Tennessee football: Top 10 former Vols in NFL for 2022 season
Pick Analysis. Shy Tuttle. 5. 15. Scouting Report. Defensive tackle. New Orleans Saints. player
4th year in NFL
Yes, there are two undrafted players for the New Orleans Saints from Tennessee football on this list. A year before Marquez Callaway found a spot there, Shy Tuttle worked his way onto the roster. Tuttle was a bit of a breakout star in Jeremy Pruitt’s first year, as playing defensive tackle in a 3-4 did wonders for increasing his value.
Tuttle appeared in all 16 games as a rookie in 2019 but emerged as a starter in 2020, where he started all 13 games he played. Last year, though, he had his breakout year and began to look like a star, racking up 48 tackles, 31 of which were solo. In the two years before, he had 18 and 28 total tackles respectively and 10 and 11 solo tackles.
Simply put, the guy took a huge step forward. Once again, the Saints are likely going to look to him to anchor their unit as they enter a new era under Dennis Allen, which will likely make them a bit more defense-oriented. He’s got a great chance of turning into a star.
Beyond defensive end, defensive tackle is another position where UT is producing talent. Matthew Butler was drafted by the Las Vegas Raiders this past year, and Kendal Vickers is still there. Vickers is another undrafted free agent. Vegas is high on Tennessee football players now in general, though, as they just added Jakob Johnson at tight end.