Rico Payton has been given a chance to compete for a roster spot on the New Orleans Saints and he’s making the most of it. Well, I’d say he’s making more of his opportunity than that. He’s making it very hard for the coaching staff to cut him before the year begins with the way that he’s playing.
Payton is a rookie cornerback who went undrafted, and so far with the Saints, he’s stood out throughout all of training camp. The hope was that he’d continue playing at a high level during the preseason games when he was given some snaps. He has NOT been disappointing. When he played against the Arizona Cardinals in the first preseason affair, he was ranked as the team’s highest-graded player by Pro Football Focus, forcing four incompletions in the process. Fast forward one week, and he left a similarly stunning performance on the field against the San Francisco 49ers.
Rico Payton Has Undeniable Talent
Going and gathering the stats here, Payton has been the most targeted cornerback in the league throughout the first two preseason games. In the 13 targets that he has faced so far, he’s allowed just three catches while forcing five pass breakups. This helps add up to a 39 percent forced incompletion rate.
It is almost odd that the Saints have had too much success finding solid cornerback help in the last couple of years. Why? Well, that was because the Saints’ defense went through a multi-year span of struggling to find one solid corner opposite Keenan Lewis. The fact that they now have an abundance is a beautiful turn of events. As of right now, their cornerback room consists of Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and the rookie Kool-Aid McKinstry, which leaves little room for Payton, but just enough for him to secure a spot. After all, with the way that he’s played, it would be almost impossible to part ways with him and allow another team to snatch him.
There is still one preseason game left on the menu before we get into the regular season, and I expect that Payton sees the field a good amount again. If Payton puts together a third straight strong performance, then not only will he lock himself onto the roster, but he might also even see the field during the regular season. Especially given how important it is to have strong depth at the cornerback position (plus McKinstry and Lattimore are already dealing with ailments).