Paulson Adebo
Saiid Paulson Adebo is an American professional football cornerback for the New York Giants of the National Football League. He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal and was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft.
Early life
Adebo attended Mansfield [High School (Mansfield, Texas)|Mansfield High School] in Mansfield, Texas. He played defensive back and wide receiver in high school. He originally committed to the University of Notre Dame to play college football but changed to Stanford University.College career
After not appearing in any games his first year at Stanford in 2017, Adebo played in 13 games with 12 starts in 2018. He finished the season with 64 tackles and four interceptions. He returned as a starter in 2019. During his junior season, Adebo had 33 tackles, 10 pass breakups, and 4 interceptions. Despite speculation that he would declare for the 2020 NFL draft, and being listed as the number 2 draft-eligible cornerback by Mel Kiper, Adebo announced that he would return to Stanford for his senior year.Professional career
Pre-draft
Dane Brugler of The Athletic had him ranked as the 12th best cornerback prospect in the draft. NFL media analyst Daniel Jeremiah listed him as the 12th best cornerback available in the draft. Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus had Adebo listed as the 17th best cornerback prospect on his big board. Cory Giddings of Bleacher Report had Adebo ranked as the 18th best cornerback prospect in the draft. Lorenz Leinweber of Sports Illustrated ranked Adebo as the 19th best cornerback in the draft and projected him to be selected on the sixth round. NFL draft analysts projected Adebo to be selected as early as the second round to as late as the sixth round.New Orleans Saints
2021
The New Orleans Saints selected Adebo in the third round of the 2021 NFL draft. The Saints acquired the 76th overall pick they used to draft Adebo after orchestrating a trade where they sent two 2021 third-round picks to the Denver Broncos and received the third-round pick in return. Adebo was the 11th cornerback drafted in 2021. On June 9, 2021, the Saints signed Adebo to a four–year, $5.04 million contract that includes an initial signing bonus of $1.02 million.Throughout training camp, he competed to be a starting cornerback following the retirement of Janoris Jenkins left a role vacant. He competed against Patrick Robinson until the sudden retirement of Robinson on August 10. The Saints signed Prince Amukamara and held a competition for the starting role at cornerback that also included Brian Poole, Grant Haley, P. J. Williams, and Ken Crawley. Head coach Sean Payton named Adebo the No. 2 starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with Marshon Lattimore.
On September 12, 2021, Adebo started in his professional regular season debut and recorded three combined tackles, a pass deflection, and had his first career interception off a pass thrown by Aaron Rodgers intended for wide receiver Davante Adams as the Saints routed the Green Bay Packers season|Green Bay Packers] 38–3. The following week, he collected a season-high seven combined tackles during a 7–26 loss at the Carolina Panthers season|Carolina Panthers] in Week 2. On January 9, 2022, Adebo recorded five combined tackles, a season-high two pass deflections, while intercepting a pass by quarterback Matt Ryan in a 20–30 victory over the Atlanta Falcons season|Atlanta Falcon]. He started in all 17 games as a rookie and finished the 2021 NFL season with a total of 66 combined tackles, eight passes defensed, and three interceptions while appearing in 850 of the team's defensive snaps. He received an overall grade of 60.3 from Pro Football Focus as a rookie in 2021.
2022
Defensive coordinator Dennis Allen was promoted to head coach following the retirement of Sean Payton. Defensive coordinators Ryan Nielsen and Kris Richard retained Adebo and Marshon Lattimore as the starting cornerback duo to begin the season.He was inactive for the first two games of the regular season after injuring his ankle. In Week 4, he collected a season-high eight solo tackles and made a pass deflection during a 25–28 loss against the Minnesota Vikings season|Minnesota Vikings]. He injured his knee and was subsequently sidelined during a 34–42 loss at the Arizona Cardinals season|Arizona Cardinals] in Week 7. In Week 12, Adebo made six combined tackles and a season-high two pass deflections during a 0–13 loss at the San Francisco 49ers season|San Francisco 49ers]. He missed a 7–10 loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 18 due to a hamstring injury. He finished the 2022 NFL season with a total of 60 combined tackles and seven passes defended in 13 games and 12 starts. He received an overall grade of 49.1 from Pro Football Focus in 2022.
2023
He entered training camp slated as a starting cornerback under new defensive coordinator Joe Woods. Head coach Dennis Allen named Adebo the No. 2 starting cornerback to begin the season and paired him with Marshon Lattimore.On September 10, 2023, Adebo started in the New Orleans Saints' home-opener against the Tennessee Titans season|Tennessee Titans] and recorded two solo tackles, broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass thrown by Ryan Tannehill to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins during a 15–16 victory. He was inactive for two games after injuring his hamstring. In Week 8, he made three solo tackles, a season-high three pass deflections, and intercepted a pass by Gardner Minshew to Michael Pittman during a 38–27 victory at the Indianapolis Colts season|Indianapolis Colts]. On November 5, 2023, Adebo made seven combined tackles, tied his season-high of three pass deflections, forced a fumble, had a fumble recovery, and set a career-high with two interceptions on pass attempts thrown by Tyson Bagent during a 24–17 win over the Chicago Bears season|Chicago Bears]. His Week 9 performance earned him the National Football Conference Defensive Player of the Week. In Week 16, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles during a 22–30 loss at the Los Angeles Rams season|Los Angeles Rams]. He finished the season with 76 combined tackles, 18 pass deflections, four interceptions, two forced fumbles, and two fumble recoveries in 15 games and 15 starts. He received an overall grade of 78.6 from Pro Football Focus in 2023.