The New Orleans Saints parted ways with Emmanuel Sanders this offseason and that now leaves a big hole at the No. 2 wide receiver spot. Michael Thomas is obviously the No. 1 option but as we saw last season, when he gets injured, there needs to be someone else who steps in and can be a reliable target.
Let’s take a look at the three likely options to be the Saints’ No. 2 receiver this season.
Saints WR2 Candidates – No. 3: Kawaan Baker
The Saints drafted just one receiver this year and it didn’t happen until the seventh round when they nabbed Kawaan Baker out of South Alabama. Who Dat Dish’s own Mervin Walls wrote how Baker could very well be the steal of the draft, noting,
"During his time at South Alabama, Baker hauled in 1,829 yards receiving, 16 touchdowns with an average of 14 yards per reception. At 6’1″ and 210 pounds, Baker displayed electrifying playmaking ability using speed and athleticism to find the end zone."
This past season, Baker hauled in 51 receptions for 659 yards and eight touchdowns while averaging 12.9 yards per reception. He was a force for the Jaguars and now looks to bring that explosiveness to the Saints’ offense.
It won’t be easy for Baker to climb his way up to the No. 2 wide receiver job as a seventh-round pick, but considering the success that Marquez Callaway — who went undrafted a year ago — has had in this same offense, anything is possible.
Saints WR2 Candidates – No. 2: Marquez Callaway
I mentioned Callaway on the previous slide how Callaway has been a huge surprise considering he went undrafted in the 2020 NFL Draft but here he is — Right in the thick of discussions for the No. 2 wide receiver gig in the Saints offense.
Callaway appeared in 11 games last year (starting three of them) and finished his rookie season with 21 receptions off of 27 targets for 213 yards. He averaged 10.1 yards per catch and despite not finding the end zone, showed he could make plays when needed. He recorded 10 first downs out of his 21 receptions, proving he can move the chains.
With Sanders now in Buffalo and no real threats joining the Saints this offseason, Callaway has a legitimate chance to be a starter for New Orleans. No one would have thought that could be the case when he went undrafted out of Tennessee, but we’re close to seeing it happen.
Callaway had 30 receptions for 635 yards and six touchdowns during his final year at Tennessee so if he can put up similar numbers to those (more receptions preferably), the Saints offense should do just fine this year.
Saints WR2 Candidates – No. 1: Tre’Quan Smith
The longest-tenured wide receiver on the Saints’ roster not named Michael Thomas is none other than Tre’Quan Smith who the Saints spent a third-round pick on in 2018. Smith is coming off his best year in the NFL, totaling 34 catches for 448 yards and four touchdowns.
Smith started the most games of his career this past season as well with 10. With Sanders out the door, the time has come for Smith to make a bigger impact as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. He didn’t have any games where he went for over 100 yards receiving last season but did have a two-touchdown game in Week 4 at Detroit.
The hope this year is that Smith can blossom into the WR2 that the Saints have desperately been searching for the past few years. He’ll probably be used in the slot and if so, hopefully, he can pack a punch there.
The former UCF product is the likeliest option to land the No. 2 wide receiver job but the jury is still out on Smith and what kind of a player he is.
The New Orleans Saints also have Deonte Harris, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, Juwan Johnson, Jake Lampman, Jalen McCleskey, and Easop Winston on their roster. None of these guys really have the WR2 potential but that doesn’t mean these guys won’t have their own roles with the team, even if it’s not as the No. 2 wide receiver.