Saints Sign Rookie CB Alontae Taylor
New Orleans Saints rookies reported for training camp, and the team finally signed their entire 2022 draft class. On Tuesday, Taylor officially signed his standard four-year rookie contract. According to a June report from Nick Underhill, the Saints and Taylor were haggling over the offset language, guaranteed money, and future base salaries.
Taylor, 23, will compete for playing time in a deep and talented Saints defensive secondary. New Orleans drafted the Tennessee product as the forty-ninth overall pick in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft. The six-foot and 193-pound defender is a very athletic and intelligent athlete. Before switching positions in college, the Manchester, Tennessee native was a star high school quarterback at Coffee County Central and passed for 8,225 passing yards and 75 touchdowns.
The cornerback completed his college career with 162 tackles (115 solo), 0.5 sacks, five tackles for loss, three forced fumbles, four interceptions (one returned for a touchdown), one fumble recovery for a touchdown, and one blocked punt.
Head coach Dennis Allen and defensive coordinator and secondary coach Kris Richard will have to figure out how to use Taylor during training camp. To credit Taylor, he showed signs of being a quick study at rookie minicamp and OTAs.
Training camp battles in the secondary will feature young cornerbacks Alontae Taylor, Bryce Thompson, and DaMarcus Fields attempting to join veterans Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, PJ Williams, and Bradley Roby. Williams has the flexibility to play multiple positions as a defensive back.
The Saints veterans' mandatory reporting date is July 26 in Metairie.
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