionally moving inside to defensive tackle as he has in past years.

And fellow edge rushers Kasim Edebali and Davis Tull could line up as defensive ends instead of outside linebackers, much like Kikaha, though it remains early to put any full-time labels on them yet.

On Monday, I broke down the Saints’ unofficial offensive depth chart.

Here is an updated look at the unofficial defensive and special teams depth chart:

DE: Cameron Jordan, Bobby Richardson, David Onyemata, Mitchell Loewen

DE: Hau'oli Kikaha, Kasim Edebali, Obum Gwacham, Davis Tull, D.J. Pettway

NT: John Jenkins, Tyeler Davison, Ashaad Mabry

DT: Nick Fairley, Sheldon Rankins

SLB: Stephone Anthony, Michael Mauti, Dillon Lee

MLB: James Laurinaitis, Craig Robertson, Jeff Schoettmer

WLB: Dannell Ellerbe, Nathan Stupar, Tony Steward, Dominique Tovell

CB: Keenan Lewis, Damian Swann, Brian Dixon, Brandon Dixon, Ken Crawley, Jimmy Pruitt

CB: Delvin Breaux, Kyle Wilson, P.J. Williams, Tony Carter, De'Vante Harris

SS: Kenny Vaccaro, Jamarca Sanford, Erik Harris

FS: Jairus Byrd, Vonn Bell, Alden Darby, Trae Elston

K: Kai Forbath, Connor Barth

P: Thomas Morstead

LS: Justin Drescher

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