2021 NFL Draft: Teams that should consider wide receiver early
New Orleans Saints
It was unfortunate for the New Orleans Saints to fall short of their goal of the Super Bowl for the fourth year in a row where they had a legitimate chance at reaching it. Especially since future Hall of Famer Drew Brees decided to retire. This ultimately puts the Saints at a crossroads because they have an extremely talented roster, but have a giant question mark at the quarterback position.
After giving both new deals this offseason there will likely be a competition between Taysom Hill and former first overall pick Jameis Winston to decide who is the starting quarterback for the Saints for 2021 and possibly beyond. Many believe that Winston will become the team’s starter and Hill will revert to the role he has had the past couple of seasons as a swiss army knife offensive player.
A few positions the Saints could address during the draft include cornerback, linebacker, and defensive tackle. But a sneaky need the Saints could address early is wide receiver. The Saints’ offense was not as dominant with Michael Thomas out of the lineup for a majority of the season.
Both Emmanuel Sanders and Tre’Quan Smith struggled to be the Saints’ number one receiver at times. Smith has struggled to be a reliable second receiver for the Saints offense the past few seasons which is why the Saints brought in Sanders in the first place. Now that Sanders has been cut and now is a member of the Buffalo Bills, New Orleans only has Smith, Marquez Callaway, and Deonte Harris behind Michael Thomas.
New Orleans Saints
Michael Thomas is one of the best receivers in the league at making plays across the middle of the field or making contested catches. The perfect compliment to Thomas would be a receiver who may not be the biggest but uses speed to stretch the field. During Jameis Winston’s final season in Tampa Bay, he thrived throwing the ball deep downfield to receivers who had breakaway speed that can outrun defenders. Both Chris Godwin and Breshad Perriman put up career highs that season.
It would be hard to imagine the Saints drafting a pass catcher in the early rounds that doesn’t bring some type of versatility to the table or thrives on certain types of plays. Sean Payton is one of the most creative play-callers in the league. If Payton is going to draft a receiver early in the 2021 NFL Draft it will be because he already has an idea of the type of plays he will run with that receiver.
Since the Saints have a question mark at quarterback it would be important for the Saints to add a player who makes plays on their own. Last season when Taysom Hill started a couple of games for the Saints both Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara were essentially neutralized and were not able to have the same production they usually would under a traditional quarterback.
Wide Receiver options for the New Orleans Saints from the 2021 NFL Draft:
- Draft Kadarius Toney (Flordia) with pick #28
- Draft Tutu Atwell (Louisville) with pick #60