The natural conclusion was the addition of free agent linebacker Kaden Elliss to the New Orleans Saints, coupled with subtraction of free agent linebacker Demario Davis from the Saints, would equal Elliss filling the void left by Davis in totality.
And there will be some similar on-field responsibilities for Elliss, who spent his first four seasons with the Saints and joined the Falcons as a free agent who started all 51 games he played in three seasons, before rejoining New Orleans.
But he isn't about to entertain the notion that he singularly can, or will, fill the leadership vacancy created by the departure of his one-time mentor. Davis was a five-time All-Pro in eight seasons with the Saints, a team captain every year and the player who passionately led New Orleans' pregame huddles after the retirement of Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees.
"He's a special player, special man, special leader," said Elliss, a seventh-round pick by the Saints in 2019, the year after Davis joined New Orleans as a free agent. "I'm coming here to be Kaden Elliss, and be me. I've got great people around me – great teammates, great coaches – and the leadership will be dispersed throughout the team. Because Demario's got a special voice, and that's not what I'm here for."
What he is in New Orleans for, is production.
In those 51 starts with Atlanta, Elliss totaled 380 tackles, 29 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, 32 quarterback hits, two interceptions, 12 passes defensed, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery.
Saints defensive coordinator Brandon Staley will be the fifth defensive coordinator of Elliss' NFL career, following a different one for each of his three seasons with the Falcons. And Staley and linebackers coach Peter Sirmon have been crash-coursing Elliss on Staley's defense.
"We're going," said Elliss, who had defensive signal-calling duties in Atlanta and likely will have them with the Saints. "It's really awesome to spend time with Peter Sirmon and Brandon Staley and all these guys, to hear how they skin the cat.
"There's a lot of ways to do it, and the way they do it is a lot of the same things I've done, and it's a lot of different things that I haven't done before. It's really cool to learn from them. They're special minds and Brandon's got a really special defense here. Everybody is bought in, everybody is dialed and I'm excited to play my part in it.
"There's some truly different things that I haven't done before and different aspects of the game, different coverages and whatnot. It's really cool to learn how they do it, and we'll be good to go."
The goal, Elliss said, isn't to be totally comfortable in June. It's to be a master of the defense in September.
"I don't want to be out there in game one like it's my first game in this defense," he said. "I want it to look like it's my 50th game in this defense, and I think the best way to do that is to pick the genius' (Staley's) brain. And that's what I'm going to do."
Pick brains and produce. That'll be leadership enough for Elliss to begin his second run with the Saints.
