When New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore missed 10 of the last 12 games in the 2022 season with an abdominal injury, the pass defense still played at a high level. In large part, this happened because the Saints got high-level play from corners Paulson Adebo and then-rookie Alontae Taylor.
New Orleans had almost an embarrassment of riches at cornerback entering the 2023 season. Lattimore was back, along with Adebo and Taylor, while the Saints also got a breakout performance from Isaac Yiadom. Even with Lattimore missing the last seven games of the year with another injury, the New Orleans defense ranked 10th against the pass and tied for the second most interceptions in the league.
Taylor slipped a bit in 2023 after an outstanding rookie season, in large part, because he was asked to play more slot coverage. Yiadom came out of nowhere to have a breakout campaign. Arguably, the team's defensive MVP in 2023 was another corner that bounced back from his own slump the previous season.
Paulson Adebo
New Orleans traded up in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft to select Adebo out of Stanford with the 76th overall pick. Adebo came to the Saints after sitting out the 2020 collegiate season with Covid concerns. As it turned out, the extended layoff would affect him very little.
Adebo started all 17 contests in his rookie year of 2021. In his first NFL game, he allowed only one completion in five targets and intercepted Aaron Rodgers to end a Green Bay scoring drive during a 38-3 victory. He'd wind up his rookie campaign tied with Lattimore for the team lead with three interceptions while breaking up eight passes, recording four tackles for loss, and allowing less than 62% completion percentage when targeted.
Entering 2022, the Saints had one of the league's top cornerback duos in Adebo and Lattimore. A training camp ankle injury sidelined Adebo for the first two games of the year and seemed to affect him early in the season. He'd break up seven passes and recorded two tackles for loss in 13 games, but did not record an interception and allowed nearly 67% completion percentage when targeted.
Adebo bounced back in a resounding way last season. He'd intercept a team-high four passes and force two fumbles, with his career-best 18 throws broken up the third most among all NFL defenders. His 60 solo tackles were not only the most in his three-year career, but were tied for the second highest among all NFL corners.
Adebo often took on Lattimore's role of shadowing an opponent’s top receiver, especially late in the year. He'd still surrender only 55% completion rate when targeted and allow only one touchdown pass all season in man coverage.
Turning just 25 in July, Adebo will be a vital part of the aggressive man coverage scheme that the Saints usually play. He's a lean defender at 6'1" and 192-Lbs., but plays extremely physically and has outstanding agility and athleticism in coverage. A former wideout early in his collegiate career, Adebo also has excellent ball skills and strong natural instincts in off-ball coverage.
Paulson Adebo enters the final year of his rookie contract this season. After showing that he can be among the league's top corners, another good season will set him up for a huge contract in free agency. This has fueled (unfounded) speculation that Lattimore could be traded during the offseason. While that was never going to happen, the Saints do have a big decision to make over their two top corners after the year.
It's possible that New Orleans parts ways with Lattimore after the season with his cap hit escalating to over $31 million in 2025. Ever the cap wizards, the Saints could also restructure Lattimore to create the room to sign Adebo or apply franchise tag to prevent him from hitting the open market.
No matter what happens with Adebo, he'll be a critical part of an elite New Orleans cornerback unit in 2024.
