_(cropped).jpg) Taylor in 2023 | |||||||||||||
| No. 1 – New Orleans Saints | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Cornerback | ||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||
| Born | (1998-12-03)December 3, 1998 (age 26) Winchester, Tennessee, U.S. | ||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||
| Weight | 199 lb (90 kg) | ||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||
| High school | Coffee County Central(Manchester, Tennessee) | ||||||||||||
| College | Tennessee (2018–2021) | ||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2022: 2nd round, 49th overall pick | ||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||
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| Career NFL statistics as of Week 11, 2025 | |||||||||||||
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Alontae Devaun Taylor (born December 3, 1998) is an American professionalfootballcornerback for theNew Orleans Saints of theNational Football League (NFL). He playedcollege football for theTennessee Volunteers.
Taylor attendedCoffee County Central High School inManchester, Tennessee. He playedquarterback in high school and during his career, he had 8,225 yards of total offense and 75touchdowns.[1][2] Taylor played in the 2018Under Armour All-American Game.[3] He committed to theUniversity of Tennessee to playcollege football.[4][5]
Taylor played at Tennessee under head coachesJeremy Pruitt andJosh Heupel from 2018 to 2021.[6][7][8] He originally playedwide receiver at Tennessee before transitioning to cornerback prior to his freshman year.[9] He became a starter his freshman year and overall started 31 of 45 career games. Taylor finished his career with 162 tackles, fourinterceptions, one pick-six, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown.[10][11][6] He decided to sit out the2021 Music City Bowl in preparation for the2022 NFL draft.[12]
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft0+1⁄8 in (1.83 m) | 199 lb (90 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.36 s | 1.51 s | 2.52 s | 4.25 s | 7.08 s | 39.0 in (0.99 m) | 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) | 14 reps | |
| Sources:[13][14] | ||||||||||||
TheNew Orleans Saints selected Taylor in the second round (49th overall) of the2022 NFL draft. He was the eighth cornerback selected in 2022.[15]
On July 19, 2022, the Saints signed Taylor to a four–year, $7.20 million rookiecontract that includes $3.45 million guaranteed upon signing and an initialsigning bonus of $2.41 million.[16]
He entered training camp projected to be a backup cornerback and competed to be the third cornerback on the depth chart against veteranBradley Roby.[17] Head coachDennis Allen named him a backup and listed him as the fourth cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behindMarshon Lattimore,Paulson Adebo, and Bradley Roby.[18]
On September 11, 2022, Taylor made his professional regular season debut in theNew Orleans Saints' season-opener at theAtlanta Falcons, but only saw limited snaps on special teams as they won 27–26. On September 24, 2022, the Saints officially placed Taylor oninjured reserve after he injured his knee during practice.[19] On October 20, 2022, the Saints activated him from injured reserve and added him back to their active roster after he was inactive for the last four games (Weeks 3–6).[20] He was immediately named the No. 2 starting cornerback alongside Bradley Roby after Marshon Lattimore was placed on injured reserve due to an abdominal injury he suffered in Week a 5 and Paulson Adebo injured his ankle in Week 6 and was subsequently inactive for Week 7. On October 20, 2022, Taylor earned his first career start and recorded three solo tackles during a 34–42 loss at theArizona Cardinals. In Week 13, he set a season-high with eight combined tackles (six solo) and made one pass deflection as the Saints lost 16–17 at theTampa Bay Buccaneers. The following week, Taylor made four solo tackles and tied his season-high of three pass deflections during a 21–18 win against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 14. In his rookie season, Taylor appeared in 13 games, starting the last nine consecutive games and finished with a total of with 46 combined tackles (39 solo) and 11 passes defended.[21]
He entered training camp slated to be a backup cornerback under new defensive coordinatorJoe Woods following the departure of Bradley Roby. He also competed for the role as the starting nickelback againstIsaac Yiadom andLonnie Johnson Jr. Head coach Dennis Allen named him the starting nickelback to begin the season and listed him as the third cornerback on the depth chart behind starting tandemMarshon Lattimore and Paulson Adebo.[22]
In Week 3, Taylor earned his first start of the season as a nickelback and recorded five solo tackles, set a career-high with five pass deflections, and had his first career sack onJordan Love for a 14–yard loss in the second quarter of a 17–18 loss at theGreen Bay Packers. In Week 7, he set a season-high with six combined tackles (five solo) as the Saints lost 24–31 against theJacksonville Jaguars.On December 31, 2023, Taylor made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass deflection, and had his first career interception on a pass byBaker Mayfield to wide receiverTrey Palmer during a 23–13 victory at theTampa Bay Buccaneers.[23] On January 7, 2024, Taylor made one solo tackle, one pass deflection, and had another interception for back-to-back games after picking off a pass attempt byDesmond Ridder to tight endKyle Pitts as the Saints routed theAtlanta Falcons 48–17.[24] He appeared in all 17 games during the2023 NFL season, starting 13 of them and finished the season with 75 combined tackles (56 solo), two interceptions, 14 passes defended, one sack, and one forced fumble.[25]
Entering training camp, Taylor was projected to return as a backup. He competed to be the third cornerback on the depth chart and starting nickelback against2024 second-round pickKool-Aid McKinstry.[26] He was named the third cornerback on the depth chart to begin the season, behind starting cornerbacksPaulson Adebo and Marshon Lattimore.[27]
On September 8, 2024, Taylor recorded six combined tackles (five solo), made one pass deflection, and set a new career-high with three sacks onBryce Young as the Saints routed theCarolina Panthers 47–10.[28] His three sack performance set a Saints franchise record for most sacks in a single game by adefensive back and tied the NFL record.[28] The following week, Taylor set a season-high with nine combined tackles (seven solo) during a 44–19 win at theDallas Cowboys in Week 2. On October 22, the Saints placed Paulson Adebo oninjured reserve for the rest of the season..[29] Taylor was subsequently named the No. 2 starting cornerback alongside Marshon Lattimore entering Week 8. In Week 9, he recorded four combined tackles (three solo) and set a season-high with three pass deflections as the Saints lost 22–23 at the Carolina Panthers in Week 8. On November 4, 2024, the New Orleans Saints announced their decision to fire head coachDennis Allen after they fell to a record of 2–7 and appointed special teams coordinatorDarren Rizzi to interim head coach for the rest of the season.[30] The following day, the Saints traded starting cornerbackMarshon Lattimore to theWashington Commanders, subsequently making Taylor thede facto No. 1 starting cornerback. He started the next two games alongsideShemar Jean-Charles due to rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry sustaining a hamstring injury, rendering him inactive for two games.
He finished the 2024 season with four sacks, 89 tackles, 16 passes defended, and two forced fumbles.[31]
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Led the league | |
| Bold | Career high |
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2022 | NO | 13 | 9 | 46 | 39 | 7 | 0.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | NO | 17 | 13 | 75 | 56 | 19 | 1.0 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NO | 17 | 15 | 89 | 61 | 28 | 4.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | 47 | 37 | 210 | 156 | 54 | 5.0 | 41 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |