[jwplayer UO045H78-ThvAeFxT]
Wide receiver must be the highest priority for the New Orleans Saints to address this offseason. While Michael Thomas is an incredible talent and a first-team All-Pro, the Saints don’t have anyone they can count on behind him. Their second-best wide receiver, Ted Ginn Jr., is headed for free agency after seeing his production regress year over year. It’s paramount that the Saints inject new talent to the position group.
And that’s not an uncommon take. In the first post-Super Bowl LIV mock draft from Pro Football Focus, draft analyst Mike Renner connected the Saints with Colorado Buffaloes wide receiver Laviska Shenault Jr.:
There are few coaches in the league who are better at scheming the ball into playmakers’ hands better than Sean Payton. Shenault is about as raw as it gets at the top of this wide receiver class, but he can do damage after the catch. His 29 broken tackles back in 2018 led the nation.
Shenault was one of college football’s fastest-rising stars after the 2018 season, but different usage, injuries, and inaccurate quarterback play hurt his draft stock. While he’s adept at running routes from just about any alignment, the Buffaloes made a curious decision to line him up predominately at tight end in 2019, and the 6-foot-2, 220-pounder didn’t respond well to being asked to chip in blocks against big defensive ends for extended stretches. Still, he did lead the team in receptions (56) and receiving yards (764) again.
Fortunately, he won’t (or at least shouldn’t) be asked to do that in the NFL. Shenault’s versatility is his best attribute, and he shouldn’t be limited to just one position. Saints coach Sean Payton values the mismatches that creative alignment creates more than many of his peers, and Shenault would be a terrific fit in his offense. The Saints could run just about any personnel package they like with a combination of Shenault, Alvin Kamara, Jared Cook, and Taysom Hill out on the field together. And that makes it easy for opposing defenses to overlook Thomas, the best of the group.
[vertical-gallery id=28101]