When the New Orleans Saints selected Alontae Taylor in the second round of the 2022 NFL draft, it didn’t seem like the consensus knew why. The reaction centered on need-based philosophy, previously traded draft capital, and his later-round projection by analysts. Frankly, it felt like classic fear of the unknown. Quite odd for a player who was the first freshman to start the season opener at defensive back for Tennessee since 2013. One in the SEC with consistent competition against receivers like Jerry Jeudy and Devonta Smith.
A team doesn’t select a player No. 49 overall with no picks until Round 5 without a vision. But it certainly wasn’t the unceremonious entry Taylor had into the league. When Marshon Lattimore was ejected in Week 2 against the Buccaneers, Taylor made his debut cold off the bench. He had yet to play a snap of NFL football. Tom Brady targeted him twice, and he broke up both passes. In limited game action, Taylor’s calm stillness shone through.
Following a trip to injured reserve, Taylor was thrust back into action when both starting cornerbacks were out against the Cardinals. He wasn’t on the active roster until gameday. He lined up opposite Bradley Roby until Roby was carted off in the first quarter. Taylor’s first NFL assignment was locking down DeAndre Hopkins. Out of five targets in coverage, Taylor allowed just one.
Most rookies in that scenario panic. It’s easy to start second-guessing, struggling with the speed of the game in the pros, and get grabby. That’s assuming the only factor was guarding Hopkins. As the secondary dropped like flies in-game, Taylor only grew more steadfast. With a starting counterpart in Paulson Adebo, his next test was Davante Adams against the Raiders. Adams had one catch on five targets. But what stood out were his press coverage skills and patient feet. It’s incredibly rare to completely disrupt the timing of a receiver like Adams. I reached out to Taylor’s longtime trainer I’d spoken to this offseason, Lorenzo “Zo” Spikes, to see how they’d worked on that trait.
“That is all Alontae,” Spikes told me. “There are very few people you work with who have that thing about them where you don’t really have to train it. Because it’s there. If you can wake it up in any way, it’s because they already had it.”
Taylor was battle-tested the moment he switched from wide receiver to defensive back after playing quarterback in high school. He was the kind of player that, because of him, the high school he came from in Coffee County started winning again. Not dissimilar to the Saints’ usage of Taysom Hill, Taylor played all over the field growing up. He played a bit of receiver but was primarily his team’s quarterback. Despite lacking any weapons, Taylor found a way to win.
“When he dropped back to pass at times, you didn’t know what was going to happen,” Spikes said. “You knew one thing – if he tucked the ball to run, you were in trouble. They didn’t have any stars on their team in high school. It was a one-man team at times, especially on the offensive side of the ball. Opposing teams knew that, and he knew he would have to come up with something. I don’t think he sat there thinking for hours. Whenever it happened, he reacted. He could make a move and get out of something. He was a very mobile quarterback. And he’s very instinctive no matter what you do.”
It’s impossible to instill instinct that isn’t there. But you can teach a player to channel it. Spikes knew the moment would never be too big for Alontae Taylor because he worked to cultivate that mental toughness. Tight end Trey Knox at Arkansas is someone Spikes has trained since he was seven years old. He trained the two together as they grew up. At first, Knox would frustrate Taylor, but that time spent working against players like that brought another fire.
“I think it really helped bring those instincts out. Because what he had – and what you’re seeing now – it really can’t be taught. Instincts like that are a rarity.”
“It’s something you see in guys like Alvin Kamara,” Spikes continued on his work to help recruit him to Florida out of high school. “I don’t think anybody saw Kamara being who he is and who he became in the NFL. I don’t think anybody saw that. But he always had instinct. He always had very good instincts, even back in high school. And you knew that. I think the Saints have two players there that instinctively have something that’s not going to be taught.”
Another trait that stood out was Taylor’s lightning speed. His max speed of 20.53 mph reached against the Raiders was the fastest in the secondary. For perspective, Lattimore’s fastest speed this season is 20.8 mph. You could see it in his initial footwork off the line of scrimmage, but really in his linear speed carrying Adams’ routes downfield. Spikes describes it as “deceptive speed” that shows when he undercuts a ball or route when it looks like he’s losing separation.
“Now, I’m not comparing him to Deion Sanders when he was in the league,” Spikes said. “But that’s something very Sanders-like – because Sanders could get burned. Somehow, some way, he’s going to catch up to the ball or to the hands, and have a chance to make a play on the ball. And looking at the film from Sunday, I don’t think I saw Davante Adams get very far from Taylor in the game at all.”
“If he’s on you like that, he’s in your pocket and able to just hang on you, you need some type of separation. One thing that frustrates a wide receiver is to be contested on almost every single pass that comes their way. Their mentality is to always be open. When you get off the line, don’t let them press you. Davante Adams is probably one of the top two people in the NFL that has incredible releases. If you’re watching film on Adams, you know no matter what he does, especially within that press area, he’s going to make his hop, and then he’s going to go do what he has to do. You have to have savviness about you in order to keep up with those guys.”
Adams’ frustration against Taylor in coverage was palpable. It’s not typical for a rookie to have stillness in press against a route runner like Adams and not flinch. His patient footwork and mental processing didn’t allow Adams to juke him with his cuts, and his strength in jamming Adams only grew stronger throughout the game. Spikes would put Taylor in the top four of players he’s worked with in 26 years with the quickest feet. You could see it in ladder drills, but he wasn’t just doing it fast – he wasn’t missing a target. That tells Spikes a lot about what a player’s footwork is going to be.
That’s a strong statement for a defensive back who didn’t play the position until college. Unlike a wide receiver’s route tree, backpedaling in coverage is not instinctual or natural at all. His experience at receiver certainly helps with reactive footwork – but you still have to shadow someone else’s movements. Spikes also noticed that Taylor never lunged on film. He stayed back and patiently waited for both Adams and Hopkins to come to him until the point of first contact.
“He kept his space, he kept his feet,” Spikes said. “He had his hands on both almost every single time they left the line. Does that happen to Davante Adams? No, it doesn’t.”
One game might be a fluke. Back-to-back performances shutting down the caliber of receivers Taylor has faced is deliberate. His physical traits are coveted at defensive back, with just a few years of experience. His ability to read the field dropping into coverage with peripheral vision on his assignment and the ball made me most curious to reach back out to Spikes. To me, it’s a trait that only comes from experience at quarterback.
It’s perhaps the most valuable positional experience Taylor has, and it might not have been obvious. But the cerebral ability to win at quarterback is unmatched. Even if you’re unable to execute at all times, you have to know where everyone on the field is, and every assignment, in a way a lockdown press corner doesn’t have to. Secondary communication is paramount, but it’s not as if they’re required to pay attention to the defensive front or check what the linebackers are doing. They’re focusing on the guy in front of them. His eye discipline made me feel his time under center was a blessing in disguise. Spikes completely agreed.
“I think that worked to his advantage coming in and learning the Saints defense quickly,” Spikes said. “When you’re playing quarterback, you have to know so much more. Not all the kids on the field are always going to know what the wide receiver may or may not do, or how the offensive line is going to block on each play. But Alontae did. He had to know that stuff. I think he studies a bit more and I can see him being that cerebral type. I’m pretty sure he knew going up against Hopkins and Adams that he was going to have to watch film.”
“When you’re a good athlete, you watch film, and you pick your poison. You know exactly what to do. You try certain things, you watch tendencies. Whereas at quarterback, you also watch what a DB is going to do – everything you’re going to watch for what your guys do, you have to watch the other side of the ball. You just have to find openings. If you can find that opening as a quarterback, you’re probably going to find that opening as a defensive back as well, and figure something out quicker than some others may.”
If you ask me, that’s Alontae Taylor’s X-factor. Part of what made Drew Brees one of the best to play the game was his borderline obsessive nature to learn the little intricacies of every single opponent. He didn’t have the physical traits at all – his brain made him great. But then you have someone like Taylor who has the prototypal traits at defensive back. He doesn’t need to rely on his mental processing the way an undersized player might. His smarts were apparent from the start of training camp. That he missed a large portion of camp his rookie season, spent four games on injured reserve, and performed as he has – and who it’s been against – should not go unnoticed.
Taylor has NFL play speed and astounding mental toughness for a rookie in his situation. The injuries New Orleans has had in the secondary would normally end a season of postseason aspirations outright. Their second-round rookie who no one saw coming has been a difference-maker. It’s rare that an injury to a team’s elite No. 1 cornerback provides an opportunity to see players like Taylor make a case on the field. And if his play continues at this level, it’s hard to envision that he comes off the field. He’s in one of the more versatile secondaries that utilize personnel for their strengths, and Taylor has spent his entire career lining up wherever needed.
Alontae Taylor is the highest-drafted cornerback by New Orleans since Marshon Lattimore in 2017. Lattimore won Defensive Rookie of the Year due to his lockdown coverage on No. 1 receivers including Julio Jones, Mike Evans, Davante Adams, and Brandin Cooks. In Alontae Taylor’s first two NFL starts, he’s shown the ability to shut down the best in the league: DeAndre Hopkins and Davante Adams. That doesn’t happen. Taylor deserved more credit than he received on draft night. His play in the secondary should put all remaining opponents on notice.
