In less than a minute, New Orleans defensive tackle
Khalen Saunders became a viral sensation on Monday Night Football. First, the 6-foot, 324-pounder made a big hit on Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce to stop him short of the goal line late in the third quarter.
The hit got ESPN announcer Joe Buck talking about Saunders' brother Kameron, who is a backup dancer for Taylor Swift. The camera panned around the stadium, showing Swift in her suite at midfield watching her boyfriend Kelce, her boyfriend. Kameron was also at the game.
On the next play, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes took the snap and threw a pass that Saunders intercepted in the end zone. Rather than take a knee, Saunders made a run for it and returned the ball 37 yards before he was tackled.
After an outstanding high school career in Missouri, Khalen Saunders is in his sixth season in the NFL. (Photo: Mark Guthrel)
It was the first career interception for Saunders but it was far from the first time he carried the rock in the state of Missouri.
Saunders was a defensive tackle and running back at
Parkway Central (Chesterfield, Mo.), where he was a senior in 2013. That year he rushed for 723 yards and 13 touchdowns on 92 carries, an average of 7.9 yards per carry. On defense he recorded 48 tackles, three sacks and an interception.
In the Class 5 state semifinals, he had arguably his best high school game when he carried the ball 16 times for 117 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively he had 10 tackles and a sack. The win sent the Colts to the Edward Jones Dome, the then-home of the St. Louis Rams for the state title game.
Parkway Central lost the state title game and finished 11-2.
Saunders played college football at Western Illinois before getting picked by the Kansas City Chiefs in the third round of the 2019 NFL Draft. He had a third-quarter sack in Super Bowl LVII that helped the Chiefs top the Philadelphia Eagles 38-35. Saunders won two Super Bowls with the Chiefs before signing a three-year contract with the Saints in 2023.
