Injuries to New Orleans Saints cornerbacks Marshon Lattimore and Kool-Aid McKinstry may keep Alontae Taylor from playing any snaps in the slot on Sunday.
After Paulson Adebo’s season-ending injury, Dennis Allen moved Taylor outside in his base defense. When the New Orleans Saints were in nickel formation, McKinstry played outside and Taylor went back inside.
But McKinstry was downgraded to a DNP on Thursday, and Lattimore hasn’t practiced all week. Both are dealing with hamstring injuries, and it doesn’t seem like either is trending towards playing against the Carolina Panthers.
Current plans seem like safety Ugo Amadi will play the nickel, which he did last week. This is another shift for Taylor. He started the year at solely nickel corner, then he played both inside and outside last week and it appears he’ll strictly be a boundary corner this Sunday.
Moving around is nothing new, and Taylor said, “At this point I guess I’m used to it.”
It helps that Taylor is going to his natural position. He maintains that he is a cornerback who has gotten comfortable playing the nickel. The comfortability outside means no acclimation period. Even if it’s just Bryce Young and the Carolina Panthers, it’s still another NFL team, and Taylor knows he can’t take them lightly.
