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The New Orleans Saints shocked the football cognoscenti by trading all of their remaining picks to go get small-school prospect Adam Trautman in the 2020 NFL Draft, but the latest too-soon projection for next year’s event has them adding another tight end.
And there’d be little to argue with if that’s the way the Saints end up going. Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire has connected New Orleans with Penn State’s Pat Freiermuth, a rare tight end to be named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list — college football’s honor for the nation’s best pass-catcher, usually a wide receiver.
Freiermuth’s resume speaks for itself. The big underclassman listed at 6-foot-5 and 260 pounds has already tied Mike Gesicki’s school record for touchdown catches (15) before his junior year, and he finished in second-place last season in every receiving category behind wideout K.J. Hamler, an eventual Denver Broncos second-round pick. While he’s known for his receiving ability, his eagerness to throw blocks at the line of scrimmage suggests he could develop quickly with pro-level coaching.
Affectionately called “Free Moose” by Penn State faithful, Freiermuth could team up with Trautman in a one-two punch to set the stage for overhaul at tight end in New Orleans. Jared Cook has been hyped up by the coaching staff all summer, but he’s entering a contract year after his 33rd birthday. Josh Hill, the nominal backup and blocking specialist, is also 30 and only under contract through 2021. It might make sense for Trautman to replace Cook next offseason with Freiermuth coming down the pipeline a year later.
Still, it’s far too soon to guess who the Saints might end up picking. Dozens of mock drafts failed to connect them with Cesar Ruiz ahead of this year’s event, even in the days leading up to the draft. The Saints themselves won’t know who is on their radar until the team has played out its season and navigated free agency. So keep Freiermuth’s name in mind once college games kick off in the fall — this isn’t much more than the start of our own watch list.
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