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Alontae Taylor

Saints CBs Alontae Taylor, Paulson Adebo Competing For Starting Role

June 26th, 2023 at 11:30am CST by Adam La Rose

The Saints already have one starting cornerback spot spoken for with four-time Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore. The competition to determine who will line up opposite him will take place during training camp.

Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo are vying for a first-team role, as detailed by ESPN’s Katherine Terrell. The pair split reps with the starting defense during OTAs, allowing each to state their case as a full-time outside corner (although the former has also spent time practicing in the slot). Their performances in the summer will determine the pecking order behind Lattimore for New Orleans.

When addressing the situation, head coach Dennis Allen said, “the great thing about it, those two particular players… both of them are fully capable of being starters and playing at a high level for us, but we’re going to let that competition play out.”

Both Adebo and Taylor have already seen signficant playing time early in their respective careers. Adebo, a 2021 third-rounder, has started all but one of his 30 career appearances and logged a snap share of 94% last season, one in which Lattimore was limited to just seven contests. The latter’s injury allowed Taylor, a second-round pick, to start nine games in his rookie season.

Taylor registered 11 pass breakups and posted much better coverage statistics than Adebo during his first-team audition in 2022. Given the potential for growth both players have (each will be 24 at the start of the regular season), though, plenty remains to be determined heading into the 2023 campaign. Regardless of how the competition for the outside corner spot shakes out, each could see a notable workload since the Saints’ lone free agent CB addition was Lonnie Johnson and the team elected not to add further to the position during the draft.

Saints Activate CB Alontae Taylor From IR

October 20th, 2022 at 5:23pm CST by Ben Levine

The Saints are adding some reinforcement to their secondary. The team announced that cornerback Alontae Taylor has been activated from injured reserve. In preparation for tonight’s game, the team has also promoted cornerback Chris Harris Jr. and wide receiver Kevin White from the practice squad. Wideout Keith Kirkwood was cut from the active roster to make space.

Taylor suffered a sprained MCL prior to Week 3, landing him on injured reserve. The rookie second-round pick ended up spending the minimum amount of time on IR before being designated to return earlier this week. The Tennessee product exclusively played on special teams during his NFL debut, but he got more run on defense in Week 2.

His return couldn’t come at a better time for a depleted Saints cornerbacks corps. Marshon Lattimore is sidelined and Paulson Adebo is questionable for tonight’s game, leaving the team thin at CB. The rookie probably won’t help relieve a secondary that’s allowing 189 yards per game to receivers, but he should at least provide some additional depth at the position.

Harris should also help in that regard, with the veteran cornerback now earning his third promotion since joining the Saints practice squad earlier this month. Harris got the start for the Saints in Week 6, finishing with eight tackles.

Michael Thomas and Jarvis Landry are both out for the Saints, leaving rookie Chris Olave as the team’s top wideout. White could get some reps at the position, with the former first-round pick having seen time in seven games for New Orleans over the past two seasons (albeit with only one catch). Kirkwood got into two games for the Saints this season, hauling in a pair of catches.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/18/22

October 18th, 2022 at 9:08pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cleveland Browns

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

Washington Commanders

Saints Place CB Alontae Taylor On IR

September 24th, 2022 at 5:08pm CST by Ely Allen

After suffering a knee injury in practice this Thursday, Saints second-round rookie Alontae Taylor has been placed on injured reserve, according to Katherine Terrell of ESPN. The severity of the injury has yet to be revealed, but it was apparently severe enough to warrant a four week rest.

Taylor was a four-year starter for the Volunteers before entering last year’s draft, racking up 15 passes defensed and four interceptions over his career, including a 56-yard pick six last year in a win over 18th-ranked Kentucky. He was the Saints’ top defensive draft pick, brought in to provide some premium depth at the cornerback position.

After only playing on special teams in Week 1, Taylor was asked to step up in a crucial moment last week when Paulson Adebo exited the game with an ankle injury and Marshon Lattimore was ejected. Taylor responded to the pressure well to close the game, but this most recent injury will unfortunately delay the rookie’s development, immediately after receiving his first professional defensive snaps.

Adebo and Lattimore should continue to start, and the Saints have decent depth behind them still in veterans Bradley Roby and P.J. Williams. With Taylor’s absence thinning out the depth chart a bit, the Saints have called up practice squad cornerback DaMarcus Fields. Fields, an undrafted rookie, was a standout defender for Texas Tech in college and had significant playing time for the Saints in the preseason.

The rules for returning from IR only determine that a player must sit out for four games, so Taylor should be eligible to return in time for the Saints’ trip to Arizona despite that Thursday night game being less than four full weeks away.

Eagles Acquire DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson From Saints

August 30th, 2022 at 11:12pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Saints are trading one of their top defensive backs to the Eagles. C.J. Gardner-Johnson is heading to Philadelphia, according to Tom Pelissero and Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). The teams have since announced the deal.

Gardner-Johnson, who has played both safety and patrolled the slot for the Saints, staged a hold-in effort earlier in camp as he angled for an extension. Talks broke down, and the Saints are bailing on the talented defender.

It did not take too much in the way of compensation for this trade to go down. The Eagles are sending a 2023 fifth-round pick and a 2024 sixth to the Saints for Gardner-Johnson and a 2025 seventh, Pelissero tweets. The 2024 sixth will be the lower of the Eagles’ two selections in that round.

The Eagles actually see Gardner-Johnson as a safety, Pelissero tweets. He will pair with Marcus Epps, who finished a strong training camp, at the position. A report earlier this month indicated the Eagles could acquire a safety, but Gardner-Johnson has largely excelled in the slot prior to this trade.

This will make for an interesting transition for the fourth-year veteran, especially coming in a contract year. Safety, however, as the Jamal Adams, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Derwin James deals have shown, has proven to be a more lucrative position than slot corner.

Tuesday’s deal also marks the third splash trade for the Eagles this offseason; the Saints have now been involved in two of those moves. This trade comes after the move to acquire A.J. Brown and the deal to land a future first-rounder from the Saints. No word about a potential Gardner-Johnson extension has come down. The Eagles could wait here, but Jalen Hurts‘ rookie contract also offers some flexibility. The team also has no notable cash tied to the safety position, having just released Anthony Harris.

While Pro Football Focus has rated Gardner-Johnson outside the top 50 at cornerback in each of the past two years, he carved out a regular role amongst a veteran Saints DB corps. The former fourth-round pick has also become known for his ability to rile up opposition — both opponents and teammates, considering Michael Thomas‘ 2020 team-imposed suspension came after he threw a punch at Gardner-Johnson. It will be interesting to see how he fares in Philly.

The Saints have assembled a deep secondary in recent years, and NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan tweets rookie Alontae Taylor is one of the players — along with Bradley Roby and former slot P.J. Williams — who have worked inside replacing Gardner-Johnson during camp. The team also already has a big-ticket cornerback deal (Marshon Lattimore) in a secondary that also now includes Tyrann Mathieu‘s $9MM-AAV deal.

Saints Sign Round 2 CB Alontae Taylor

July 19th, 2022 at 12:20pm CST by Sam Robinson

As rookies begin reporting to training camp, teams are ending unusually lengthy negotiations with second-round picks. After the Jets came to terms with Breece Hall on Tuesday morning, the Saints signed their second-round pick — cornerback Alontae Taylor — to wrap their draft class, per NewOrleans.football’s Nick Underhill (on Twitter).

One of 10 unsigned second-rounders, Taylor finishes out New Orleans’ five-man 2022 draft class. The holdup likely stemmed from how much of Taylor’s third-year salary would be guaranteed. That issue has led to a gridlock atop the second round, and a few mid-second-round draftees have taken months to sign as well.

The Saints chose Taylor 49th out of Tennessee. This marks the second straight year the Saints have used a second-day pick on a corner, with the team choosing Stanford’s Paulson Adebo in the 2021 third round. Taylor and Adebo together gives the Saints a rather crowded corner cadre. New Orleans still rosters Bradley Roby alongside Marshon Lattimore, and C.J. Gardner-Johnson is back to patrol the slot. Gardner-Johnson is going into a contract year. The team also has corner/safety P.J. Williams rostered; this will be Williams’ eighth NFL season.

Taylor represents the Saints’ top draft investment at the position since Lattimore came off the 2017 draft board in Round 1. ESPN ranked Taylor as this year’s 109th-best prospect, but the Saints clearly see more in the 6-foot defender.

At Tennessee, Taylor started a chunk of games in each of his four seasons. He intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown, last season and broke up six more. Taylor’s rookie deal runs through 2025. Here is how the Saints’ draft class rounds up:

Round 1: No. 11 (from Commanders) Chris Olave, WR (Ohio State) (signed)
Round 1: No. 19 (from Eagles) Trevor Penning, OT (Northern Iowa) (signed)
Round 2: No. 49 Alontae Taylor, CB (Tennessee)
Round 5: No. 161 D’Marco Jackson, LB (Appalachian State) (signed)
Round 6: No. 194 (from Colts through Eagles) Jordan Jackson, DT (Air Force) (signed)
Round 6: No. — Selection forfeited