# Alontae Taylor

Alontae Devaun Taylor (born December 3, 1998) is an American professional football cornerback for the New Orleans Saints of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Tennessee.

## Early life

Taylor attended Coffee County Central High School in Manchester, Tennessee. He played quarterback in high school and during his career, he had 8,225 yards of total offense and 75 touchdowns. Taylor played in the 2018 Under Armour All-American Game. He committed to the University of Tennessee to play college football.

## College career

Taylor played at Tennessee under head coaches Jeremy Pruitt and Josh Heupel from 2018 to 2021. He originally played wide receiver at Tennessee before transitioning to cornerback prior to his freshman year. He became a starter his freshman year and overall started 31 of 45 career games. Taylor finished his career with 162 tackles, four interceptions, one pick-six, and one fumble recovery for a touchdown. He decided to sit out the 2021 Music City Bowl in preparation for the 2022 NFL draft.

## Professional career

Pre-draft measurables :
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press |
| 6 ft 0+1⁄8 in (1.83 m) | 199 lb (90 kg) | 32+1⁄4 in (0.82 m) | 9+1⁄8 in (0.23 m) | 4.36 s | 1.51 s | 2.52 s | 4.25 s | 7.08 s | 39.0 in (0.99 m) | 11 ft 1 in (3.38 m) | 14 reps |
| Sources: ||||||||||||
Taylor was drafted by the New Orleans Saints in the second round, 49th overall, in the 2022 NFL Draft. He was placed on injured reserve on September 24, 2022. He was activated on October 20. In his rookie season, Taylor appeared in 13 games, of which he started nine. He finished with 46 total tackles and 11 passes defended.
In Week 17 of the 2023 season, against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Taylor intercepted a pass intended for Trey Palmer from Baker Mayfield for his first career interception. In the 2023 season, Taylor appeared in all 17 games and started 13. He finished with one sack, 75 total tackles (56 solo), two interceptions, 14 passes defended, and one forced fumble.
During Week 1 of the 2024 season, against the Carolina Panthers, Taylor recorded three sacks against Bryce Young. This set the New Orleans Saints record and tied the NFL record for most sacks in a game by a defensive back. He finished the 2024 season with four sacks, 89 tackles, 16 passes defended, and two forced fumbles.

## NFL career statistics

Legend :
| | Led the league |
| Bold | Career high |

### Regular season

| Year | Team | Games | Games | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Tackles | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Interceptions | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles | Fumbles |
| Year | Team | GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | PD | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | FF | FR | Yds | TD |
| 2022 | NO | 13 | 9 | 46 | 39 | 7 | 0.0 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | NO | 17 | 13 | 75 | 56 | 19 | 1.0 | 14 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | NO | 17 | 15 | 89 | 61 | 28 | 4.0 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 47 | 37 | 210 | 156 | 54 | 5.0 | 41 | 2 | 16 | 8.0 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 |