3 players the New Orleans Saints should avoid in the upcoming NFL Draft

Number Three: Laviska Shenault Jr.

Laviska Shenault is a six-foot-one wide receiver who played his college football at the University of Colorado.

Shenault is a solid receiver, but injuries raise a giant red flag. Without question, Shenault has the athleticism and speed to perform at the NFL level, but his injury history should keep him off the Saints’ draft board.

Shenault was extremely limited at the 2020 NFL Combine due to injury, and following the event, he was reported to have had core muscle surgery.

The surgery sidelined Shenault for five and a half weeks, putting a hold on him gearing up for his transition into the NFL. Shenault has also missed significant playing time over the past two seasons at Colorado and it will likely be the same case in the NFL.

The Saints have had a ton of recent history with receiver injuries, including ones to Tre’Quan Smith and Keith Kirkwood.

Shenault also isn’t an NFL ready wide receiver. Shenault is not a polished route runner which is a need in the NFL, especially a wide receiver loaded NFC South. He also will struggle with his durability.

He is almost too powerful for his own good oftentimes opting to try to run a defender over rather than running out of bounds or using other finesse moves.

Shenault will need to polish himself up at the next level and he certainly has potential, but the Saints need a guy who can contribute from day one.