Tyler Shough should be siting at home smiling ear to ear at the news the New Orleans Saints brought in Georgia wide receiver Zachariah Branch for a private workout. ESPN's Field Yates broke the news Friday morning. Like Shough, Saints fans should be ecstatic about the potential addition of Branch. Like signing Travis Etienne, picking Branch brings speed and home run ability to the offense.
It's no secret the Saints need a wide receiver. Branch checks two boxes for the Saints. Branch would instantly provide them with a yards after the catch ability. It could additionally give the Saints a Rashid Shaheed replacement in the return game.
That's not an aspect lost on the Saints. In addition to positional drills, the Saints also put Branch through drills as a returner. Nice to se if they picked up Branch, the Saints already have their mind in the right place.
Zachariah Branch would be a dream come true for the Saints at 42
Branch isn't at play at 8, but he's a first round talent. There's a good chance he's selected in the back half of Round 1. That doesn't mean the Saints don't do their due dilligence on the prospect. Branch has the ability of a first round guy, but he isn't a lock. The Georgia product could just as easily fall to the second round. If he is on the board at pick 42, this would be great for the Saints in two distinct ways.
Over everything else, Branch specializes in yards after catch. He's a dynamic weapon with the ball in his hands that can turn 8 yards to 80 yards. As Yates mentioned, Branch's 536 yards after the catch is the second most yards among receivers in the draft class last season.
You go through the Saints roster, and a YAC guy is the one thing they don't have. Olave is your top guy who does it all. Vele is a big body possession player with some ability to get downfield as well. It's not his calling card, but he and Shough seemed quite comfortable converting third and longs last season. Behind them is multiple question marks. Branch would still have questions to answer, but he would step in with a ready made role.
On top of his ability as a receiver, Branch also gives the Saints a replacement for Rashid Shaheed as a return specialist. Branch’s most productive season was his freshman year at USC. In that season, he had a punt return and kick return touchdown. Branch wasn’t used much in this capacity in his final two years, but the ability is there.Â