It's no secret that the 2021 New Orleans Saints have question marks at several key positions, but that might be missing the point.
The real question is: Do the Saints have the answers on the roster already?
Veteran Ken Crawley appears to have put himself in line for the chance to fill one of those positions at outside cornerback, which coach Sean Payton has described as a "must" to address multiple times over the offseason. The 28-year-old spoke to the media after Saturday's training camp practice, and conceded that he's heard a lot of the takes on how this team is going to struggle. He takes it personally -- insert Michael Jordan GIF here -- but doesn't need any extra motivation.
"They say we’re gonna be trash this year," Crawley said. "I take that personally, too. But they’re just people who don’t know what they’re talking about, so I don’t care.”
The Saints are in line for a new starting quarterback, playing out in a competition between Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston, a new starter across from Marshon Lattimore after the departure of Janoris Jenkins, multiple new starters at wide receiver, holes to fill at defensive tackle and even more questions on special teams with a new place kicker, punter and coverage contributors.
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But the highest level of skepticism appears to be directed at Crawley, despite his showing possibly the most consistency of anyone throughout this year's camp. That could be driven by the fact that he spent the first 3 years of his career with the Saints after starring at the University of Colorado, performing reasonably well but not showing signs of a starter in the making. He departed for Miami in 2019, but was used sparingly before being waived in in January. He spent time with the Las Vegas Raiders and Arizona Cardinals during camp in 2020, but was eventually cut and signed back to the Saints' practice squad. He logged snaps in six games, but only took 11 total snaps on defense.
This offseason with as open an opportunity as ever, Crawley has held down that spot even as the cornerback roster has been in nearly constant flux around him. Often Crawley will find himself matched up against the Saints' top (available) pass-catching options, another group he said isn't getting the credit it deserves.
Veteran Patrick Robinson looked like an option to start, but opted to retire earlier this month. The team also signed veteran Prince Amukamara, but he was cut after the team's first preseason game. The Saints probably aren’t done adding competition at the position, but the most likely source would come from rookie Paulson Adebo, who has performed well as he learns the ropes at the NFL level.
Rookie Bryce Thompson has performed well throughout camp, and veteran PJ Williams could also be called upon in that role, though he will be used primarily as a safety or slot corner, along with Brian Poole and nickel corner CJ Gardner-Johnson.
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“Talent-wise, yea. We’ve got a good, young group and we’re learning fast," Crawley said. "They just gotta get the reps up and just keep knowing different situations. But this is a good, competitive group.”
Crawley's next chance to solidify his hold on that job, and for young players like Thompson and UDFA Deuce Wallace to show what they've got, will come on Monday night against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
As they always do, people will talk. Crawley will keep listening and learning. But he already knows what to do with that information.
"I just look at is as we’re just doing our job," Crawley said. "People gonna talk. We don’t control that. We can only control what we’ve got in this room and we’re gonna work with what we got.”
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