The analysts at Pro Football Focus published their latest look at the 25 best NFL players under the age of 25, and two members of the New Orleans Saints made the cut. While cornerback Marshon Lattimore and running back Alvin Kamara were recognized on last year’s list, Kamara will age out by the start of the 2020 season (turning 25 in July).
Lattimore clocked in at No. 12, with PFF’s Ben Linsley writing of the two-time Pro Bowler:
Lattimore is part of the talented group of secondary players who were taken in the 2017 NFL Draft, and if you look back over his first three years in the NFL, his PFF grade of 84.9 ranks 10th at the cornerback position. His grade may have trended in the wrong direction in 2018 and 2019 after an impressive rookie campaign where he notched 18 combined pass breakups and interceptions, but at worst, Lattimore has been a solid starter in the Saints’ secondary. You’ll take that as an NFL team 10 times out of 10.
However, the Saints teammate joining Kamara might not be someone many fans expect: free safety Marcus Williams. Linsley added:
Williams has very quietly played like one of the best safeties in the NFL over the last three seasons. His PFF grade ranks fourth at the position since 2017, and he’s been the eighth-most valuable safety in the league by PFF WAR over that same three-year stretch. As a free safety, Williams doesn’t see the ball come his way all that often as the primary coverage defender, but he has put up at least eight combined interceptions and pass breakups (on 25 or fewer targets) in both 2017 and 2019. He is just another player on the list of recent Saints draft hits.
