A young and inexperienced secondary for the New Orleans Saints developed quickly into the best unit on the team last season. Rookie Quincy Riley and second-year Kool-Aid McKinstry teamed with Alontae Taylor to make a strong trio of cornerbacks. Free agent acquisition Justin Reid joined rookie Jonas Sanker and made a solid safety duo. It was the first year with the team for Riley, Sanker, and Reid and second for McKinstry. Reid (then 28) and Isaac Yiadom (then 29) were the oldest members of the defensive backfield, with Taylor’s four years being the longest tenure with the squad.

Alontae Taylor is set to hit free agency next week. The return of versatile safety Julian Blackmon (27) offsets that a bit, but it is still a significant loss if the Saints are unable to afford to bring Taylor back, as expected. Here are the potential cornerback options that the Saints could pursue in free agency to replace the versatile Taylor.

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Free agent cornerbacks

Taylor is among a group of about a dozen starting quality corners. Woolen and Jobe are expected to be popular targets from a terrific Seattle Seahawks defense that won the Super Bowl title. The physically imposing Woolen had an interception and 16 pass breakups while allowing 54.2% completion percentage. Jobe surrendered just 49.5% completion percentage with an interception and 13 passes broken up. The Buffalo tandem of Johnson and former LSU star White have more name recognition than the Seattle duo, but are coming off a far less effective season. They’ll still garner heavy interest.

Stokes might be the most underrated member of the free agent corners. He was one of the few bright spots with the Raiders in 2025, allowing just 56% completion rate and one score. The former Browns duo of Emerson and Newsome each had down years in 2025, with Newsome getting traded to Jacksonville. However, they’re both still quality corners and in the prime of their careers. Diggs is looking for a career revival after a tremendous start in Dallas, but was released by both the Cowboys and Packers last year. He might be able to be signed to a relatively inexpensive one-year contract.

Samuel is a popular projection to the Saints. He was terrific for his first three years with the Chargers under Brandon Staley, the current New Orleans defensive coordinator, before neck surgery shelved him most of last year. One reunion that likely won’t take place is Lattimore back to the Saints following his struggles and decline after a 2024 trade to Washington. Dean, coming from division rival Tampa Bay, would be an interesting pairing and plays well in the off-ball coverage that Staley often employs.

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Saints’ outlook at cornerback

New Orleans has an up-and-coming duo in McKinstry and Riley, with Blackmon projected to fill the ”star” role that Alontae Taylor played. Taylor’s loss must be filled, but it’s hard to envision the Saints doing so by spending big money that the top free agent corners often demand. It’s one reason why New Orleans didn’t push for a long-term extension or use the franchise tag on Taylor before the start of free agency.

Asante Samuel Jr. is a popular pairing with the Saints that makes sense, though not as much sense as last year before the emergence of Riley. Stokes, if he slips under the radar, Dean, or a one-year deal to Diggs is a possibility. Don’t overlook being able to sign one of Seattle’s tandem of Woolen or Jobe. The guess here is that the Saints try to bolster an already good secondary with a Day 2 or Day 3 draft choice while focusing on more pressing needs in free agency.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: NFL free agency preview: Potential Saints targets at cornerback