METAIRIE, La. — The New Orleans Saints went for it a whopping five times on fourth down Sunday during their most defining victory of the season — a 24-23 slugfest on the road against the Baltimore Ravens and the NFL’s No. 1-ranked defense.
Apparently they took the same aggressive approach into this week.
The Saints “went for it” again Tuesday by trading for New York Giants cornerback Eli Apple — the 10th pick in the 2016 draft, who seems to have stabilized a bit after a tumultuous 2017 season both on and off the field.
The Saints identified the cornerback position as their biggest weakness on a 5-1 team that sure looks ready to make a Super Bowl run. And they decided they needed to maximize this opportunity while they’re close enough to taste it.
As I wrote two weeks ago, this season will probably be the Saints’ best chance to win another Super Bowl with quarterback Drew Brees still playing at an MVP level at age 39, with so much Pro Bowl talent still playing on affordable contracts around him and so many of the NFC’s expected contenders getting off to slow starts.
And the Saints are acting accordingly as they prepare for a brutal stretch that will help determine their place in that NFC race — at the Minnesota Vikings this Sunday night, home against the Los Angeles Rams in Week 9, and barely letting up after that.
Of course, Apple is no sure thing — which is why he only cost a fourth-round pick in 2019 and a seventh-round pick in 2020, even though he is still just 23 years old with two years left on his rookie contract (plus a team option for 2020). He’ll cost the Saints about $1 million for the rest of this year and about $2.5 million next year.
Of course, it’s alarming that Giants teammate Landon Collins called Apple a “cancer” last year and that he was suspended for the final game of the season for conduct detrimental to the team before he apparently turned things around this season.
And of course, I would have preferred to see the Saints land the Arizona Cardinals‘ All-Pro cornerback, Patrick Peterson, instead after they reportedly kicked the tires on him. Who wouldn’t? If New Orleans had traded for Peterson, this post might have been titled, “The Saints are now the team to beat in the NFC.”
But the Cardinals insisted Peterson wasn’t available via trade — and the Saints might not have had enough to get him even if he was. They already traded their first- and third-round picks in 2019 to move up and draft defensive end Marcus Davenport and trade for backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
So this was probably about the most talented player the Saints could realistically expect to add in mid-October.
The cost is relatively low risk. And the reward is potentially very high if Apple continues to improve.
Maybe the change of scenery will do him good, especially since he is now joining former Ohio State teammates such as cornerback Marshon Lattimore, safety Vonn Bell, receiver Michael Thomas and practice squad quarterback J.T. Barrett in New Orleans.
And the Saints needed to try something at cornerback. Although Lattimore has been looking like a true No. 1 cornerback again and the No. 2 and No. 3 corners, Ken Crawley and P.J. Williams, have shown improvement in recent weeks, there still has not been enough consistency in the Saints’ pass defense. And there definitely has not been enough depth after veteran nickel cornerback Patrick Robinson went on injured reserve with a broken ankle last month.
Despite their overall defensive improvement over the past three games, the Saints still rank 28th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (293.7). They rank 31st in opponents’ passer rating (112.2). And they have allowed eight passing plays of 42-plus yards, including a pass interference penalty, which is tied for the most in the NFL.
Baltimore scored two quick touchdowns too quickly at the end of each half on Sunday — one was set up by a 56-yard pass to receiver John Brown, and the other drive ended with a 14-yard TD pass to Brown with 24 seconds left in the game. Only a stunning missed extra point kept that TD from sending the game to overtime.
Apple should get a shot to unseat Crawley as the No. 2 starter — if not this week against the Vikings’ outstanding duo of receivers, Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, then soon after.
Apple is a physical corner at 6-foot-1, 203 pounds who is well suited for press-man coverage on the outside. He has just one career interception (during his 2016 rookie season). But he has started all five games when healthy this season and is averaging one pass breakup per game.
According to NFL Next Gen Stats, Apple has allowed just 18 catches on 32 targets this season as the nearest defender (a catch rate of 56 percent, which is the lowest of any Giants player with at least 10 targets). He has allowed a passer rating of just 78.8 as the nearest defender.
“I really liked him coming out of the draft,” ESPN analyst and former NFL safety Matt Bowen said. “Long. Press-man skills. Not a blazer, but guys with that body frame usually aren’t. And he fits [Saints defensive coordinator] Dennis Allen’s system, in terms of the traits they look for at the position. Length, size, press-man ability, can be physical at the point of attack, can trust him in blitz-man situations.
“I can’t comment on what was going on in New York last year. And he’s tough to [analyze] because his career has been so up and down. But this year he’s been playing much better football. … And he is still super young, still developing as a player. He could be a guy who’s ascending if he gets the right coach and right talent around him.”
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