New Orleans Saints have found their CB2 in Paulson Adebo

Paulson Adebo is entering his second year with the New Orleans Saints and the team should know now that he’s the CB2 they’ve been searching for. 

When the New Orleans Saints drafted Paulson Adebo in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, it was safe to say that they did not expect him to be a full-time starter. The Saints made a trade for cornerback Bradley Roby to be their number two guy opposite of Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore.

Adebo had other plans.

He was so productive as a first-year starter that he made it extremely difficult for Roby to even get playing time. It’s the start of Saints training camp, and Paulson Adebo is picking up where he left off last season. In fact, he is playing at a level that very few expected.

The 6’1″ 192-pound cornerback had all the size and ability teams look for at that position. In the last full season that he played with the Cardinal, he was ranked as a first-round draft pick on some mock draft boards, but a decision to sit out his final season due to the pandemic affected his draft stock.

The Saints drafted him to mostly serve as depth in their secondary. Adebo put forth a solid training camp his rookie season and the Saints named him the number two guy to play alongside four-time Pro Bowler Marshon Lattimore.

Adebo’s first game as a starter was a good one. He had three tackles, a pass defended,  and picked off NFL great Aaron Rodgers, a quarterback who is known for very few turnovers.

Paulson Adebo’s rookie season was filled with ups and downs but the light eventually came on for the New Orleans Saints cornerback.

In his last three games of the regular season, he put up his best numbers statistically as a pro, including saving his best game for the final game of the season versus the Atlanta Falcons. He made one of the most incredible interceptions of that year. He finished the season with 55 tackles and a team-tied three interceptions.

Although Adebo put up a solid rookie campaign the Saints still decided to draft cornerback Alontae Taylor out of Tennessee. The Saints needed safety help at the time (this was before the signing of Tyrann Matthieu) so everyone assumed that Taylor would be the replacement for retired safety Malcolm Jenkins. Saints head coach Dennis Allen made it clear that he wanted Taylor to play cornerback.

With that being said, Saints fans understood that Taylor was drafted to compete for the number two cornerback spot. Paulson Adebo seemed to approach this year’s off-season a little differently. He was locked in during Saints OTAs and Mini-Camp.

This Saints training camp has been a great camp so far for Paulson Adebo. Every practice his name has come up due to his performance. In the first padded practice of Saints training camp, Adebo made some amazing plays, including breaking up catches from receivers Jarvis Landry, and rookie Chris Olave.

Adebo has been exceeding expectations since the moment he was drafted by the Saints. The team has brought in guys to compete against him for the number two cornerback spot, but Adebo has refused to give up his spot without a fight.

It’s time to say that this is Paulson Adebo’s spot.

The Saints have been looking for someone to play opposite Marshon Lattimore since 2017. Ken Crawley and Eli Apple have tried and failed. This is Adebo’s time now.

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New Orleans drafted a player in the third round who has first-round talent. It’s been a long road, but the black and gold have found their number two guy, and his name is Paulson Adebo.