Trey Hendrickson shines in camp, team flashes 'NASCAR front'

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Trey Hendrickson has, somewhat quietly, been having one of the most explosive training camp and preseason performances, in terms of consistent and noticeable, improvement across the Saints roster. The 2017 third-round draft choice out of Florida Atlantic has applied consistent pressure to opposing preseason quarterbacks, and on back-to-back plays during Wednesday’s practice, picked up two would-be “sacks”, had the man under center not been wearing red.

But it’s tough to play behind a team’s unquestioned defensive leader (Cameron Jordan) and one of its rising stars (Marcus Davenport) at the same position. In small doses, though, the Saints may have found a solution.

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On Wednesday, the team flashed what’s known around the NFL as a “NASCAR Front” on the defensive line, a growing trend around the league where teams divert from the traditional “two tackles, two ends” look on a four-man line, and instead opt for three or even four defensive ends on obvious passing downs to apply additional pressure.

In those instances, the team placed Jordan, Hendrickson and Davenport all on the field alongside tackle David Onyemata to unleash as much havoc as possible on a quarterback they can’t yet touch.

“(That’s) multiplicity. That creates a lot of problems and potential on where we can stress the offensive line,” Jordan said. “At the end of the day, if we can be a nuisance to the quarterback, that’s what we’re here to be.”

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Payton mentioned how he liked where his weight was at, and he had a good showing against the Chargers. It seems like he is playing his way into what could be a big role this year.

Anybody else turning a corner and making plays on this defense feels like a bonus. A good defense could turn into one of the best in the league with guys like Hendrickson taking the next step. Hope he keeps it up!