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New Orleans Saints coaches wouldn’t say whether they plan to unveil recently-acquired cornerback Eli Apple in Sunday’s game against the Minnesota Vikings.

Apple, though, thinks he’ll be ready to contribute on Sunday, less than a week after coming to the Saints in a trade from the New York Giants.

“I’m healthy, I have belief (and) I could go out there and definitely make an impact,” Apple said Friday.



The Saints traded for Apple on Tuesday with hopes he could provide more consistent coverage at outside cornerback than they’ve had this year from Ken Crawley, who has regressed this season after an impressive campaign in 2017.

Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn said Apple and Crawley both had reps in practice this week, and part of the challenge for the coaches was making sure Apple was comfortable with all of his new teammates. In a game against the Minnesota Vikings, a team with talented wide receivers Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs, the Saints can’t afford to have any miscommunications that might come from a lack of familiarity.

Glenn said Apple has been adjusting well to the Saints defense, but Apple admitted it’s not an easy transition, even if the coaches were to simplify this week’s game plan to include man coverage.

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Saint in Aus

Get him out there!!

Garry42

Yep, lets see what he can do! Sent from my SM-G950W using Tapatalk

Cruize

Let he and Lattimore play various forms of man. Bring some heat. Place a strong emphasis on tackling. Head up. Wrap up. Hold on for dear life.

TheOak

Unless he is that damn good and instinctual (which would lead me to believe that the Giants wouldn't have given him up), you throw him out there too fast, too deep, and you'll further damage his confidence.

It took our backfield an off-season and quite a few games before they played instinctively.

Possibly a measured transition would be better in the long run?

Garry42

I wouldnt want him to be a starter tomorrow, but a few reps throughout the game would be great! Agreed he needs to climatize to the new team, but getting his feet wet would be helpful to him and the coaches.

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AsylumGuido

The guy is a talented CB and has two former teammates in the secondary with him. He has a head start on communication. As long as he is in man coverage he should be more effective than Crawley. I'll bet you he makes a big play at some point in the game.

ChrisXVI

Cover 2 here is the same as Cover 2 in New York. Sure there are checks and adjustments he might not fully have a grasp on yet but neither do half of our defense anyway.

AsylumGuido

So true, but his abilities should be superior.

ScottF

agree
Not to oversimplify it, but man is man.
"You've got 14. Don't let him get the ball"