New Orleans Saints cornerback Marshon Lattimore is one of the great young talents in the NFL, rebounding well from an ugly start to his second season to play at a high level and attack the offseason of his third year. The Saints often trust Lattimore to man up against opposing teams’ top receiver and come through with a big play in the biggest moments — something head coach Sean Payton is acutely aware of, but doesn’t plan to quit any time soon.
“There’s so much at that position,” Payton said when asked about expectations for Lattimore in 2019. “There’s a lot put on him oftentimes, with a match on the certain receiver. The overall technique in, in the things that he’s pretty demanding of himself. So he’s competitive. I think that it begins to, it never slows down, but it begins to become a little clearer for those guys. Especially as it pertains to the splits, the formations they’re getting, route combinations.”
Lattimore came up huge for the Saints down the stretch last year, changing the tide of their divisional round game against the Philadelphia Eagles with two critical interceptions. He’s found his success in the NFL through a combination of elite athleticism and complete understanding of passing concepts. It’s something Payton credited him for.
“If you’re a corner and you’re defending every route each play, you are going to struggle,” Payton said. “You have to understand where the split is and then what routes are going to come with those splits. But I think he is a real smart player. So I think you’re seeing those things just take place with the repetitions.”
