Back in April, Brandon Staley had completed a late-night workout at the New Orleans Saints facility when, rather than shower or go home, the defensive coordinator decided to study more prospects for the NFL draft.

Still sweaty and gross — or “fresh,” as he called it — Staley went down a list of safeties and studied them one by one. He started with their tackling tape, moved to their plays on the ball, shifted to how they performed in the slot and finished by watching entire games. Staley was there for hours.

Months later, Staley can still vividly recall this night because it was the first time he watched Jonas Sanker .

“His tackling tape was as good as any safety in the draft,” Staley said.

Sanker’s tackling wasn’t always noticed. Long before he was drafted by the Saints in the thi

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