Quincy Riley is often discussed as a surefire starter on the opposite side of Kool-Aid McKinstry in the New Orleans Saints secondary, but what if that's not as concrete of a plan as fans currently believe? The team signed Martin Emerson in free agency, and he has the talent to be more than simply a depth piece.
ESPN's Mike Clay believes cornerback is the biggest weakness on the team solely because he has no confidence in the talent behind McKinstry. He pointed out that Riley and Isaac Yiadom are the only cornerbacks who played a snap a year ago.
Clay loses me when he discusses Riley and Yiadom competing with Emerson for CB2. It's one thing to put Emerson in that conversation, but Yiadom pushing for the job would be a shocker, seeing that Riley took it from him in the middle of last season. Clay's description exposes a massive difference in opinion on the cornerback room, but it does bring up an interesting question.
Is Quincy Riley in for a battle for Saints CB2?
If there's a battle for CB2, Riley is the clear leader in the clubhouse. The question isn't who's in front. It's is there a race to be had at all.
Emerson is coming off of an injury that ended his season before it began, but he performed well when he was on the field for the Browns. If it's depth, he's the type of depth piece that could not let go of the job if he steps on the field. Additionally, Emerson's track record is worthy of questioning Riley's scurity.
He might not have been brought in to compete, but Emerson could push the idea of a competition with a strong enough camp. Riley also doesn't have years of experience to write off the idea of a battle. In many ways, Riley is still having to prove himself, and one way to do that is beating out an experienced veteran.
Riley had an inspiring rookie season. He racked up 10 pass deflections and never looked out of place. It was enough for most to walk away from the campaign excited about what Riley could be.
It feels like this is Riley's job to lose. We've treated the job like it was a foregone conclusion that he will hold that spot unopposed. We'll see if that's the case in training camp.s
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