The New Orleans Saints have had some major shakeups in the secondary compared to this point a year ago. Can this new unit find quick success together?
Pro Football Focus’ John Kosko recently put together a ranking of all 32 secondaries across the NFL. The Saints managed to escape the bottom 10, which is a rarity among these types of rankings. New Orleans’ secondary was the No. 20 group in the league. They were the second-highest unit in the NFC South, finishing above the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Carolina Panthers.
It is impressive that this group can remain as high as they are after losing both Marshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo over the past year. They have used a mix of free agency and the draft to keep their defense afloat, though.
The cornerback room is almost certainly going to be worse to start the year, but it’s still an intriguing and young group with plenty of room to grow. Kool-Aid McKinstry, Alontae Taylor, Quincy Riley and Isaac Yiadom figure to be the main names at cornerback.
McKinstry was a second-round selection in 2024, and Riley went in the fourth round of this past draft. Both should look completely different from Week 1 to the end of the season. McKinstry had some nice flashes as a rookie, giving him a nice set to build off of. Riley was a ball hawk in college, which could give him an edge in the passing game that New Orleans desperately needs.
Taylor has been around for a couple of years longer, but there is a chance for him to bring his game up a notch in the Brandon Staley defense. He does a little bit of everything and could get moved around like a chess piece if they find a combination on the outside that works without him.
While their cornerback room should undergo some growing pains, it’s hard to imagine a world where their safety room takes a step back. Tyrann Mathieu is still playing at a solid level, and they even brought in Justin Reid in free agency to pair with Mathieu. Just last year, Reid had 87 tackles with two interceptions, nine passes broken up and five tackles for a loss.
Rookie safety Jonas Sanker is another player who can get moved around a lot in the secondary, as he played a bit of everything in college.
It makes sense to be wary about this group, and No. 20 seems like a fair spot, but it could also be a surprisingly competent unit by the time the season ends.
