5 NFL rookies poised to shine in 2017 regular season
By Zach Goodall
4. Marshon Lattimore, CB – New Orleans Saints
The Saints desperately needed to improve their secondary this offseason, and that they did with their own first-round pick. Marshon Lattimore is a pure cover cornerback who intercepted four passes and defended nine in his first year starting at Ohio State.
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The Saints host a nice and growing pass rush with Cameron Jordan, Nick Fairley, and Sheldon Rankins at the helm. They also drafted EDGE rusher Trey Hendrickson in the third round to add to their arsenal. That automatically eases pressure from the secondary in the pass game with pressure on the quarterback.
However, the Saints had no true top-tier coverage cornerback heading into the draft. Lattimore can be just that, with 4.36-second 40-yard dash speed, 38.5-inch vertical explosion, and ability in most, if not all, pass coverages.
With a growing pass rush that has shown capability to pressure the passer, Lattimore steps into a nice situation that he can take advantage of. Though he’ll likely be tasked with facing many of the league’s elite pass-catchers as a No. 1 corner, I expect solid numbers out of the first year cornerback.