New Orleans Saints: 5 receivers to target in the 2020 NFL Draft

Laviska Shenault

Another prospect that has been seen all over various draft boards is Laviska Shenault, a physical wideout out of Colorado.

Shenault is a pretty stereotypical physical receiver with his 6-foot-2, 220-pound frame, but he possesses more intelligence than a normal receiver with those attributes. Many are comparing his playstyle to that of Juju Smith-Schuster, and for good reason.

Unlike most receivers with his size, Shenault uses a combination of his physical presence and his sneaky speed to run some clean routes to beat defenders.

Once the ball is in his hands, forget about bringing him down with weak tackling or arm tackles. His vision and physical running style making him a tough tackle for even the strongest defenders.

The main drawback that analysts are citing as a reason to not draft Shenault is his history with injury this previous. His absence due to injury is one of the reasons for his minimal production this previous season, where he only gathered 721 yards and 4 touchdowns.

However, when Shenault was given his chance to shine, he was as consistent as his team could have hoped for. He has the ability to track the ball mid-route and bring down contested catches with his strong hands.

The concern about his proneness to injury could be resolved by removing him from the wildcat formation he ran often at Colorado, as well.

Overall, with Shenault, the Saints would be getting an efficient receiving option who could minimize the team’s turnovers and add another physical presence to the offense. He isn’t as fast as Reagor, but he adds a strong possession receiver with dangerous YAC potential.