In the Week 7 loss to the Denver Broncos, the New Orleans Saints saw another key player go down with a major injury. Starting cornerback Paulson Adebo sustained a broken femur and underwent season-ending surgery. Now, New Orleans will be without Adebo as the team tries to turn the year around.
Fortunately, the Saints have a pretty deep and talented secondary. Veteran corner Marshon Lattimore is still locking down his side of the field, Alontae Taylor is having the best year of his career at nickel, and rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry has delivered whenever his number has been called.
With Paulson Adebo now sidelined for the year, everyone assumed McKinstry would take over his spot as the starting corner opposite of Lattimore. However, head coach Dennis Allen recently announced a different plan. On Monday, Allen told the media Alontae Taylor will be taking over Adebo’s outside corner spot.
Dennis Allen said he's excited to see Kool-Aid McKinstry play more. Alontae Taylor will be the starter outside next to Lattimore unless they're in nickel.
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) October 21, 2024
Alontae Taylor will start in place of Paulson Adebo for Saints at corner
Everyone figured New Orleans would want to keep Taylor at nickel since he’s now thriving at the position, and in way, that’ll happen. Allen explained that whenever the team is in nickel, Taylor will bump back into the inside, and Kool-Aid McKinstry will come on the field as an outside corner.
Considering how much New Orleans plays with at least three corners on the field, the Saints might as well have said McKinstry is replacing Adebo. Through seven games, Adebo has the most defensive snaps on the team, playing 90.68% of the snaps. Demario Davis is second with 82.19%, and Taylor is third with 79.92%.
That shows how much New Orleans is in nickel defense. So for the few snaps the Saints have just two corners on the field, it will be Lattimore and Taylor. But for the majority of the game, Lattimore, Taylor, and McKinstry will all be on the field. Just like Saints fans, Dennis Allen is excited to see the talented rookie corner have a bigger role.