The Tennessee Titans needed a big offseason to catch up in a suddenly competitive AFC South. They fully delivered on that premise, as it is a new day under Mike Borgonzi, Robert Saleh and Brian Daboll. But not everyone was a fan of handing Alontae Taylor $20 million per year on the open market.
Taylor is a premier player in the slot, and New Orleans Saints experts preached excitement to us after he inked his deal. Even some national analysts have been showing the Titans' big addition some love, even if it was considered by many to be a big gamble to mortgage that much money on him.
Reports have been overwhelmingly positive on Taylor throughout training camp, though, so Tennessee fans are starting to feel better. Despite this, however, Fox Sports' Bucky Brooks has still labeled the Titans' pact with Taylor as one of the worst of the offseason.
Titans still being dragged for Alontae Taylor deal despite strong camp reports
It seems interesting to be reevaluating offseason contracts right now, before the preseason games have even begun. That's the sort of thing folks do in the immediate aftermath or with the privilege of knowledge and time. But Brooks wasn't interested in any of that.
"The Titans’ porous pass defense desperately needed a top-notch cover corner to improve under the direction of new head coach/defensive playcaller Robert Saleh. Taylor was a hot commodity on the free-agent market after enjoying a banner year as the New Orleans Saints’ slot corner; the fifth-year pro is expected to handle the CB1 role in Tennessee, aligning primarily on the outside to neutralize opposing No. 1 receivers. Although the Titans will utilize him occasionally at nickel, the 6-foot-1, 199-pound Taylor will have a chance to show the football world that he can go toe-to-toe with the premier playmakers in the game.Â
"Considering the talented pass-catchers within the division alone (see: the Texans' Nico Collins, the Colts' Alec Pierce and the Jaguars' Brian Thomas Jr. and Parker Washington), the upgrade in competition will quickly reveal if Taylor is the man for the job as a newly minted $20 million corner."
Well, training camp means something, so let's tally some things up. Against a much-improved Titans receiving corps that features Carnell Tate, Wan'Dale Robinson, Calvin Ridley, Elic Ayomanor and Chimere Dike, Taylor has recorded at least four PBUs in the last handful of practices.
ESPN's Turron Davenport has been all over it with the coverage during training camp, and even though he has noted that Tate has gotten the better of Taylor at times, the overall results seem to be quite positive about the $60 million cornerback.
Taylor recorded a PBU in three consecutive practices last week, including two on Tate. He has also forced incompletions at several junctures, and he is talking a lot of smack and letting wide receivers know about it. Of course, Ayomanor is letting Taylor know about it when he gets the best of him, too.
This kind of fire hasn't been seen in the Tennessee secondary lately, and Saleh's teams in New York had a reputation for being soft and lacking passion. But Taylor is proving all of these notions wrong at camp, as well as the one that he wasn't worth the money.
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