Countdown to Kickoff: Jonas Sanker is the Saints Player of Day 33

There are 33 days untouched the New Orleans Saints and Arizona Cardinals face off in the 2025 regular season opener. New head coach Kellen Moore will lead a squad with several new faces. One of those new players is rookie safety Jonas Sanker, who wears No. 33 and is our Saints Player of the Day.

• Name (age): Jonas Sanker (22)
• Hometown: Charlottesville, Va.
• Position: Safety
• Height, weight: 6-foot-1, 206 pounds
• College: Virginia Cavaliers
• Relative Athletic Score: 9.54
• Drafted: Round 3, 93rd overall in 2025 (Saints)
• NFL experience: Rookie
• 2025 salary cap hit: $1,135,491

At the Covenant School in Virginia, Sanker was a three-star recruit who stayed in-state with his commitment to the University of Virginia. After playing little as a freshman, he'd record an interception and a forced fumble in more action during the 2022 campaign. Sanker was a full-time starter by 2023, with his 107 tackles leading the Cavaliers and 73 solo stops leading the ACC and 3 forced fumbles. He'd lead Virginia again in tackles in 2024, with 9 of those for loss including 2 sacks and an ACC-best 65 solo tackles with an interception and a fumble return for a touchdown. Sanker was a back-to-back first team All-ACC selection in both 2023 and 2024.

New Orleans used their second of two Round 3 choices in this year's draft on Sanker. Most effective in the tackle box, Sanker is an outstanding open field tackler expected to bolster a defense that ranked 31st last season against the run. In coverage, Sanker is best as a deep safety in two-deep alignments. With the retirement of Tyrann Mathieu, he'll likely see increased reps with other new additions Justin Reid and Julian Blackmon. Jonas Sanker is expected to be one of the major pieces and young building blocks of a rebuilding New Orleans defense.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Jonas Sanker is the Saints Player of Day 33