The New Orleans Saints picked LSU Tigers cornerback Kristian Fulton in the latest 2020 NFL mock draft, an unconventional selection for them.
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A busy offseason has set the New Orleans Saints up to draft the best available prospects once they’re on the clock in the 2020 NFL Draft, and most projections suggest a linebacker or wide receiver might fall to them. Some scenarios even have the Saints trading up for a quarterback once a highly-valued player is within reach.
But the newest mock draft from Doug Farrar over at Touchdown Wire has the Saints going in a different direction. He decided to explore what sort of ripple effect could be sent throughout the first round if the Miami Dolphins traded up to the first-overall pick. That ended up pushing LSU Tigers cornerback Kristian Fulton down to No. 24, and the Saints quickly pounced to add him:
The Saints took former Giants cornerback Janoris Jenkins off waivers late in the season to improve a cornerback group that struggled in 2019 outside of Marshon Lattimore, and Jenkins performed well enough to grab a two-year, $16.75 million extension. But New Orleans played with five or more defensive backs on 83% of their snaps last season, and that isn’t likely to change. With that in mind, here’s new blood in the person of Fulton, who impressed against some of the SEC’s best receivers and was able to show a knack for coverage in both man and zone concepts — though at this point, he’s best off when he can take a receiver from the line of scrimmage all over the field. Fulton has some technical issues to work out, such as his pad level and footwork, but a little more coaching could turn him into a legitimate No. 1 cornerback.
Fulton would not start right away for the Saints, and maybe not even get on the field outside of dime sets (some combination of P.J. Williams, C.J. Gardner-Johnson, Malcolm Jenkins, and Patrick Robinson figures to see most snaps from the slot in the Saints nickel defense). But he would be a quality backup behind Lattimore and “Jackrabbit,” and offer the team an important bridge to the future should either of them depart from New Orleans in the next few years.
At the end of the day, there isn’t a team in the NFL with enough cornerbacks, so it’s likely Fulton (or any rookie the Saints pick this year) would end up seeing real snaps at some point during the season.
The Cowboys released their footage of recent pre-draft interview with LSU CB Kristian Fulton.
Following their meeting with LB Zach Baun, the Dallas Cowboys posted their next virtual draft prep video interview, LSU CB Kristian Fulton. Word of the visit came out last week, and now the team revealed just a little bit more of what went down.
Projected to be among the players available with the No. 18 overall pick, Fulton would represent a significant investment in the cornerback position for Dallas. Both Chidobe Awuzie and Jourdan Lewis are entering the final years of their rookie deals, and team currently has no clear No. 1 CB following the loss of Byron Jones in free agency. Jones signed a five-year deal with the Miami Dolphins.
Fulton could help bridge the gap in 2020, while also serving as the eventual cornerstone of a reloaded Cowboys secondary under Mike McCarthy.
Present on the call were Will McClay, DC Mike Nolan, DB coach Maurice Linguist, and assistant coach Al Harris. Dallas is doing their homework on the deep cornerback class, and seem ready to grab Fulton should be available when they’re on the clock. Says Fulton of what he wants McCarthy to know about him:
“I’ll do whatever it takes to win. Doing my job, I’m a hard worker, I’m a competitor. You’re going to get me competing every day, whether that’s in practice and for sure definitely in the game.”
At 6-4, 215 pounds, Higgins provides good size and projects as a player who should be able to compete for the WR2 spot from the get-go.
Cynthia Frelund from NFL.com put together her second analytics-based mock draft last week.
In the draft, the Vikings get two positions of need.
With their 22nd pick, Frelund has the Vikings taking Clemson wide receiver Tee Higgins.
Here’s what Frelund wrote about the fit:
The departures of Stefon Diggs and Xavier Rhodes/ Trae Waynes create a big primary need on each side of the ball. My neutral model is slightly higher on Justin Jefferson than Higgins. However, pairing Higgins with Adam Thielen and Minnesota’s tight ends adds the most wins in 2020.
Higgins has been productive for Clemson over the last three seasons, especially in 2019 when he finished with 59 catches for 1,167 yards and 13 touchdowns.
At 6-4, 215 pounds, Higgins provides good size and projects as a player who should be able to compete for the WR2 spot from the get-go.
With the 25th pick, Frelund has the Vikings taking LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton.
Tough to complain about this mock if you’re a Vikings fan. It fills two big needs with two players who were accomplished from big-time programs.
The Jags’ No. 20 pick is kind of in no-man’s land, but there could be some solid prospects for them to take there.
The NFL Draft is quickly approaching, whether COVID-19 likes it or not. The NFL has held strong on its dates and has recently stated that video game company Electronic Arts will be hosting a virtual draft for the prospects and teams.
What has stayed the same, however, is the Jags’ need for help on both sides of the ball. In the first round, most believe that Jacksonville will draft two of four key positions of need, those being offensive line, defensive line, wide receiver, and cornerback.
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Obviously, what they do with the ninth selection will affect pick No. 20, but both selections will be one of those four positions, so it’s important for fans to get accustomed to the players at those key positions.
Here are three players the Jaguars should draft with the 20th overall selection:
Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports
CB Kristian Fulton, LSU
Kristian Fulton was one of the very first prospects that I did a spotlight on for the Jaguars, all the way back in October. He’s simply one of the best players at a position of need for Jacksonville. He’s silky smooth and is one of the more developed players at corner in this year’s draft. For those worried about their corners getting burned, that’s rarely the case for Fulton as he is as sticky as they come.
In 2019 much of the talk regarding Louisiana State’s defense was about freshman cornerback Derek Stingly Jr. and for good reason. That said, let’s not take away from Fulton’s spectacular final season, leading Louisiana State to a National Championship.
It’s uncertain of how high exactly Fulton will go but if he is there at No. 20, I would be “virtually” sprinting the card up to the podium to make this selection. It’s a no-brainer and one the Jaguars would surely not regret.
Jeff Okudah of Ohio State leads a deep draft class of defensive backs. Xavier McKinney, Antoine Winfield and Trevon Diggs aren’t far behind.
With the 2020 NFL Draft fast approaching, it is time to start finalizing draft boards. Not just for NFL teams, but for the team here at Touchdown Wire. Here is Touchdown Wire’s list of the top 25 defensive prospects in the 2020 draft class.
1. Jeff Okudah, CB, Ohio State
(AP Photo/Jay LaPrete, File)
If there’s one thing NFL teams need more than anything else on defense right now, it’s the prototypical lockdown cornerback who can take an opponent’s No. 1 receiver through any route in any coverage. Of the cornerbacks in this draft class, Okudah is the one who raises no questions regarding his ability to do so. After playing 70% of his snaps in man coverage in 2018, per Sports Info Solutions, Okudah dipped down to 54% man coverage last season, upped his zone percentage and still allowed just 21 catches on 54 targets for 280 yards, three interceptions, one touchdown, and an opponent passer rating of 46.8. There may be more physically talented players in this class, but outside of the top quarterbacks, none are more positionally important.
2. Isaiah Simmons, Defense, Clemson
(John David Mercer-USA TODAY Sports)
In his 2019 season, per Pro Football Focus, Simmons played 299 snaps in the box, 262 snaps at slot cornerback, 132 snaps at free safety and 116 snaps at defensive line. The 6-foot-4, 225-pound Simmons also played 13 snaps at outside corner, to make his versatility even more impressive. Asked at the scouting combing what his position was, Simmons simply responded, “Defense.” In the modern NFL, a player who can do everything from blitzing, to taking on the run game as a linebacker, to coverage as a slot defender and safety, is of prime value as defenses move to nickel and dime defenses as their base.
3. Chase Young, EDGE, Ohio State
(Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports)
Young has often been compared to fellow Ohio State alums Joey and Nick Bosa, and from a traits perspective, those are pretty good matches. In 2019, Young put up 16.5 sacks, 21 tackles for loss, seven quarterback hits and 31 quarterback hurries. And if you’re concerned about his getting shut out in sacks through his last three college games, a cursory look at the tape will tell you that he still had a massive effect on opposing offenses.
Chase Young this week on the three-sack drought: "Being the best defensive end isn't about sacks, it's about being the most disruptive player on the field. You can do that without having a sack… I had a lot of quarterback hits, a lot of pressures."
At 6 feet 6 and 302 pounds, Kinlaw fits the physical profile of the ideal multi-gap defensive lineman who can get nasty everywhere from over the center to outside the offensive tackles. In 2019, he raised his sack total from four in 2018 to six in his final college season, adding seven quarterback hits and 28 quarterback hurries. Perhaps the most impressive thing about Kinlaw’s potential is that he’s turned himself into a wrecking machine without the benefit of advanced hand technique. Once he reaps the benefits of NFL-level coaching, he projects well as an All-Pro-level disruptor.
5. Derrick Brown, DT, Auburn
(John Reed-USA TODAY Sports)
Brown’s relatively weak combine performance might debit him in the eyes of those who haven’t studied his tape. Similarly, his total of 12.5 sacks over four seasons at Auburn could push him under other defenders in your mind if you’re just box-score scouting. But when you watch Brown do his thing on the field, the perspective is entirely different. At 6-5 and 326 pounds, Brown had 10 quarterback hits and 20 quarterback hurries in 2019, adding four batted passes and two forced fumbles to his statistical arsenal. Brown is an ideal three-down defender who can stop the run as well as he can blast through double teams.
6. Xavier McKinney, DB, Alabama
(Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports)
Multi-positional defensive backs are all the rage in today’s NFL, and Nick Saban has been grooming them at Alabama for a while. Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Steelers was an early part of paradigm, and McKinney is ready to follow in Fitzpatrick’s footsteps. Last season, per Pro Football Focus, McKinney played 285 snaps in the box, 271 snaps at free safety and 227 snaps in the slot. The 6-1, 200-pound McKinney also played 38 snaps on the defensive line and five snaps at outside corner. Playing all those positions, he allowed an opponent passer rating of 73.6 and came away with three interceptions, as well as 21 total pressures in just 71 pass-rushing snaps. If you can’t get Isaiah Simmons in your 2020 draft because he goes too early, McKinney is more than an acceptable substitute.
7. Patrick Queen, LB, LSU
(Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports)
In 2019, Queen established himself as one of the linchpins of the Tigers’ championship defense after lining up for just 255 total snaps in his first two collegiate seasons. The 6-foot, 229-pound first-year starter proved to be the model of the modern linebacker when he finally got his shot, playing 780 snaps in 2019 and showing the ability to excel everywhere from the box to the slot to the occasional go at outside cornerback. More impressively for Queen’s NFL future is his ability to face up against top running backs and make stops when stops are needed. Not every light linebacker can do that, and once Queen gets the hang of the intricacies of coverage (especially zone coverage), he could be one of the NFL’s best three-down linebackers.
8. Antoine Winfield Jr., S, Minnesota
(Jesse Johnson-USA TODAY Sports)
Winfield missed all but a total of eight games in his 2017 and 2018 seasons due to injuries, but he came back with a full head of steam in 2019, picking off seven passes and giving up just 11 catches on 22 targets and an opponent passer rating of 45.5. A healthy Winfield has all the athleticism and range you’d want in a deep-third safety, but what really makes him the best in this class at that particular designation is his ability to read offenses and coverages on the fly — as he detailed to me in a recent film session, he learned a lot from his father, who played cornerback for the Bills and Vikings from 1999 through 2012.
In this new 2020 NFL mock draft, the Broncos select LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton in the first round.
In his latest 2020 NFL mock draft for Touchdown Wire, Mark Schofield has the Denver Broncos selecting LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton with the 15th overall pick in the first round.
In Touchdown Wire’s mock, top wide receivers CeeDee Lamb (No. 11; New York Jets), Jerry Jeudy (No. 12; Las Vegas Raiders) and Henry Ruggs (No. 13; San Francisco 49ers) are all selected before Denver goes on the clock.
Here is part of Schofield’s commentary with the Broncos’ pick:
The Broncos lost Chris Harris Jr. in free agency to the Los Angeles Chargers, and even though they acquired A.J. Bouye from the Jacksonville Jaguars, cornerback is another area they could address at this spot. With Jeff Okudah off the board, they turn to Kristian Fulton, the talented cornerback from the defending national champions.
The Cowboys are getting creative, and FaceTiming top prospect Kristian Fulton from LSU.
The coronavirus outbreak has put a halt on activities in a fashion never seen in America or the world. With face-to-face meetings ill-advised, teams are getting creative with how they are scouting, and interviewing, top prospects before the 2020 NFL Draft.
Meanwhile, the Dallas Cowboys still need to figure out solutions to several key areas of the team before the new season, whenever that starts. Teams adjust as they have to, and as each club figures out how to convene to actually conduct draft business during the still-on-but-now-remote April 23 through April 25 event, they also have to get more intel from the collection of prospects. One such example is using video conferencing and the Cowboys are amongst a handful of teams set to meet with LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton via FaceTime.
Since losing Byron Jones in free agency, the Cowboys acquired and retained depth in the secondary, but the hole at cornerback left by Jones is still there. It seems clear the Cowboys will use next month’s draft to attempt to fill this need.
At pick No. 17, Dallas’ first selection, the LSU prospect would be an obvious target for the corner-needy Cowboys. Fulton capped off an excellent junior year with a National Championship, and consistently stepped up his game when challenged by some of the nations best wide receivers.
Kristian Fulton vs Tee Higgins, Jerry Jeudy and Henry Ruggs III (@PFF_College)
“Press-man cornerback whose 40 percent rate of completion as an LSU Tiger may not tell the entire story as an NFL prospect. Fulton has good size and is usually searching to make plays on the football. He plays with decent eye balance in off-coverage but can be a tad late with response time. Once he gets behind he tends to stay behind against multi-breaking routes and his long speed and recovery burst are below average. Fulton showed improvement throughout the year, but his confidence has been an issue at times. When the pros and cons are balanced, he appears to be a good backup with a chance to work up the ladder.”
“Kristian Fulton is a terrific cornerback prospect, primarily for press man or bump and run heavy coverage defenses. With Fulton’s long frame, he’s not at his best when leveraged over top of routes but if provided the chance to play in phase and attack targets from the hip, Fulton is a high end cover corner with excellent mirror skills, physicality, length and tackling. Fulton hasn’t found much in the way of ball production, but he’s also a blanket in man coverage who often won’t get tested. “
During the pre-draft process the Cowboys have also been commonly linked to fellow SEC cornerbacks C.J. Henderson from Florida, and Alabama’s Trevon Diggs.
The Broncos will have a pre-draft conference call with LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton.
NFL teams won’t have pre-draft meetings with draft prospects this year due to COVID-19. In the place of in-person meetings, the Broncos will hold conference calls and video calls with prospects leading up to the draft.
One of the first prospects Denver will have a call with is LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton, according to a report from Draft Wire’s Justin Melo.
Fulton (6-0, 197 pounds) ran a 40-yard dash in 4.46 seconds and ran a 20-yard shuttle in 4.36 seconds at the combine. NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has compared Fulton to Quincy Wilson, who was a second-round pick in 2017.
During his final two years with the Tigers, Fulton totaled 54 tackles, two interceptions, 20 pass breakups and one forced fumble.
Fulton is the second-best cornerback in this year’s class, according to Draft Wire’s post-combine rankings. Ohio State’s Jeff Okudah is the only cornerback ranked higher than Fulton.
The Bears have a vacant starting CB spot opposite Kyle Fuller, and perhaps LSU’s Kristian Fulton could fill that role.
While defense isn’t the Bears biggest concern this offseason, they do have two starting spots to fill in the secondary at cornerback and safety.
The Bears have been focused on bringing in competition at both cornerback and safety this offseason, but they’re likely to turn to the NFL Draft for some young talent, as well.
LSU cornerback Kristian Fulton is someone the Bears appear to be interested in, as he has or will hold a pre-draft meeting over FaceTime with several teams including the Bears, according to Draft Wire’s Justin Melo.
The Bears released veteran cornerback Prince Amukamara as a cap-casualty earlier this offseason, and now they’re looking for his replacement opposite Pro Bowler Kyle Fuller.
Chicago has signed former CFL star Tre Roberson and former first-round pick Artie Burns to compete with third-year corner Kevin Toliver for the job. But it wouldn’t be a surprise to find a young prospect in the mix for the spot.
Fulton’s versatility and instincts in coverage make him an intriguing prospect for NFL teams. While some have hyped Fulton as a Day 1 pick, many believe he’s more likely to go in the second round, which would put the Bears in a good place to land him with one of their two second-round selections.
Fulton projects to be a starting cornerback that could see significant playing time in his rookie season. But if the Bears were to draft Fulton, he’d have to compete with a handful of cornerbacks for the starting job.
