METAIRIE, La. — His rookie season is in the rear view, and now it’s time for Saints defensive end Trey Hendrickson to keep trending upward in his second season.
“I have a great coach in Ryan Nielsen who prepares me really well for anything. I’m just trying to absorb as much information and be coachable to get the job done on Sundays.”
“He’s got a good grasp as to what we’re doing,” said Saints head coach Sean Payton. “He’s stronger. Fortunately right now he’s healthy and you feel him. There’s a presence to him. I think in his second year now, knowing what we’re doing, we’ve seen some really good things in practice. Hopefully that can continue but he’s played well.”
A key part in his preparation and improvement is taking care of all the small things– which can add-up quickly to an overall better performance on the field.
“It’s just focusing on doing my job and heightened focus on the little things like alignment and assignment,” Hendrickson said. “The detailed things are what separates people in this league.”
Another thing that has separated Hendrickson, is the grit and feistiness he plays with every single down.
“I try to bring a bit of consistency and a little bit of an edge too,” Hendrickson said. “It’s part of why I play and the competitiveness just comes-out on the field.”
“There’s a physical presence to him and it’s not necessarily the feistiness, it’s how a player plays between the whistles,” Payton said. “Can he defend the run? Can he affect the passer? Do we consider him a pressure player or not? What are the things we think he does very well and let’s try to do those things. I think in year two, he’s a guy that’s in the mix definitely for playing.”
