Saints sign former college receiver Jalen McCleskey

In the latest move for the black and gold, the Saints decided to sign former Oklahoma State and Tulane receiver Jalen McCleskey to their 53-man roster. McCleskey will be similar to the receivers they added late in the offseason last year.

McCleskey spent four years with Oklahoma State and his fifth-year senior year with Tulane. While in Oklahoma, McCleskey caught 167 receptions for 1,865 yards and 17 touchdowns in 42 games throughout that four-year span.

He then transferred to Tulane when he played the fifth year. During that 2019 season, McCleskey hauled in 37 receptions for 581 yards and four touchdowns. None of those are season highs for the receiver, but it was still a good year.

The Saints’ latest addition to their team is former Tulane receiver, Jalen McCleskey. How will this addition benefit the team?

Jalen is not the first McCleskey to put on the black and gold uniform. His father, J.J. McCleskey, was drafted by the Saints in 1994 and played two seasons and part of a third in New Orleans before moving on to play the rest of his career in Arizona as a defensive back.

J.J. left New Orleans with only 32 games played and one interception. He didn’t leave a huge mark on the city, but this is still a signing of heritage for the Saints. Hopefully, Jalen will offer the Saints higher production over a longer period of time.

McCleskey is joining a roster with Michael Thomas, Tre’Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, Juwan Johnson, Marquez Callaway, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Jake Lampman. There will be a bit of training camp position battling between McCleskey and the wide receivers.

The Saints will continue to add players like Jalen McCleskey as training camp and the new season draws closer. Then they will take what they have, evaluate it, and start cutting their roster down to the appropriate size.

Will Jalen McCleskey start the season on the team? That’s the next important question.