There isn’t a more exciting competition brewing at New Orleans Saints training camp than the battle between cornerbacks Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo. Adebo has two years of experience on his side, but Taylor made so many plays in his rookie debut that it’s going to be tough to keep him off the field.
And there might not be anyone more stoked for this development than Dennis Allen. The Saints head coach got his start working with defensive backs, and these are two players he’s helped handpick in recent draft classes. So who is going to come out ahead?
Allen prefaced by saying he’s intrigued by all of the battles set to play out up and down the roster, but admitted he’s excited to see Adebo and Taylor go at it. He was frank in his evaluation: “Somebody’s got to step up and win the job. So I’m excited about watching those guys compete. I think we’ve got several guys — you want to talk about that position specifically, I think we’ve got several guys who have the ability to be starting corners in the National Football League.”
Taylor outplayed Adebo in 2022 lining up against many of the same receivers, but he had consistent problems with missed tackles in the open field and it’s worth remembering that Adebo was slowed down by an ankle injury dating back to the preseason. Now that both players are healthy and Taylor has had time to work on his wrap-up technique, they should be competing on a much more level field.
And as Allen implied, we’re overlooking someone: Bradley Roby, an experienced veteran who has played well both outside and in the slot. The Saints run deep at cornerback even behind Marshon Lattimore. Whoever wins this competition and start in Week 1 will need to stay on top of their game to keep that job.
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