Alontae Taylor is the New Orleans Saints most high profile free agent this offseason. He differs from Demario Davis and Cam Jordan. They’re veterans whose age holds the most weight in deciding their future with the team. Taylor, on the other hand, just turned 27 years old in December. The Saints will need to decide if he is a part of the core moving forward.
Whether it's the Saints or another team that signs Taylor this offseason, Bleacher Report's Alex Kay has slapped Taylor with the "Buyer Beware" tag. What's interesting about the claim is the number Kay throws out isn't even ridiculously high.
$11 million. That would put Taylor a couple of million dollars below Kyler Gordon, the highest paid slot corner. That's too close for comfort in Kay's mind. He points out Taylor's regressing coverage skills as the primary reason for hesitancy when giving Taylor a contract.
Alontae Taylor is likely to leave the Saints for two reasons
Taylor has carved out himself a nice lane with the Saints. He plays outside in base defense, but spends most of his time in the slot. That positional versatility could be the biggest thing that leads him to leaving New Orleans.
There could be a team who views Taylor as an outside corner. It's how he came into the league, and he saw success in that role as a rookie. Kay pointed out that success, but sees Taylor's coverage skills as a regressing trait. That could be because of the change of position.
The only reason Taylor slid into the slot is he failed to beat out Paulson Adebo in a training camp battle. He's had some success at the position, but that doesn't mean Taylor gave up his hope to play outside.
Taylor won't command top corner money, but even decent outside corner money clears what Taylor would receive in the slot. The pursuit of better compensation could also lead him away from New Orleans. Taylor may walk in free agency because of an opportunity to play outside full time or because of a bigger bag. The truth of it is those appeals are truly one in the same.