Completely overshadowed by the negativity of punishments handed to the New Orleans Saints, Broderick Bunkley was a superb defensive signing to fill a glaring need. With Shaun Rogers and Aubrayo Franklin both free agents, the Saints were in desperate need of a run-stuffing defensive tackle. And fortunately for the Saints, Bunkley was available to fill that void. Bunkley was PFF's highest graded DT in the league at defending the run (+28.4) as he consistently made his way into opposing backfields in the 2011 season.
In fact, Bunkley was so effective at stopping the run that he had the highest tackle-per-play percentage of any DT. This chart of DT's ranked top ten in tackles should explain this a bit more clearly:
–
–
–
% of Tackles per Play | |||
Player | Tackles | Snaps Played | % |
Ahtyba Rubin | 59 | 945 | 6.2 |
Sione Pouha | 41 | 627 | 6.5 |
Domata Peko | 41 | 660 | 6.2 |
Phil Taylor | 41 | 742 | 5.5 |
Jurrell Casey | 40 | 661 | 6.1 |
Brandon Mebane | 39 | 752 | 5.2 |
Vince Wilfork | 38 | 977 | 3.9 |
Brodrick Bunkley | 37 | 485 | 7.6 |
Haloti Ngata | 35 | 832 | 4.2 |
Marcus Thomas | 32 | 546 | 5.9 |
Essentially, Bunkley recorded the 8th most tackles among all DTs, despite participating in just the 45th most snaps. Over a full percentage higher than the closest player, Bunkley is clearly an incredibly efficient run defending defensive tackle.
Fantasy Spin:
With one of the most well-respected defensive minds in Steve Spagnuolo coaching Bunkley next season, expect his success to continue. If you're in a deep IDP league and/or one that requires DTs, Bunkley deserves a look. At the very least, he could fill in nicely if you're go-to guy has is on a bye week or will be facing an elite guard/center. With very limited DTs out there who are sure-fire fantasy studs, Bunkley could very well put up adequate numbers. Furthermore, his presence will command double teams, and his signing instantly provided a slight boost to the IDP value of guys like Will Smith, Cameron Jordan, Sedrick Ellis, and whoever plays MLB for the Saints in 2012.