The New Orleans Saints have a lot of moving parts in their defensive overhaul heading into the 2025 season. Alontae Taylor expects to be one of those moving pieces, in more ways than one.
Speaking with the WWL Radio crew during Day 1 of our Draft Fest coverage, Taylor said he expects to be deployed all over the field in Brandon Staley's defensive scheme, which helped drive the Rams to a Super Bowl title in 2020.
"I think I feel like I’m gonna play a little bit of both. I don’t think I’ll just be outside or just inside," Taylor said. "You go back to that 2020 defense when they won the Super Bowl with Jalen Ramsey and those guys, so kind of look at me in that role.”
Hear the full, exclusive interview with Saints CB Alontae Taylor in the player above. Can't see the embed? Click here.
The 2022 second round pick is entering a contract year and has seen his primary position shift multiple times, working at the outside corner spot ahead of the 2023 season before taking over the nickel corner role after the final cuts. It was the opposite in 2024, with Taylor working exclusively at the nickel spot throughout camp before being forced outside due to injuries to both starting cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry.
In Staley's scheme the nickel role is referred to as the "Star" position, something he's described as a cornerback/safety/linebacker hybrid. As Taylor pointed out, it's a role that was filled with great success by Ramsey with the Rams, and do-it-all safety Derwin James with the Chargers. With the Saints, Staley said he plans to play to the strengths of his unit, rather than his preferred scheme.
"What you’ve got to be able to do is take the defense that you have and make the best of it," Staley said on WWL, "and then hopefully as you go you grow it and mold it into maybe your preferred style. But every group has players has a bunch of superpowers and you’ve got to tap into it.”
The Saints traded Lattimore to the Commanders midway through last season and Paulson Adebo departed to the Giants in free agency. That leaves Taylor, second-year pro Kool-Aid McKinstry and returning veteran Isaac Yiadom as the primary cornerback options. The Saints opted to take Texas OT Kelvin Banks at No. 9 overall, but could opt to address the CB position with one of their eight remaining selections, including No. 40 overall, two third and two fourth rounders.
"I feel like I’ve learned a lot in the past 3 years with good games and bad games, right, so I feel like I have a lot of experience," Taylor said. "Just now learning the new system and just taking my role and leading those young guys and showing them how to go.”
