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There are some big names still on the New Orleans Saints defense, but they might be the biggest pieces of the puzzle in the upcoming season. The 33rd Team’s Andy Benoit went through and listed every team’s X-factor for this upcoming season. When it got to the Saints, a surprising yet understandable name was listed. Benoit said that sophomore cornerback Alontae Taylor will be the biggest X-factor for this season, and this was his reasoning:
Taylor is listed at 6-foot, 195 pounds, and plays bigger than that. Yet, in Week 7, he had positive snaps matching up to shifty Cardinals receiver Rondale Moore. When Taylor faced receivers who were closer (or beyond) his own size, he thrived even more. He was competitive against Davante Adams in Week 8. He was downright dominant against Atlanta’s Drake London in Week 15. Taylor has shown he can make individual pass stops at all three levels downfield.
It’s a good point, in that some other names might be too obvious and even just expected to perform well. Taylor’s performance is still up in the air, yet everyone is hopeful that he will improve.
Benoit also gave good reasoning as to why Dennis Allen’s defense could help Taylor out and why he’s so important:
His 3-2 dime packages are already conducive to amoeba fronts and feature a superb off-the-ball pass rusher in linebacker Demario Davis, plus a historically electric blitzer in safety/slot Tyrann Mathieu. Allen might be inclined to get more creative and aggressive with those dime pass rushes in 2023. For this, it makes a world of difference if Taylor becomes a top-flight cover corner opposite Lattimore.
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