It’s no surprise that the New Orleans Saints are tweaking their first-team defense by rotating cornerback Alontae Taylor in with Paulson Adebo — that’s the headliner in a number of training camp battles up and down the roster, with even head coach Dennis Allen watching closely. But did we overlook one of the undercard fights?
On Thursday, third-year defensive end Payton Turner moved ahead of Carl Granderson as the starter opposite Cameron Jordan, having earned the opportunity with several impressive plays a day earlier; stopping a run behind the line of scrimmage on one rep and forcing a Jameis Winston throwaway on another. Granderson joined Adebo on the second-team defense, but odds are the coaches will rotate players around and encourage competition as the summer continues.
“I think it’s a combination of something that he’s earned, and we’re looking to see, ‘Who’s going to be that guy that’s got to line up on the other side of Cam Jordan?'” Dennis Allen responded when NewOrleans.Football’s Mike Triplett broached the subject after practice. “And somebody’s got to, not be given that role, somebody’s got to take that role. He’s earned the right to get those reps, now it’s what he does with them.”
Turner made the most of the chance to run with the starters on Thursday by generating several pressures. It’s encouraging to see this from him after injuries and poor play limited him to just 13 games through his first two years. Hopefully it continues when pads come on in a few days, when the Saints preseason games kick off in three weeks, and when the bright lights come on in September. As Allen said before training camp, it’s not the end result that matters most here for Turner — it’s the process.
