Saints Draft: Grading second-round selection of Alontae Taylor
The New Orleans Saints spent the No. 49 overall pick on Tennessee cornerback Alontae Taylor. What grade does NOLA deserve for this pick?
After an impressive first round that involved the New Orleans Saints drafting Chris Olave and Trevor Penning, the team made a bit of a surprising move in round two.
With Jaquan Brisker of Penn State taken one pick ahead of the Saints, the team might have been a bit flustered and unsure of what direction to go in with their second-round pick. This showed as the franchise took their time making their next selection and then going with a bit of a question mark.
NOLA made Alontae Taylor the 49th overall pick in the draft and fans weren’t exactly thrilled. It felt like a bit of a reach by the black and gold but New Orleans went in this direction because Taylor offers the ability to play both cornerback and safety.
Saints select Tennessee DB Alontae Taylor. Dane Brugler says: "Taylor was primarily an outside corner for the Volunteers, but he has versatility across the secondary, and a move to safety might be his best option because of his range and physical demeanor."
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) April 30, 2022
What grade do the Saints deserve for their pick of Alontae Taylor?
While Taylor might be an okay player, the Saints could have picked someone better here. Malik Willis was still on the board and would have been great value at this point in the draft. New Orleans also could have gone with Travis Jones out of UCONN to add help to their defensive line.
With the Saints not having another pick until the fifth round due to sending their second and third-rounders to the Commanders so they could move up to nab Chris Olave, they had to make this pick count. We obviously don’t know what kind of player Taylor will be yet but it feels like he could have been had on Day 3.
So, with all of that in mind, what grade do the Saints deserve for this pick? I’ll give the selection a C. Taylor fills a position of need at safety (assuming that’s where NOLA slots him at) but again, this pick felt like one that could have been made later on.
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What grade are you giving the Alontae Taylor selection?