[jwplayer eTBhZ75i-ThvAeFxT]
The 2020 NFL Scouting Combine is in the books, and everyone is updated their mock drafts. We took a shot at our own take earlier this week, and the latest mock-up comes from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler, one of the most accurate experts in the business. Brugler projects the Saints to select Alabama Crimson Tide prospect Xavier McKinney, one of the best safeties in this year’s draft class. But he only sees that happening with a few important caveats:
If Vonn Bell leaves in free agency and Chauncey Gardner-Johnson stays in a nickel role, safety becomes a question mark for the Saints. McKinney will have spacing issues in coverage, but he limits mental mistakes, especially vs. the run as a downhill tackler.
McKinney measured out as a marginal athlete at the combine, timing the 40-yard dash in 4.63 seconds at 6-foot-0, 201 pounds. His best results came in the jumps, leaping 36 inches vertically and 122 inches broad, both good-but-not-great marks.
However, freakish athleticism isn’t really McKinney’s best bid for the NFL. He’s regarded as a heady player who is quick to learn from his errors, and is difficult to fool with complicated passing concepts. He was disruptive in two years as a starter at Alabama, creating plenty of splash plays. He was credited with 169 combined tackles (104 solo, 11.5 for loss of yards), 6 sacks, 15 passes defensed (5 interceptions), and 6 fumbles forced (1 recovered) in his final 28 games. That would go a long way towards replacing Vonn Bell’s impact plays.
Later on in the third round, Brugler connected the Saints to Liberty wide receiver Antonio Gandy-Golden. Gandy-Golden was the 13th wide receiver to be selected in the top three rounds in Brugler’s mock draft, ahead of UCF’s Gabriel Davis, South Carolina’s Bryan Edwards, and Florida’s Van Jefferson.
Gandy-Golden is a huge target (6-foot-4, 223 pounds) who lacked speed and flexibility in athletic testing at the combine, performing best in the broad jump (127 inches). He still starred at Liberty with 150 receptions for 2,433 yards and 20 touchdown grabs — in just 24 games over two years. The jump in quality of competition from Liberty’s schedule to the NFL would be tremendous, but there might not be many better options if the Saints wait so long to address the position.
[vertical-gallery id=29377]