SmashMouth

Drew Brees sees the trait in Marshon Lattimore that the great ones possess.

Forget for a second about the speed and the size and whatever other physical characteristic that makes pro football players unique among the general population, because NFL rosters are full of big and fast and physical people.

No, Brees sees the combination of all those necessary physical gifts with some unique brainpower, and that is where he sees the potential for the New Orleans Saints’ young corner to truly separate himself.



“There’s some smarts, some intellect, some awareness that exists that is a bit unusual for such a young player,” Brees said of Lattimore.

After following a Defensive Rookie of the Year performance in 2017 with a strong sophomore effort, here are two questions to consider as Lattimore prepares to enter Year 3: How does he take the next step, and what does the next step even look like?

The answer to the first question might lie with that intellect Brees spoke of. The second question requires a little bit more.

Saints secondary coach Aaron Glenn played 15 seasons as an NFL defensive back. Like Lattimore, he entered the league as a first-round pick with prodigious physical gifts. But those gifts alone were not what allowed him to play a decade and a half in the world’s most competitive football league.

“It’s the mental part of it, understanding the game in totality,” Glenn said. “That’s where (Lattimore) is going to continue to grow, and he is growing in that way.”

Glenn is not talking about Lattimore understanding where he needs to be in certain coverages, because understanding the scheme is the expectation. What excites Glenn is the way Lattimore is learning about the other side of the chess board.

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