State of the Saints: Cornerback

Cornerback figures to be on the most stable positions for the Saints going into the offseason.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Jan 19, 2023 12:04 PM EST

In this story:

The Saints have plenty of questions going into the offseason, and have only answered a small portion of them thus far. New Orleans made one coaching move, as of Thursday morning, and others are expected. After two straight postseason absences and a very lackluster first year under Dennis Allen, the Saints are going to have to make some changes to get back to some sort of glory.

We've been looking at the various positions on the team going into the new NFL season. We're just about wrapped up with the defensive side, as we now focus on the cornerback group. Stability, talent, and potential are common features and reasons to be excited about the position in the offseason.

Previous Previews: Linebacker | Defensive End | Defensive Tackle

Cornerback Overview

USATSI_19516729_168388561_lowres — November 27, 2022; Santa Clara, California, USA; New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo (29) deflects the football intended for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk (11) during the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Players Under Contract: Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, Bradley Roby, Vincent Gray (reserve/future), Troy Pride Jr. (reserve/future)

Free Agent Outlook: Chris Harris Jr., Isaac Yiadom

Priority Level: Low

This might be one of the best position outlooks for the Saints going into the offseason. Assuming nothing happens with the current group, New Orleans should be solid on the outside and in the slot.

We did see the value of depth last season, as injuries to Paulson Adebo before the season and Marshon Lattimore during the season took its toll. Thankfully, the Saints found a way with a lot of different looks, including the emergence of rookie Alontae Taylor. When Taylor's number was called, he was more than up for the challenge, and Bradley Roby was a strong presence in the slot for New Orleans.

As for Chris Harris Jr., the veteran was there when needed, even making some starts. However, after Roby came back into the mix, Harris Jr. saw his workload diminish. Isaac Yiadom came on during the back half of the season for the Saints, getting a ton of work on special teams. As far as free agency outlooks, Yiadom would be someone to keep a close watch on depending on what happens with J.T. Gray, while Harris Jr. might have to wait a little before finding a team.

New Orleans will have some financial work to do with Lattimore's contract, as he's currently the second-highest cap hit on the team at $22.46 million. He's locked up through 2026, so there's room to work with that contract.

Going into 2023, the big question is how does this all work? In the past, the Saints had no problems rotating Adebo and Roby on their series when Marshon Lattimore was in the lineup. However, when he returned from injury, that's not something we saw happen. Taylor didn't get reps in the slot, and Adebo is not meant for the slot. Taylor got more work on special teams, which is an area where he played well.

New Orleans really never got their optimal starting look in the secondary with Adebo and Lattimore on the outside and Marcus Maye and Tyrann Mathieu on the back end. Perhaps that's the continued vision for Dennis Allen's defense going into the new season. There's plenty of reasons to be encouraged about it here, but at a minimum, expect Taylor to challenge Adebo for the starting spot behind Lattimore.