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How sacks come together is as important as how they end.

Quite often, the end would not occur without the beginning. Yet, we often overlook how the play started, which is a significant mistake and causes us to underrate everything that goes into creating a sack. That shouldn't happen. Following this path helps make more sense of why someone like David Onyemata is worth $27 million over three years, or how the Saints go about using their defensive backs to create opportunities for their pass rushers.***premium***

The defensive tackle's combined sack (7 ½) and tackle (67) numbers do not suggest that he should be among the top-20 highest-paid players at his position, but an actual accounting of his play puts him closer to that target. While his sack total over the last two seasons doesn't pop off the page – especially considering that three of them came in one game against Dallas in 2018 – he is responsible for creating nine for his teammates over the same span.

These plays will be something we track all season to understand better who is contributing and help identify the unsung heroes of the defensive line.

So, what is a sack assist? The thing about these is that they are subjective. Someone could watch the same set of plays and come up with slightly different numbers.

I decided to limit the definition of a sack assist to plays where there is an undeniable impact by another player, like when someone flushes the quarterback out of the pocket or took out two blockers so a linebacker could flow into the backfield. There were other plays where I could have credited someone for creating a lane or playing their part in a stunt, but I wanted to eliminate as much of the opinion from the process as possible.

Here are the sack assists we credited for the last two seasons:

2019

Assists

Cam Jordan – 3

David Onyemata – 3

Marcus Davenport – 3

Demario Davis – 2

Trey Hendrickson – 2

Mario Edwards – 1

Kiko Alonso – 1

Malcom Brown – 1

Carl Granderson – 1

Patrick Robinson – 1

Taylor Stallworth – 1

Vonn Bell – 1

Beneficiaries

Trey Hendrickson – 4

Cam Jordan – 3

Malcom Brown – 2

Shy Tuttle – 2

Sheldon Rankins – 2

P.J. Williams – 1

Demario Davis – 1

2018

Assists

David Onyemata – 6

Sheldon Rankins – 4

Cam Jordan – 3

Alex Okafor – 2

A.J. Klein – 2

Trey Hendrickson – 1

Tyeler Davison – 1

Marcus Davenport – 1

Alex Anzalone – 1

Beneficiaries

Cam Jordan – 5

Alex Okafor – 3

David Onyemata – 2

Alex Anzalone – 2

Sheldon Rankins – 2

A.J. Klein – 1

Craig Robertson – 1

Demario Davis – 1

Marcus Davenport – 1

Tyeler Davison – 1

Notes and observations

– New Orleans also had a handful of pressures that led to interceptions. Williams, Gardner-Johnson, Patrick Robinson and Jordan each had one last year. In 2018, Rankins, Jordan and Trey Hendrickson had one.

– The difference between Rankins in 2018 to the version who played in 2019 is staggering. The defensive tackle dominated games in 2018, creating for himself as well as others. The number of plays he won by simply beating the man before him without any help was notable. Almost all of that was gone in 2019. His bounce-back will be critical to the defense.

– Trey Hendrickson did some things well and was one of the few people to show up for the playoff game against Minnesota, but a lot of his production last season was due to cleaning things up. He created about 30 pressures overall last season, but nearly a third of those came after someone else already forced the quarterback out of the pocket.

– Demario Davis' ability to create pressure and sacks without someone doing the heavy lifting for him on the line is something that stands out. There are certainly times when someone eats up a pair of blockers and creates a rushing lane, but many of his sacks are the result of him winning a one-on-one matchup and getting after the quarterback. His value to this defense is nearly unparalleled.

– Will New Orleans change Malcom Brown's role at all next season? The defensive tackle brings some value to the run defense. Still, he wasn't overly involved in the pass rush last season and only generated about 15 pressures overall despite being on the field for 301 passing plays. The Saints could look to get some other players involved in those situations and minimize Brown's exposure in distinct passing situations.

– While it doesn't always result in sacks or pressures, the Saints do a good job of getting their linebackers and defensive backs to create sacks. Malcolm Jenkins was really good at blitzing in Philadelphia last season and could maximize that talent in this defense if given the opportunities to get after the quarterback. There were at least five plays each last season where Gardner-Johnson, Vonn Bell and P.J. Williams had a free pass to the quarterback. Perhaps those plays should be considered scheme assists.

– The New Orleans interior defensive line has done an excellent job of cleaning things up when the quarterback is pinched and forced to step up in the pocket. The defensive line should be better to take advantage of those things if Rankins is healthy. It will also be able to create more of those opportunities if Davenport is healthy and rushing off of the edge.

– You can see the difference in quality between Jordan and everyone else. Many of his sacks are created by him winning his matchups and dropping the quarterback without any assistance. Still, he takes advantage when someone pushes a player his way because he's so often around the quarterback. Davenport is starting to get there, but he isn't around the quarterback as often. Adding some cleanup plays to the ledger would be a direct reflection of his growth and consistency.