The Saints are heading into a real evaluation point in the secondary, and the departure of Alontae Taylor is the reason why.
Taylor saw it coming before he ever left New Orleans. Last December, while standing at his locker, he talked about the cornerback room and said he believed Quincy Riley and Kool-Aid McKinstry would be the “best duo” in the league next season. When someone suggested it might actually be a trio, Taylor laughed it off.
“Nah. It’ll be the best duo, though,” Taylor said.
That moment now reads like a quiet hint at what was ahead. In March, Taylor signed a three-year, $60 million deal with the Tennessee Titans, and the Saints lost a versatile corner who could line up inside or outside.
That’s a big piece to replace. But New Orleans has reasons to believe the group can hold together.
The optimism starts with McKinstry and Riley, who are expected to form the top pair on the outside. The Saints also have depth at safety, which gives them some flexibility if they need to shuffle pieces around. Without that combination of young corners and experienced safeties, Taylor’s exit would look a lot more damaging.
The numbers from last season help explain why the Saints feel good about the overall structure of the back end. New Orleans allowed just 179.2 passing yards per game, fourth-best in the NFL.
Even with the team often playing from behind and inviting opponents to lean on the run, the pass defense held up well in more advanced measures too. The Saints posted a pass EPA of -0.09, which ranked 12th, and the scheme played a major role.
By leaning heavily on Cover 3 and two-high safety looks, New Orleans took away deep throws and made opponents work underneath. That approach helped cut down on explosive plays, which had been a problem at times in Dennis Allen’s final season. The Saints also improved from allowing 6.4 passing yards per play in 2024, ninth-most, to 5.7 last season, 11th-fewest.
The biggest question now is how the Saints fill Taylor’s old star role. During OTAs and mandatory minicamp, they used second-year safety Jonas Sanker there.
That’s a lot to ask, but the coaching staff clearly trusts him. He started every game as a rookie after Julian Blackmon went down with a season-ending injury in Week 1, and the Saints believe he has the smarts to handle the job.
Still, belief and proof are different things. Sanker will have to show he can handle the slot responsibilities Taylor handled so well.
Depth is another issue to watch. If Sanker gets hurt, New Orleans would have to turn to Jayden Price or Beanie Bishop, both of whom took backup reps in the spring after spending last season on the practice squad. On the outside, Martin Emerson and Isaac Yiadom give the Saints veteran options if Riley or McKinstry misses time, though Emerson is coming off a torn Achilles and Yiadom was benched last season.
If the group stays healthy, though, there’s plenty for New Orleans to work with. The Saints have a secondary built around players who process quickly and fit the match-zone concepts Dennis Staley likes to use.
Training camp may bring more clarity. In the practices open to the media this offseason, Sanker was the only player used at Taylor’s old spot.
But under coach Kellen Moore last year, the Saints didn’t really let position battles breathe until camp. If that same approach holds, the team could spend the summer testing different combinations before settling on one.
“Our goal is to get the best five (defensive backs) on the field,” safeties coach Terry Joseph said.
There are a few ways New Orleans could sort it out. One option would be to flip Blackmon and Sanker, moving Sanker back to safety and sliding Blackmon inside.
The Saints could also experiment with Riley or McKinstry in the slot and use Emerson on the outside. Given Blackmon’s injury history, it makes sense for New Orleans to keep the possibilities open.
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