The New Orleans Saints will begin in 27 days with a season opener at home against the Arizona Cardinals. Isaac Yiadom is wearing No. 27 for the Saints after returning from a one-year absence. Yiadom is our Saints Player of the Day and is expected to play a big role in a retooled New Orleans secondary.
- Name (age): Isaac Yiadom (29)
- Hometown: Worcester, Mass.
- Position: Cornerback
- Height, weight: 6-foot-1, 188 pounds
- College: Boston College Eagles
- Relative Athletic Score: 6.14
- Drafted: Round 3, 99th overall in 2018 (Denver Broncos)
- NFL experience: 7 years
- 2025 salary cap hit: $1,960,000
From Doherty Memorial High School in Massachusetts, Yiadom chose Boston College over other nearby offers. He didn’t get a lot of playing time early in his career with the Eagles. However, he’d work his way into a bigger role with each season of improvements. He would intercept his first pass during the 2015 campaign. Yiadom had 17 pass breakups between 2016 and 2017, recording 2 interceptions and a career-best 53 tackles his final season.
Denver selected Yiadom with a third-round choice in the 2018 NFL draft. Safety Kamrin Moore, Yiadom’s Boston College teammate, was picked in Round 6 by the New Orleans Saints that same year. Yiadom played his first two years for the Broncos, mostly on special teams but grabbing 1 interception and breaking up 7 passes in defensive action. He was traded to the New York Giants in 2020, where he’d start 10 of 16 games and broke up 5 passes with a half sack and a forced fumble. In 2021, Yiadom was traded again, this time to the Green Bay Packers. He’d be there for 16 games of reserve duty before being waived with one game remaining. The Houston Texans signed Yiadom that offseason, but he played in just three games before his release. He was subsequently picked up by New Orleans, where he’d play out the final six games of 2022 on special teams.
Yiadom had his breakout year in 2023. Injuries decimated the Saints at cornerback, pressing him into greater duty. Yiadom responded with a strong year, making eight starts and appearing in all 17 games. He’d have 1 interception and allowed just 48.9% completion percentage when targeted, with his 14 passes broken up ranking in the top 10 of the league. That breakout year caused the San Francisco 49ers to sign him in free agency. Yiadom had five starts and played every game for the 49ers, intercepting one pass while breaking up 6 others and forcing 2 fumbles.
Yiadom hit free agency this offseason, where he returned to New Orleans on a three-year deal. He’ll compete for a starting job opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry at a cornerback position that saw the Saints lose Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, and Shemar Jean-Charles. Yiadom will compete with rookie fourth round choice Quincy Riley for the starting role. Whoever doesn’t win the job will likely see plenty of snaps as the third corner in a Saints defense and secondary that will have a much different look in 2025.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Isaac Yiadom is the Saints Player of Day 27
