The New Orleans Saints had one of the most underwhelming years in a decade this season for many reasons. However, while missing Lattimore for the majority of the year, the secondary did more than enough to win games.
The Saints had the second-best passing defense in the NFL (184.4 YPG) only behind Philly (175.9).
A big part of that success was rookie Alontae Taylor. Taylor missed some games early then proceeded to hit the ground running. With Lattimore injured, Dennis Allen pretty much threw Taylor to the wolves… DA often gave Taylor the Lattimore treatment (having him on an island with the opposing team’s X receiver.