The New Orleans Saints made one of the splashiest trades of this season when they shipped out star cornerback Marshon Lattimore early in the week. He is now with the Washington Commanders, so other players in the secondary must step up in New Orleans.
That includes CB Alontae Taylor. Taylor started out in the slot this season, but he has had to move outside due to injuries and now, the trade of the team's top cornerback.
How is he adjusting? Does he believe that he can be an outside CB going forward after a transition to inside?
Alontae Taylor's expectations
Taylor understands that his role will be mostly on the outside now. He is the top cornerback on the roster without Paulson Adebo available. He is not shying away from this chance to prove himself worthy, either.
The young cornerback does not lack confidence, but he also has such an energetic spirit that many fans may not even see on the field. He plays with energy, but his motor runs so high because he wants to keep improving as a player in the NFL.
If the Saints want to get back on track, he will be a major piece of that puzzle in the coming weeks.
"But at the end of the day I'm a corner at heart, and so I'm super excited for the opportunity. These next eight weeks we play some pretty good teams, they've got good receivers and my covering ability and all those things will be tested and I'm looking forward to it." -- Taylor
Taylor is clearly excited for such a big opportunity. He is not shying away from a bigger role that may ask even more of him than was the task earlier in the season.
"I honed in and I embraced being the nickel, that was my role and if I get moved in there at some point in time throughout my career for the rest of the time, then OK, cool. But corner, I'm always comfortable. That's where I'm supposed to be and for the next eight weeks I know for sure that's where I'm going to be at, so I'm going to perfect my craft and get better.
"The experience was great, the time that I spent there was fun but now I'm back outside, I'm back at home. So we need some lockdown corners on this side of the ball, I feel I'm that guy." -- Taylor
It will be interesting to see Taylor on the outside against top targets on opposing offenses. With rookie CB Kool-Aid McKinstry out in Week 10 due to an injury, there is even more pressure on Taylor to perform.
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