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

AdamTrautman needs to step it up for the Saints.

As mentioned, it’s rare for the Saints to not come out of the draft without adding at least one playmaker. In 2020, Adam Trautman earned that honor.

In fact, the team traded all of their Day 3 picks in that draft to move up to select him, which is quite the amount to invest on a singular player. Thus, they clearly saw something in him coming out of Dayton, and the numbers would agree:

Yes, it came at Dayton, but a 94.2 PFF grade is absurd efficiency, and he also performed well at the Senior Bowl. Meanwhile, albeit in a limited role, he still did total 171 receiving yards and 10.7 yards/target as a rookie, which is respectable since he didn’t factor much in the passing game.

Now, however, expectations will be much greater for Trautman. The developmental curve for tight ends means it generally takes until their second or third season to settle in, so it was optimal for the Saints to draft him before needing him to be a starter.

With 4.8 40-yard dash speed, he’s limited to being much more of an intermediate target who breaks tackles after the catch, but his sure-handedness over the middle will be a nice complement for their offense. While not a game-breaker, he profiles well as a starting tight end moving forward.