New Orleans Saints: Lack of depth at wide receiver may be costly

The Saints found a steal in the seventh round with Kawaan Baker.

With the impact the Saints have gotten from their undrafted free agents, you’d imagine they’d expect the same from a seventh-round pick. Really, given the state of their receiving corps, they need Kawaan Baker to step up for them.

A relative unknown coming out of South Alabama, it’s easy to see what the Saints like in Baker. Despite playing in just 10 games last season, he posted 651 receiving yards as a senior and has been utilized as a rushing threat (251 rushing yards 2018) and as a returner (264 return yards 2020). With a very impressive relative athletic score of 9.08 out of 10 and a 4.41 40-yard dash, he’s quite the athlete, making him the ideal moldable project for Sean Payton.

Success as a runner, dynamic athlete, likely option in the slot, that sounds a lot like the hope for Deonte Harris. However, Baker would appear to be the much better option as an overall receiver.

Having both Harris and Baker on the roster is important, as Harris’ presence was missed greatly last year when he went down with an injury, and it will be exciting to see the two compete for a role as an overall “jitterbug” for this offense. There is definitely a path for Baker overachieving all expectations of a typical seventh-round pick.