Tag: Paulson Adebo

Saints should make a big change at cornerback after blowout loss

The Saints must make big changes to end their losing streak. They should start by benching Paulson Adebo for rookie draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry:

The New Orleans Saints must make big changes to end their four-game losing streak, but where should they start? Head coach Dennis Allen isn’t going anywhere so the changes need to begin on the field. And with starting cornerback Paulson Adebo setting a new career-high in penalty yards, it’s time rookie second-round draft pick Kool-Aid McKinstry get a shot.

Adebo’s 101 penalty yards this season are a career-high, and that’s with two of his penalties being declined (he’s never had multiple fouls declined in a single season before). He gave up 76 penalty yards as a rookie in 2021, 73 penalty yards in 2022, and just 27 penalty yards in 2023, but now he’s fallen back into bad habits. That regression must come with consequences.

And the team can’t afford his boom-or-bust play style. It’s a great thing that Adebo leads the defense with 3 interceptions and 10 pass breakups. On top of the penalties, he’s getting beat in coverage. Pro Football Reference charting has him with 30 receptions and 527 yards allowed. Only one other defender has given up more than 400 yards this year, and that’s Benjamin St-Juste at 402. The gap between Adebo and St-Juste is as wide as that between St-Juste and DeMarvion Overshown, whose yards allowed rank 16th-most.

Let’s check another outlet. Pro Football Focus has Adebo with 33 catches and 426 yards, so they’ve charged some big gains to other players. But Adebo’s 426 yards allowed are still the most in the league. Even if you assign blame to another defender in the secondary here or there, he’s still getting beaten far too often and for too many big gains.

Those mistakes extend to other phases, too. PFF charged Adebo with missing four tackles against the Buccaneers last Sunday, putting him at six misses on the season. PFR was more forgiving and had him with just one missed tackle this year, but there are often disagreements on stats like these. Either way the image of Chris Godwin shoving a stiff arm into Adebo’s face mask so he could pick up 7 more yards from deep inside Tampa Bay territory stands out.

Will McKinstry be a better fit? Maybe, maybe not. It’s worth finding out. Adebo was given a big opportunity to help himself in a contract year, coming off his best season as a pro, but he blew it and the Saints’ season is going down with him. They can’t keep doing what they’re doing after giving up 594 yards from scrimmage and allowing 51 points to be scored on their heads, extending a losing streak to four miserable weeks. The Saints drafted McKinstry for a reason. See if he can hold his own and let Adebo earn back his spot in the lineup after being at fault on so many negative plays.

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Marshon Lattimore has barely been targeted before Mike Evans rivalry game

Marshon Lattimore hasn’t seen many targets this year, but that’ll change this week with Baker Mayfield and Mike Evans coming to town:

Marshon Lattimore has been targeted so little this season it would be easy to forget he was on the field. Lattimore got injured at the end of the New Orleans Saints’ season opener and missed the following game against the Dallas Cowboys. Other than that, he’s played 100 percent of the snaps. Still, Lattimore has seen only 9 targets on more than 150 coverage snaps.

Teams have opted to attack Paulson Adebo, and it’s hard to blame them with his subpar performance this year. Adebo has allowed the second-most receptions (26) and third-most yards (328) this season so far.

With Mike Evans, Baker Mayfield and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers coming to town, expect Lattimore’s workload to jump. This is one of the NFL’s biggest individual rivalries between two extremely talented players.

Mayfield is going to target Evans. It wouldn’t be surprising to see Lattimore shadow Evans the majority of the game. That would likely lead to Lattimore seeing the most targets he’s seen this year.

Even when he isn’t guarding Evans, Lattimore can’t fall asleep on the boundary. Mayfield has too much confidence in himself and too much trust in his teammates to shy away from Lattimore. That could be Chris Godwin, who leads Tampa Bay in targets, or any other receiver. Mayfield won’t just look the other way.

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Key stats to watch in Saints Week 6 game vs. Buccaneers

Baker Mayfield has played very well this year, but the Saints pass defense excels in two key areas that could slow him down:

There are two pivotal stats to watch in the New Orleans Saints versus Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, and they both boil down to passing efficiency.

The Saints defense’s greatest attribute through five games is their ability to take away the football. They are especially skilled at intercepting the quarterback. Tyrann Mathieu and Paulson Adebo lead the team with two picks each. The team’s 7 interceptions are third-most in the NFL, and they’ve yet to go a game without at least one takeaway through the air.

Baker Mayfield, on the other hand, protects the football very well. His 2 interceptions are tied for the fifth-fewest among all quarterbacks who have thrown 100 passes this season. It’s not like he’s barely throwing the football either. Mayfield averages a little more than 30 attempts per game.

In addition to protecting the football, Mayfield is one of just three quarterbacks with double -digit touchdown passes. The Saints have allowed one passing touchdown all year.

Something has to give, and it’ll be an interesting battle to watch. The Saints have effectively played bend-but-don’t-break football. If they let the Buccaneers get into the red zone, Tampa Bay will aim to throw it in the end zone. It’s vital the Saints keep them out of it.

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Marshon Lattimore, Alontae Taylor both fined for ‘violent gestures’ vs. Falcons

Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor were both fined for ‘violent gestures’ during last week’s game with the Falcons:

Two New Orleans Saints defensive backs were fined for committing unsportsmanlike conduct against the Atlanta Falcons last week. A league review found that Marshon Lattimore and Alontae Taylor made “violent gestures” with their hands.

Lattimore was cited for mimicking a firearm after Paulson Adebo intercepted Kirk Cousins with 4:59 left in the first quarter, which cost him $14,069. Taylor was fined $10,916 for the same thing about a minute earlier after he broke up a pass intended for Drake London. The difference is due to an NFL rule which requires these fines to be no more than  10% of the player’s weekly salary cap hit. Both players have the option to appeal.

If you’re curious about where the money collected in these fines goes, here’s the explanation from NFL Operations:

The fines collected are donated to the Professional Athletes Foundation to support Legends in need and the NFL Foundation to further support the health, safety and wellness of athletes across all levels, including youth football and the communities that support the game.

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Saints and Chiefs are on opposite sides of the turnover margin spectrum

Turnover margin is a stat to watch in Saints vs. Chiefs. Patrick Mahomes has thrown a pick every game. The Saints have forced one each game.

As the New Orleans Saints get ready to face off against the Kansas City Chiefs, one stat to pay attention to is the turnover margin.

The two teams are on opposite sides of the spectrum in this category. New Orleans is +3 and the Chiefs are -4. That puts the Saints in the top four in the league and the Chiefs in the bottom four. Opposite sides of the spectrums.

Both quarterbacks have been prone to turnovers. Patrick Mahomes has thrown at least one interception in every game. Derek Carr isn’t much better. He’s thrown an interception in every game but the debut.

Another big difference is the Saints force a lot of turnovers, which isn’t the case for the Chiefs. Only the Vikings and Packers have forced more turnovers than New Orleans.

Most importantly, the Saints have forced every quarterback they’ve faced into an interception. Key turnovers lost the Saints last week’s game. It may be cliche, but the Saints need to win the turnover battle against the Chiefs.

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The Saints are talented, but they aren’t a good team yet

There’s talent on the Saints’ roster, but the way they’re losing games proves they aren’t a good team yet. They aren’t greater than the sum of their parts:

We were riding high after the first two weeks, but last-minute losses to the Philadelphia Eagles and Atlanta Falcons have proven one thing: The New Orleans Saints are not a good team. Until proven otherwise, they are a talented but average team.

Chris Olave is a good player whose route-running allows him to create separation with regularity. Alvin Kamara has gained over 100 yards from scrimmage every week this season. Rashid Shaheed is an elite deep threat.

Defensively, Demario Davis is still one of the best linebackers in the league. Tyrann Mathieu’s nose for the ball hasn’t faded. Marshon Lattimore is still lockdown on the perimeter.

Talent is not the question, but talent doesn’t make you good. The Saints aren’t completing games. Better put, they are losing games in ways a good team shouldn’t.

Jordan Howden loses all spatial awareness and ran into Lattimore, setting up the Eagles’ game-winning score. This turned what should have been a short gain into 65 yards. Paulson Adebo grabbed a Falcons receiver after getting away with a shove past five yards downfield, putting Atlanta inn scoring position.

It’s irresponsible to boil down an entire 60-minute NFL game to one play, but close games are decided by a handful of moments. The Saints have been on the wrong side of those moments at the wrong times.

That time isn’t reserved for the final two minutes. Shaheed dropped a punt he had no business trying to field early in the Falcons game. The Saints can’t be called a good team until these type of mistakes are eradicated, and that goes back to coaching.

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Dennis Allen’s defense hasn’t learned how to close out tight games

The Saints’ struggles to keep offenses out of scoring position late in games was on full display against the Falcons, but this problem traces back to 2022:

For the second week in the row, the New Orleans Saints defense had a chance to close out a game and failed. This is beginning to feel like a regular occurrence for them, and this is one of those times the eye test and statistics tell the same story.

Whether it’s a Paulson Adebo pass interference penalty or Jordan Howden running into Marshon Lattimore for a coverage bust, the Saints defense has struggled to close the game. Dennis Allen’s unit is supposed to be the strength of the team, but they’ve failed in the biggest moments. Holding onto these late leads is a weakness of the unit. Costing the Saints’ victories in back-to-back weeks has brought the weakness to the forefront.

But the trend extends beyond the past two weeks. Since Allen was promoted  to head coach, the Saints are 0-4 when opponents start drives between 2:30 and 1:00 left in regulation while leading by 6 points or fewer. The last two games fall in this category, and the defense faltered in two similar situations in 2022.

The situations vary in those four games. There have been times where the opponent needed a touchdown to win and times where a field goal sealed the deal. Against the Bengals in 2022, the Saints gave up a touchdown on the first play of the drive.

Regardless of the situation or score, the Saints defense has never stood tall under Allen’s leadership. He may coach up a strong defense for 58 minutes, but he hasn’t taught them to be clutch for the final 120 seconds.

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Kool-Aid McKinstry has given Saints an immediate return on their investment

Marshon Lattimore is returning to the starting lineup in Week 3, but Kool-Aid McKinstry has already showed why the Saints drafted him:


Marshon Lattimore is returning in Week 3 against the Philadelphia Eagles after missing last week’s game with the Dallas Cowboys. His absence pushed Kool-Aid McKinstry into the starting lineup.

Dennis Allen struck again with another defensive back. In his debut, McKinstry showed why the New Orleans Saints traded up to draft him in the second round. McKinstry was drafted with Paulson Adebo entering a contract year and Lattimore’s future uncertain. Lattimore returned to the team amid trade speculation, but that didn’t change circumstances for the rookie much.

The consensus has been for the cornerback to step into the starting lineup next year and provide a good insurance policy as a backup in case of injury this season. Whether that means Adebo leaves in free agency or Lattimore is traded in 2025, odds are McKinstry will have a more prominent role in Year 2 than Year 1.

In one start, McKinstry looked primed to fit in both roles. Pro Football Focus gave him a 77.1 coverage grade. That was good for 10th-best among all corners in Week 2, and he did it against a very talented Dallas receiving corps.

Even without PFF’s grading, it was evident that McKinstry belongs. His biggest play was a break up against CeeDee Lamb in the end zone. You saw an all around solid performance beyond that play. He looked poised in the moment, and it’s clear what the Saints saw in him in April.

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Marshon Lattimore (hamstring) feeling better, expected to play Week 3

Marshon Lattimore missed last week’s game, but it’s expected he’ll be able to suit up as the Saints take on the Eagles — who are without A.J. Brown

This story was updated to add new information.

The Philadelphia Eagles will be down one of their lead receivers Sunday as A.J. Brown is still recovering from a hamstring injury. On the other side of the ball, the New Orleans Saints could be getting Marshon Lattimore back from a hamstring injury of his own.

The cornerback was a full participant on Friday and had no injury designation on the final injury report, meaning he’s expecting to play.

Lattimore missed the Week 2 matchup versus the Dallas Cowboys due to an injury suffered against the Carolina Panthers. Lattimore was a game-time decision. Ultimately, Dennis Allen held the cornerback out to keep from further injury.

Kool-Aid McKinstry joined Alontae Taylor and Paulson Adebo as the three cornerbacks in the secondary. Lattimore hopes to rejoin the lineup in Week 3.

When looking at the lead up to Week 2. It was clear Lattimore was close to ready. Allen’s tone after the game felt like the corner would have a good chance playing this week.

After the week off, Lattimore feels healthier. He actually practiced this week, which he didn’t do last week. Allen thought the cornerback would be mad at him for the decision. In the moment, maybe he was, but Lattimore agreed it was the right call to sit in hindsight.

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Paulson Adebo had one of Week 2’s longest plays, per NFL Next Gen Stats

NFL Next Gen Stats tracking found Paulson Adebo traveled over 90 yards on his interception return against the Dallas Cowboys:

New Orleans Saints cornerback Paulson Adebo delivered a major swing of momentum right before halftime when he intercepted Dak Prescott. What ensued was one of the longest plays of Week 2.

Adebo hit the ground after catching the interception, but wasn’t touched down. Instinctually, Adebo jumped up and returned the interception into Dallas Cowboys territory.

Officially, Adebo gained 47 yards. But those 47 yards didn’t come in a straight line. The beginning of the return looked disjointed and uncertain as he navigated traffic to keep the play alive. After getting up, Adebo ran forward and towards the sidelines. A couple of Cowboys players appeared in his sight. He made a loop moving backwards, and nearly went as far back as the catch point before he turned it back around.

In total, Adebo traveled 95.1 yards according to NFL Next Gen Stats. With all of the running around, Adebo ran double the amount of yards he’s credited for. That was good for the fifth-longest play in the NFL this week.

The Saints cornerback didn’t grow up far from A&T Stadium where the Dallas Cowboys play. He went to school at nearby Mansfield High, so this play was probably very special to him.

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