Here’s a smart move: the New Orleans Saints re-signed defensive back Isaac Yiadom per Thursday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire, adding another experienced defensive back to their secondary. But Yiadom was also one of their special teams standouts during the back half of the 2022 season. He made some plays as a gunner on the punt team opposite J.T. Gray and also ran with the kick coverage and return units, as well as the field goal blocking squad.
It’s worth bringing him in for a longer look. Yiadom is 27 years old and has logged nearly a thousand snaps on special teams in his NFL career, between stops in New Orleans, with the Houston Texans, New York Giants, Green Bay Packers, and the Denver Broncos (who drafted him in the third round back in 2018, out of Boston College). He’s also put 1,500 defensive snaps on tape over the years, largely as a cornerback playing out wide.
Add him to a cornerbacks depth chart featuring Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Alontae Taylor, and Bradley Roby, plus Vincent Gray and Troy Pride Jr. (both returning from the practice squad last year). Yiadom is the latest well-seasoned defensive back the Saints have signed in free agency, along with former Raiders first-round safety Jonathan Abram, position-versatile defender Lonnie Johnson Jr., as well as slot corner Ugo Amadi. That’s been a point of emphasis for Dennis Allen’s team this spring.