Alontae Taylor looking to bounce back as he embraces playing slot corner for Saints

In 2022, the New Orleans Saints used a second-round pick on Alontae Taylor. The cornerback quickly became an impact player in the secondary, starting nine of the 13 games he appeared in as a rookie. During his first season, he recorded 46 tackles, one for a loss, and 11 pass deflections. He also only gave up 32 completions, at a 48.5% completion rate, for 318 yards but no touchdowns.

The impressive season was encouraging for the Saints and their fans, because they had a young defensive back the team could rely on for years to come. Unfortunately, Taylor had a bit of a regression during his second season in New Orleans. He was moved from the outside to the inside, playing slot cornerback, and he struggled with the transition.

Playing in all 17 games, Taylor recorded 75 tackles, six for a loss, one sack, 14 pass deflections, one forced fumble, and two interceptions. However, he also gave up 62 completions, at a 60.8% completion rate, for 685 yards and four touchdowns.

It was clear Taylor needed to be better in year three, and it already seems like that’s the case. Just a couple of weeks into training camp, both Taylor and his head coach Dennis Allen have already noticed this year being different, in the best way.

Alontae Taylor is settling in at slot corner

Allen told the media Taylor is “leaps and bounds” better than the corner was last year, and the biggest takeaway is that the third-year corner is embracing the slot role. Since he has always been an outside corner, moving inside was a significant adjustment for him. However, with Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo thriving on the outside for New Orleans, Taylor knew he needed to lock in at the slot.

Some of that motivation could have to do with the fact the Saints selected Kool-Aid McKinstry in the second-round of the 2024 NFL Draft. McKinstry is an extremely talented and experienced corner, and is expected to be an immediate contributor in the elite secondary.

Coming into camp, the belief was McKinstry and Taylor would compete for the starting slot corner role. That’s still the case, but McKinstry has been getting a lot of reps on the outside with Marshon Lattimore nursing a hip flexor injury. Regardless of where the two young corners are taking reps, they both have been having quality camps, and should be solid contributors once the season arrives.

READ MORE