Bleacher Report’s new Marshon Lattimore trade offer isn’t much better than its last. The four-time Pro Bowl cornerback is worth more than a mid-round draft pick:
We’ve discussed before how a Marshon Lattimore trade isn’t likely, but also how that isn’t going to stop speculation about the former four-time Pro Bowler getting moved any time soon. NFL trade rumormongering is in full swing now that training camps have kicked off for all 32 teams. And this newest trade offer proposed by Bleacher Report isn’t much more compelling than their last offer.
B/R’s Alex Ballentine suggested the Jacksonville Jaguars make a play for Lattimore’s services, which isn’t a bad idea. The Jaguars defensive coaching staff knows him very well. Former Saints defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen is their new coordinator and he has several of his old coworkers coaching the secondary, including Kris Richard and Cory Robinson, who both worked with Lattimore directly.
Here’s why Ballentine argues a deal between New Orleans and Jacksonville would make sense, swapping Lattimore for the Jaguars’ third-round pick in 2025 (coming to them from the Minnesota Vikings):
The Saints restructured Lattimore’s contract in a way that makes it much easier to trade him before the season starts. With Paulson Adebo due for a contract extension in 2025, the Saints might be willing to part with the older, more expensive Lattimore.
L’Jarius Sneed was traded for a third-rounder and a seventh-round pick swap. That could put Lattimore’s value as a third-rounder straight up. The Jags would be on the hook for most of his 2024 cap hit and the remainder of his five-year, $97.6 million contract.
That might be the cost of keeping up with the Joneses in an extremely competitive AFC right now.
Look, we get what Ballentine is doing here. Using recent deals to project future trades — essentially going with what the market value appears to be — is fine. But just because teams are undervaluing the position doesn’t mean we (or the Saints) have to play ball. If the best offer the Saints could get for Lattimore is a third-round pick in next year’s draft, they simply shouldn’t trade him.
Even if he’s currently missing time with another injury after being sidelined for 17 games over the last two years. Lattimore is a rare talent and arguably the best player on the team when healthy. And he’s proven time and again that he’s worth waiting for when he’s injured. If a split is inevitable, wait it out until a better offer appears. He’s shown a willingness to suit up and go to work that other players haven’t when they want out.
He’s worth more to the Saints than, what, maybe the No. 87 overall pick in next year’s draft (based off this year’s draft order)? Unless a team is willing to make a really strong offer and put at least a second rounder on the table, Lattimore should spend the 2024 season in black and gold.
‘Locked in’: Tyson Campbell encouraging new Jaguars DB coaches
The 2023 season didn’t go as planned for Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell.
Following his breakout 2022 campaign when he produced three interceptions, two fumble recoveries with one scoop-and-score, 15 defended passes and an allowed completion percentage of 54.2%, the Jaguars’ 2021 second-round NFL draft pick was expected to make another jump in his third pro season.
But multiple soft tissue injuries, including a nagging hurt hamstring first suffered in Week 6, limited Campbell to 11 appearances in 2023 and negatively impacted his play when he was available. He finished the year with one interception, five passes defended and a 69.4% completion rate given up.
“We don’t control every circumstance, right? But we do control our every thought,” Jacksonville defensive backs coach Kris Richard recapped Campbell’s last nine months, including his transition to a third pro defensive coaching staff, with Jaguars Wire on Wednesday.
“And so, these soft tissue injuries, whatever took place last year, all that stuff has to be wiped clean. It’s a clean slate.”
Taking over Jacksonville’s secondary this offseason under newly-hired defensive coordinator, Ryan Nielsen, Richard is offering all of Jacksonville’s defensive backs a fresh start, allowing them to prove their worth within the scheme Nielsen is installing.
Campbell has quickly risen to the occasion, participating in offseason team activities with his injuries seemingly behind him. At least athletically, Campbell appears to have regained full strength, and Richard has noticed.
“I think he’s one of the finer athletes that I’ve been around throughout my coaching career,” Richard proclaimed, noting his 100 and 200-meter state championship victories as a track star for Plantation (Fla.) American Heritage in high school.
“He’s able to run and transition. He’s got a bit of a perpetual motion thing … he’s got that proverbial ball-type movement where he’s not a hesitant, stiff type of guy. He’s just rolling, you know, he’s just rolling.”
Oct 1, 2023; London, United Kingdom; Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Tyson Campbell (32) defends against Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Drake London (5) in the first half during an NFL International Series game at Wembley Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nielsen shared similar praise for Campbell in May: “There’s nothing he can’t do athletically,” he said, adding Campbell’s been similarly quick to learn Nielsen’s defensive scheme.
The Jaguars believe Campbell can return to form with his injuries behind him and new voices guiding him along his development track.
Jaguars assistant cornerbacks coach Cory Robinson, who was hired alongside Richard, commended Campbell for buying into the new staff’s vision for the defense.
Recalling what he put on tape over the first two seasons of his career, Robinson believes Campbell has proven himself to be a capable NFL cornerback, who still has room to grow into a star.
“He’s a pro’s pro. He’s locked in, he’s focused, has tremendous talent,” Robinson described Campbell. “His floor is really, really high. So I think the upside, the ceiling is gonna be pretty special for that player. He’s been everything that we could ask for at this point.”
Citing that the coaching points apply to Jacksonville’s entire secondary, Richard has emphasized eye discipline and aggression as he’s steered Campbell through their first offseason together, to hone in on the opposing wide receiver’s route direction and prevent quarterbacks from keying openings in coverage as a result.
With a reloaded secondary to support him — not only fresh coaches but also a new opposite starting cornerback in veteran Ronald Darby, a seasoned safety addition in Darnell Savage, and two draft pick corners in Jarrian Jones and Deantre Prince to pair with other returning talent — Jacksonville sees Campbell’s arrow pointing up entering 2024.
“You see the profile here, height, length, speed, size, all that type of stuff. Getting him at the line of scrimmage, how many guys can actually run past him?” Richard contemplated.
“So [I’m] just helping him, teaching him [to] utilize his skill set, keeping his eyes disciplined and staying true to his strength, and then watching him maximize it.”
ESPN’s Bill Barnwell put together a well-reasoned argument for why the Jaguars should trade for Marshon Lattimore. But the Saints shouldn’t accept this deal:
Speculation about Marshon Lattimore being traded is going to be a recurring theme for this New Orleans Saints offseason. While the Saints did restructure their contract with Lattimore in a unique way to make him easier to trade, they haven’t been shopping him around or given him permission to seek a trade. If the right deal presents itself, they’d be open to it, but that hasn’t happened yet.
And this suggestion from ESPN’s Bill Barnwell should get laughed off the phone. Barnwell came up with a list of trades and free agent signings he’d like to see happen around the NFL this summer, but his trade idea sending Marshon Lattimore to the Jacksonville Jaguars shouldn’t be taken seriously. It’s a horrible return of value for a repeat Pro Bowler in the peak of his athletic career.
We’ll let Barnwell explain himself: “In a division in which the Texans and Titans have made major wide receiver investments this offseason, adding a veteran option across from Tyson Campbell makes sense for the Jags, who have extra picks in Rounds 3 and 4 of the 2025 draft after trading down with the Vikings last month. Sending a fourth-rounder to the Saints would clear up a financial and positional logjam for New Orleans and land an immediate plug-and-play starter at a position of need for Jacksonville.”
It’s true that the Jaguars could be a good fit. They lack high-end candidates to start opposite Campbell, and several coaches Lattimore knows well are on staff in Jacksonville including defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen and defensive backs coach Kris Richard. But only getting back a fourth rounder for Lattimore would be wildly disappointing for New Orleans.
We’ve talked before about how the trade market for cornerbacks is depressed; players who are younger, healthier, and more productive than Lattimore are only being traded for mid-round picks. But that doesn’t mean the Saints should accept it and just settle for a bad pick because they feel like they have to trade Lattimore. If the best they can get for him is, as Barnwell suggests, a fourth-round choice in 2025 (which currently slots in at either No. 107 or 114 overall) the Saints should get over whatever tension sits between them and Lattimore and refuse to trade him. He’s more important to their success than the 114th pick in next year’s draft.
Maybe they end up settling for less. Mickey Loomis has gotten outplayed in a couple of trades recently by spending too much to get Trevor Penning in the 2022 draft while not getting enough back in moving C.J. Gardner-Johnson later that summer. Depending on which trade value charts you prefer, he may have overspent to move up for Kool-Aid McKinstry this year. But even if McKinstry is sitting behind Lattimore on the depth chart, they still shouldn’t trade him just for the sake of it.
Teams need four corners on game days (if not more). Right now, the Saints have them in Lattimore, McKinstry, Paulson Adebo, and Alontae Taylor. If this sort of trade offer is the best they’ll get for Lattimore over the summer, they’ll do better to keep him and figure out who their best corners are out of that group.
Two ex-New Orleans Saints coaches reunited with Ryan Nielson on the Jacksonville Jaguars: Kris Richard and Cory Robinson
Former New Orleans Saints co-defensive coordinator and defensive line coach Ryan Nielsen was recently hired by the Jacksonville Jaguars to be their new defensive coordinator. And it’s shaping up for a very familiar defensive coaching staff in Jacksonville; Nielsen has been quick to reunite with two former Saints colleagues.
Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 has reported the hiring of Kris Richard by the Jaguars. Richard was most recently the co-defensive coordinator (alongside Nielsen) and secondary coach for the Saints in 2022. Before that he was the defensive coordinator for the Seahawks and defensive passing game coordinator for the Cowboys. He did not coach in 2023.
Nielsen also recently added Cory Robinson to the defensive staff as well. Robinson was mostly recently an analyst for the Tennessee Volunteers, but was a part of the 2021-2022 Saints staff with both Nielsen and Richard where he worked as an assistant defensive backs coach. With speculation swirling that Saints star cornerback Marshon Lattimore could be traded this offseason, the Jaguars suddenly look like a possible suitor given all these coaching connections and their bottom-8 finish in both passing yards allowed and touchdown passes yielded in 2023.
The Jaguars’ defensive coaching staff is taking shape.
The Jacksonville Jaguars are adding Kris Richard and Cory Robinson to their defensive coaching staff, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2.
Richard and Robinson were both on the New Orleans Saints’ coaching staff during Ryan Nielsen’s time with the franchise. Nielsen and Richard served as co-defensive coordinators for the Saints in 2022 while Robinson was an assistant defensive backs coach. Earlier this week, the Jaguars hired Nielsen as their new defensive coordinator.
The exact job titles for the two new coaches in Jacksonville hasn’t yet been revealed, although both have primarily worked with defensive backs.
Richard didn’t coach during the 2023 season, but previously spent three seasons as the Seattle Seahawks’ defensive coordinator and had a two-year stint as passing game coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys.
Robinson spent the 2023 season as a defensive analyst for the Tennessee Volunteers. He also previously coached in the collegiate ranks at Maryland, Rutgers, Toledo, and Temple. According to Wilson, he’ll be a cornerbacks coach with the Jaguars, although it’s unclear for now if he’ll be the lead coach for the position or an assistant cornerbacks coach.
The Jaguars finished the 2023 season 26th in passing yards allowed and 25th in passing touchdowns allowed.
Richard, 44, previously spent three seasons as defensive coordinator of the Seattle Seahawks, two years as passing game coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, and most recently spent two seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
During his last stop, Richard served as the Saints’ defensive backs coach in 2021 and co-defensive coordinator/secondary coach in 2022. New Jaguars defensive coordinator Ryan Nielsen split co-defensive coordinator duties with Richard during that 2022 season before leaving to join the Atlanta Falcons.
Richard didn’t coach in 2023 after leaving the Saints earlier in the year.
Given his history as a secondary specialist, Richard would presumably be interviewing to join the Jaguars as a defensive backs coach or passing game coordinator of some sort. Deshea Townsend was fired as Jacksonville’s passing game coordinator/cornerbacks coach and Cody Grimm was fired as safeties coach earlier in January.
The Jaguars finished 26th in passing yards allowed during the 2023 season and 25th in passing touchdowns allowed.
Former Saints co-defensive coordinators Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard could reunite with the Jaguars:
It’s shaping up for a reunion of New Orleans Saints coaches in Jacksonville — after hiring Ryan Nielsen as their defensive coordinator when he went one-and-done with the Atlanta Falcons, the Jaguars are interviewing one of his former coworkers. KPRC 2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson reports that the Jaguars interviewed Kris Richard for an undisclosed role on Nielsen’s staff.
Nielsen and Richard worked together under Dennis Allen for two years and served as co-defensive coordinators during the 2022 season; Richard left the Saints in what was characterized as a mutual split, while Nielsen was hired away in a promotion with the Falcons. The Jaguars fired their entire defensive staff after the 2023 campaign, so Richard would be a natural fit working with the secondary.
Richard previously interviewed for the Las Vegas Raiders head coach opening, though that job ultimately went to Antonio Pierce after a strong performance in-season as their interim coach. If Richard and Nielsen do team up together, it’s worth wondering whether any of their former players might join them in Jacksonville as free agents in the spring.
The Patriots interviewed Saints linebackers coach Michael Hodges for their DC opening. Even if he doesn’t get the job, they might have a role for him:
The New Orleans Saints could lose yet another assistant to a promotion elsewhere around the league. ESPN’s Mike Reiss reports that linebackers coach Michael Hodges has interviewed for the New England Patriots defensive coordinator opening, along with several other candidates. Head coach Jerod Mayo will likely still call plays defensively, just like Dennis Allen has done, but there’s plenty of room for additions to his staff.
And Hodges is a key figure in the search. An internal option for the job, Patriots defensive line coach DeMarcus Covington, is expected to interview soon — but he’s worked with Hodges before. Here’s what Reiss had to say about the connection:
Some close to the situation say Covington, who attended Mayo’s introduction as coach Wednesday, is well-positioned to elevate to a defensive coordinator role. The interview with Hodges, who was co-defensive coordinator with Covington at Eastern Illinois in 2016, could be a tipoff that it might be headed in that direction.
That suggests there could be room for Hodges in New England even if he doesn’t get the job, possibly working with Covington again as co-defensive coordinators. That strategy didn’t work for the Saints in 2022 with Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard sharing the title, but it’s worked for other teams, and maybe that’s a situation Mayo could navigate more effectively than Allen did. Hodges and Covington doing well together in the past lends credence to the idea.
If Hodges believes this gives him a better path to advancement and calling his own plays than his current role in New Orleans, he owes it to himself to explore it. Former coworkers like Nielsen and Aaron Glenn have found success after leaving the Saints and getting out of Allen’s shadow. We’ll see if anything comes of this interest.
The Raiders interviewed former Saints co-defensive coordinator Kris Richard for their open head coach job:
Here’s a name we hadn’t heard from in a while: Kris Richard. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports that the Las Vegas Raiders interviewed the former New Orleans Saints co-defensive coordinator and secondary coach for their head coach opening on Tuesday. Richard was out of the NFL in 2023 after parting ways with the Saints last offseason.
And he wasn’t the only candidate to discuss the opportunity with the Raiders. Buffalo Bills defensive coordinator Leslie Frazier also interviewed for the opening, but all signs point to owner Mark Davis going with interim head coach Antonio Pierce. So while these interviews were conducted to satisfy the Rooney Rule by considering external minority candidates, it’s possible either Richard or Frazier could still end up on staff.
Richard has interviewed for several head coach openings over the years after successful runs with the Seattle Seahawks, Dallas Cowboys, and the Saints as a defensive play caller and position coach. We’ll see if anything materializes on this front in the days ahead.
The departure of Martindale now thrusts the Giants into a defensive coordinator search for the second time in three years.
General manager Joe Schoen and head coach Brian Daboll are expected to get to work immediately but before they do, here’s a look at 11 potential candidates.
Note: Some of these candidates may currently be employed with other teams and would require termination (or resignation) before joining the Giants.
