Saturday brings us down to 29 days until the New Orleans Saints 2026 season opener. This year, the Saints will open on the road when they travel to face the Detroit Lions on Sunday, Sept. 13. Second-year cornerback Quincy Riley will be wearing No. 29 for New Orleans this year.
Riley had a strong rookie season as a fourth round pick out of Louisville. He's part of a strong young core on the New Orleans defense. As our latest Saints Player of the Day, here's a look at his background and career to date.
- Name (age): Quincy Riley (25)
- Hometown: Forest Acres, S.C.
- Position: Cornerback
- Height, weight: 5-foot-11, 195 pounds
- College: Louisville Cardinals
- Relative Athletic Score: N/A
- Drafted: Round 4, 131 overall in 2025 (Saints)
- NFL experience: 1 year
- 2026 salary cap hit: $1.27 million
A letterwinner in football, basketball, and track at A.C. Flora High School in South Carolina, Riley would initially attend Middle Tennessee University of Conference USA. He'd redshirt in 2019, then in 2020 had 2 interceptions to help win a spot on the Conference USA All-Freshman squad. In 2021, Riley broke up 9 passes and had 5 interceptions with one touchdown with the Blue Raiders to earn 1st Team All-Conference USA honors. He'd transfer from Middle Tennessee to Louisville after that season, where continued standout play.
Riley had 3 interceptions and a touchdown return for the Cardinals in 2022, with his 101 return yards leading the ACC. He'd follow that up with 12 pass breakups, 3 more picks, and 75 return yards in 2023. Last season, Riley had 2 interceptions and led the ACC with 13 passes broken up on his way to a 2nd Team All-ACC selection.
With their second of two choices in Round 4 of the 2025 NFL Draft, the Saints chose Riley. It was a pick that New Orleans acquired from Washington the previous November when trading corner Marshon Lattimore. Perhaps it's fitting that the Saints used that choice on a corner. Riley's No. 29 was also last worn by Paulson Adebo, a standout corner for their defense from 2021 through 2024. Riley would help ease the losses of Lattimore and Adebo quickly.
As a rookie, Riley had 1 interception and broke up 10 passes while forcing a fumble and recording 35 tackles. He allowed an impressive 59.6% completion percentage when targeted. This was after seeing little playing time on defense through the first three games. Once taking a significant place in the lineup, Riley was a key factor in New Orleans ranking fourth against the pass. Quincy Riley will again be a major part of the Saints defense in 2026. He'll likely be a starter opposite Kool-Aid McKinstry, with his ball skills and coverage ability helping to make an impact in a talented secondary.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Countdown to Kickoff: Quincy Riley is the Saints Player of Day 29