With Keenan Lewis gone, Saints' corps of young cornerbacks takes center stage (1 Viewer)

Dan in Lafayette

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With Keenan Lewis gone, Saints' corps of young cornerbacks takes center stage

By Joel Erickson -- Advocate



HOUSTON — By cutting Keenan Lewis on Friday night, the New Orleans Saints effectively severed ties with their past at cornerback and jumped head-first into the future at the position.

Three of the six cornerbacks who made the Saints' 53-man roster a year ago are now gone, and only Brian Dixon remains from the group that made the team in 2014.

Now, the Saints will be led by a budding star in Delvin Breaux and a group of relatively untested youngsters who have looked the part in training camp, led by P.J. Williams, who steps into Lewis' spot on the left side of the defensse

Williams, a third-round pick who was placed on injured reserve after tearing his hamstring last August because the Saints worried that the injury would linger if he tried to return, has looked like the player New Orleans thought it was getting when he was selected in the third round last year.

All he lacked was time on the field, and with Lewis out because of a strained hip, Williams has spent most of camp lining up across from Breaux.

"Getting a lot of reps is always good for you," Williams said. "I've been working my technique, getting a feel for different receivers and how to play different routes."

MORE -- Advocate
 
I feel we're in a much better position this time versus the last time we let our veteran CB's go. Need these guys to stay healthy. I'll miss having Lewis out there though.
 
When Lewis was healthy you felt we had close to a shutdown corner. Problem was he wasn't healthy for a while and you don't know exactly what we have in P.J. Williams which is the scary part.
 
It's really not that much of a story. Breaux who was a rookie last year stepped in an took over the number 1 spot. Then you had Swann as a rookie step in as your starting nickel. So In my opinion our biggest growth and rookie exposure was last season. Breaux now has a year under his belt and is on the way up. Swann demonstrated that he was a very good nickel back. All we need is for Williams to step into the role of number 2 back. Again only Williams is untested and its not like he has to assume the role as the number 1 back like Breaux did last season. Depth could be an issue however both Harris and Crawley have proven they have skills to play in the NFL. I'm pretty happy with the DB's until proven otherwise...
 
This move reminds me of when Marques Colston came onto the scene. Joe was let go and Stallworth was traded allowing Colston room to flourish.

It might be a good sign that the young guys we keep hearing so much about will be trusted to learn on the field.

I'm predicting the CB will look like this if they keep five:

Breaux
Williams
Swann
Harris
Crawley

Pruitt to PS

Add Finnegan if they decide to keep six.
 
And folks have avoided the rebuild theme. The future is brighter but we have a ways to go.

I would agree we are in rebuild mode on defense and the future is bright. We don't know what the leadership of JL will bring but I have to believe he plays a bigger role and could be the stabilizing factor we need. You still need good players. There is a lot of opportunity out there to be had. Let's see who wants it.
 

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