New Orleans Saints Offseason Preview: What to do with Eli Apple?
By Drake Lohse
Any way you shake it, the New Orleans Saints are going to make some sort of move at the cornerback position this offseason.
After years of defensive mediocrity, there’s finally a steady, lockdown presence in the New Orleans Saints secondary.
Marshon Lattimore has made his mark as a reliable protector; he’s continued to regress in interceptions (going from five his rookie year, to two and one pick in the last two seasons) but his tackles (46) are on par, and opposing offenses are continuing to gameplan around the 23-year-old.
Behind Lattimore, however, there’s nothing but a huge question mark at the cornerback position. Eli Apple looked promising, but a season of disappointment has fans calling for his head. Apple will become a free agent on March 18, and plenty are expecting Apple to depart.
Alongside Apple, P.J. Williams also becomes a free agent. At 26 years old, the former third-round pick’s best days are undoubtedly behind him.
Not that Williams ever was much of a stud in the first place, but he’s proved a reliably decent defender in crunch-time, and the depth he provides off the bench is still better than most teams have.
As for Patrick Robinson and Janoris Jenkins: Saints fans have every right to be excited about the Jackrabbit. But at 31 years old, it remains to be seen how Jenkins can hold up against a pass-heavy NFC South for an entire season.
Jenkins looked promising, but his contract expires in 2021, with Robinson’s (age 32) a year later in 2022. With only 5 games under his belt in his second Saints’ stint, P-Rob’s $20 million dollar contract is looking to have been a mistake.