Did you notice that Alontae Taylor was benched last week against the Los Angeles Rams? It was gnarly. The New Orleans Saints’ second-year cornerback was torched in coverage and beaten badly with the Rams’ pre-snap motion on some big gains on the ground, prompting head coach Dennis Allen to bench him. Veteran safety Ugo Amadi, who played ahead of Taylor on the depth chart all summer, finished the game in his place.
Everyone got their licks in. Per Pro Football Focus charting, pass-catching Rams tight end Tyler Higbee (3 receptions for 30 yards), slot receiver Cooper Kupp (2 receptions for 19 yards, both first downs), and rookie receiver Puka Nacua (1 catch for 41 yards) each made plays with Taylor in coverage before Allen pulled him from the game.
And Taylor wasn’t happy; team leaders like Tyrann Mathieu had to cool him down on the sideline, and he’s doing the best he can to learn from the experience, telling NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett that he’ll return to the starting lineup on Sunday against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But his first year playing the slot has been full of tough learning experiences. When covering the slot, Taylor leads the NFL in targets (90), receptions (60), and yards allowed (549). He’s charged with yielding four touchdown catches, which is tied for third-most. No other player has drawn more than 65 targets or given up more yards.
He’s visibly struggling in the transition. And Allen has to shoulder much of the blame here. As a former defensive backs coach who spends a lot of hands-on time with the secondary, he hasn’t done a good enough job preparing Taylor for this job.
Taylor didn’t get enough quality reps in over the summer to be thrust into the position; he was consistently playing behind Bradley Roby and Amadi on the third-string defense through minicamp, training camp, and preseason before Roby was a surprise roster cut in August, which sent Taylor rocketing to the top of the depth chart before he was ready for it. Rookie cornerback Adrian Frye, who wasn’t brought back after roster cuts, played twice as many snaps in the slot (42) as Taylor did (21) across three preseason games.
He just hasn’t had the reps. Look at the number of snaps Taylor has played in the slot in college at Tennessee and in the NFL with the Saints:
- 2018 (college): 2
- 2019 (college): 21
- 2020 (college): 6
- 2021 (college): 15
- 2022 preseason: 0
- 2022 regular season: 22
- 2023 preseason: 21
- 2023 regular season: 666
It’s easy to understand why Allen wanted Taylor in this role. He’s getting one of his most energetic and athletic defenders on the field by any means necessary. Taylor couldn’t dislodge Paulson Adebo from the outside corner spot in camp, opposite Marshon Lattimore, leaving only the slot for him when everyone is healthy. And Isaac Yiadom has played so well in Lattimore’s place that it’s debatable whether Taylor would be an upgrade there.
But it’s hard enough to pick up the pro game and adjust to the speed of your competition in your second year in the league in any circumstances. Doing so while picking up a totally new position is exceedingly difficult. That the Saints didn’t adequately prepare Taylor for the challenges in front of him is an outright disservice to the player. There are just two games left in the regular season. It’s possible Taylor could spend his offseason reviewing the tape and putting all of his time and effort into fully learning his new position. But as has often been the case with Allen running this team, that’s coming a day late and leaving the Saints a dollar short.
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