Alontae Taylor signed a three-year, $58 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts this past week. This was a major loss for the New Orleans Saints, as the cornerback played a pivotal role in Brandon Staley\u2019s defense. Now, the Saints\u2019 focus shifts to finding a suitable replacement for Taylor. With the options in free agency dwindling, it\u2019s time to start looking at some prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n
Although Taylor was listed as a cornerback, he played the star role in Staley\u2019s defense. Basically, this is a hybrid position where the player\u2019s expected to cover slot receivers and tight ends, be impactful against the run, and blitz the quarterback. It\u2019s not an exact translation, but think of it as a combination of a safety, cornerback, and linebacker. Due to the complexity of the position, not everyone can play it. However, the Saints can still find a replacement in the NFL Draft with these three prospects.<\/p>\n
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Caleb Downs<\/p>\n
Ohio State safety Caleb Downs is the ideal prospect for this role. He plays all over the defense, tallying 241 snaps in the box, 240 as a free safety, 146 as a slot cornerback, 44 on the defensive line, and nine as an outside cornerback. The main reason he\u2019s able to thrive at this is his elite IQ, which allows him to understand his role, regardless of where he lines up.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s hard to find something negative about Downs\u2019 game. He\u2019s fabulous against the run, constantly flying downhill to make a play, shutdown in coverage, and is an amazing athlete. He\u2019s a well-rounded prospect who would flourish in the star role. Downs would require the eighth overall pick, but it would be a worthwhile investment.<\/p>\n
Keionte Scott<\/p>\n
Keionte Scott is frequently compared to Alontae Taylor by scouts. They both played similar roles in 2025, largely working from the slot and impacting every play. Like Taylor, Scott soars across the field, making plays on every down. Last year, he recorded 51 tackles, 20 pressures, 13 tackles for loss, five pass deflections, five sacks, and two interceptions (each being returned for touchdowns). This is an utterly insane stat line that is rarely seen now.<\/p>\n
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Scott\u2019s a projected mid-day two pick. The productivity is there, but he\u2019s not a perfect prospect. His footwork in coverage still needs work. This is evident when he\u2019s working against twitchy slot receivers (Omar Cooper in the National Championship). Additionally, he\u2019s an inconsistent tackler with 15 misses in 2025. Despite this, he\u2019s still an amazing prospect who would be a day-one contributor for the Saints.<\/p>\n
D\u2019Angelo Ponds<\/p>\n
D\u2019Angelo Ponds primarily played on the outside in college, but has the versatility to play all over the defense. He\u2019s an extremely undersized player, standing at 5-foot-9, 173 pounds, but compensates for it with his elite athleticism, sound technique, and dog mentality. He never backs down from a matchup and has such refined mechanics that he can eliminate a bigger defender from the play.<\/p>\n
Unlike the other two, Ponds didn\u2019t play the star role in college. However, it\u2019s evident that he has the ability to make the transition if a coach needs him. He\u2019s a day-one talent, but will likely be pushed to the second round because of his frame. Ponds would be an amazing value at pick 43 and would thrive in New Orleans.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Alontae Taylor signed a three-year, $58 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts this past week. This was a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":545365,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[559],"tags":[148083,64,63,133465,242937,1246,254714,3879,1249,593,270077,85,270078,257650],"class_list":["post-545364","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-nfl","tag-alontae-taylor","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-caleb-downs","tag-cornerback","tag-indianapolis-colts","tag-keionte-scott","tag-new-orleans","tag-new-orleans-saints","tag-nfl","tag-pivotal-role","tag-sports","tag-star-role","tag-suitable-replacement"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545364","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=545364"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/545364\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/545365"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=545364"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=545364"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=545364"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}