​ESPN recently released its ranking of the top 10 cornerbacks in the NFL, based on polling executives, coaches, and scouts from across the league. Not surprisingly, no Tennessee Titans cornerback cracked the top 10, though Alontae Taylor earned an honorable mention. The Titans’ cornerback situation last season was a mess. They traded Roger McCreary and Jarvis Brownlee before the trade deadline, and season-ending injuries limited L’Jarius Sneed, which forced the Titans to lean on players like Jalyn Armour-Davis and Kaiir Elam. The results were predictably ugly.
General manager Mike Borgonzi entered the offseason knowing a complete overhaul of the cornerback room was necessary. In addition to releasing Sneed from his bloated contract due to underperformance and injury history, the Titans pursued a high-impact plan. They signed Alontae Taylor and Cor’Dale Flott to lucrative free-agent deals in an effort to stabilize the position for years to come. Taylor agreed to a three-year, $58 million contract, marking it as the third-largest total value among Titans free-agent signings and placing his average annual salary at about $19.3 million—second only to John Franklin-Myers’s $21 million per year.
Among ESPN’s top-10 list, Trent McDuffie is the only cornerback who switched teams this offseason. Taylor, meanwhile, was one of the few honorable mentions who also changed teams, signaling that the Titans acquired one of the better cornerbacks realistically available during the summer market. In his final season with the New Orleans Saints, Taylor posted 83 tackles and 11 pass breakups. Over four years with New Orleans, the former Tennessee Volunteers standout accumulated 293 tackles, 52 pass breakups, seven sacks, and four interceptions. His versatility has allowed him to defend both the boundary and the nickel, a skill set the Titans believe they can leverage effectively.
The prevailing expectation is that Taylor has been signed to play outside cornerback full time, with plans to deploy Marcus Harris in the slot in a Robert Saleh–style defense. If that comes to fruition, Taylor could provide the Titans with a much-needed upgrade on the perimeter and a reliable playmaker in pass defense. However, the true test will be whether he can justify the sizable investment in 2026 and deliver the level of play the organization envisioned when it handed him that lucrative free-agent contract. The Titans will be counting on Taylor to translate his productive Saints tenure into immediate on-field impact, helping to stabilize a position that has long been a sore spot for the team. For fans and analysts, the 2026 season will be the measuring stick for whether the offseason overhaul at cornerback paid immediate dividends or if the room will continue to require significant adjustment.