Former Idaho standout Kaden Elliss left for the Falcons, but his time with the Saints is a lesson for one coach

New Orleans Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges knows from experience how valuable Pro Days can be when scouting players out of college. He learned that lesson as an assistant on an assignment back in 2019.

There was a linebacker from Idaho named Kaden Elliss, who hadn’t been invited to the NFL Combine. Hodges was sent by the Saints to check him out.

“I would not have gone to watch that guy if they didn’t make me,” Hodges said at LSU’s Pro Day on Wednesday. “Then I came out of there saying, ‘We got to watch this player,’ and sure enough.”

The Saints drafted Elliss with seventh-round pick that year. He then spent the next four years in New Orleans.

Elliss, who team captain and veteran linebacker Demario Davis famously called “the best-kept secret in the NFL,” was outwardly an unexpected highlight of the Saints defense last season. In his 11 starts and 17 games, Elliss finished with two forced fumbles (tied for most on the team with three other players), seven sacks (second only to defensive end Cam Jordan’s 8.5, which made his career total the new franchise record), 10 quarterback hits (third most) and 78 combined tackles (fourth most). Those marks were all individual career highs.

The 27-year-old became a free agent once the offseason hit, though, and the Atlanta Falcons offered him a three-year contract on March 13.

“At the end of the day, that guy earned everything you got, and I’m happy for him, excited for him and his family,” Hodges said. “But next man up. We will fill that void — he built himself to that — and it’s our job to find another guy to work into that role.”

Prior to last year, he wasn’t really utilized on defense. He took 630 defensive snaps in 2022. He combined for 196 in the previous three seasons.

Elliss mainly saw field time on special teams beforehand.

“There was just another guy in front of him,” Hodges said. “He was doing all the work behind the scenes … and then when the time came for him to get the nod, he took full advantage of it.”

That opportunity arose last year for Elliss when starter Pete Werner got injured in Week 9, and Elliss wasted no time on the skills he’d been sharpening as a backup.

In his following four starts, Elliss was responsible for a forced fumble, 2.5 sacks, three quarterback hits and 40 combined tackles.

Werner ultimately reclaimed his starting role in Week 14.

The former second-round pick from 2021 has two years left on his contract. Davis is signed through 2024.

That leaves Elliss with an NFC South rival and Hodges scoping out Pro Days for a new potential secret to keep in New Orleans.

“He should be an example to anybody that gets drafted on Saturday that thinks they should have been drafted on Thursday or Friday,” Hodges said. “I mean, this was a seventh-round pick that all of a sudden got a really lucrative three-year deal. If people aren’t paying attention to that and and think that only guys drafted in the first three rounds are important, they are completely missing the boat.”