Tennessee football’s top five options to replace Alontae Taylor

When Kamal Hadden started the Music City Bowl, he took Warren Burrell’s spot, who took the No. 1 cornerback spot for Tennessee football.

You would have thought Warren Burrell would be an automatic to replace Alontae Taylor. He was already the starting No. 2 cornerback and had three years of starting experience with Tennessee football, starting in place of Bryce Thompson as a true freshman to open 2019.

However, Burrell was the guy who struggled the most in the Music City Bowl. He got torched through the air by the Purdue Boilermakers time and time again, and it raised questions as to whether or not he could be the No. 1 cornerback in place of Taylor. Him missing spring ball only further hurt his case since that game was the last we saw of him.

Still, Burrell has done enough to be the favorite to replace Taylor. Burrell had the highest 2021 regular season PFF grade of any defensive back who played at least 100 snaps and is back for this year. He had five pass deflections, two tackles for a loss and 41 total tackles, 32 of which were solo, as a starter last year.

Perhaps Burrell is a solid starter but meant to be the No. 2 cornerback for Tennessee football. Still, at this point, he should remain the favorite to be the No. 1 cornerback, so he’s the best option to replace Taylor at this point, but that could change when fall camp arrives.