Draft Prospect - Leviska Shenault Jr. WR, Colorado (1 Viewer)

[Zack Lee]

God this is going to be an exciting draft for a team that drafts as well as we have the last few years. We will be able to stick to our BPA philosophy and still feel pretty confident we will end up with a playmaker at that position. If we come out of this draft with studs on oline, receiver and DB we are going to have an extremely strong and deep team. Especially if we can pick up a couple of mid tier free agents to help us stick to BPA even more so

 

[Slaw]

@Slaw recommended this site for draft prospect research. After checking it out, it will be the primary site I use for player research. 6 different guys have provided player profiles for Shenault. Link below. I have also quoted below different comments. Shenault was made for the current Saints team. He's like a WR version of Taysom due to his vesitality and lining up everywhere on offense.

Player profile link with different tabs for assessments.

Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Colorado

Junior, 6'2", 220 lbs

thedraftnetwork.com

Crabbs assessment of Shenault:






















Marino's assessment of Shenault:











Tulls assessment of Shenault:

I think I'm with you on Shenault. Could be the missing piece.

 

[Super44]

Might as well start looking towards the Draft, man this is a loaded Receiver group.. but this guy really jumps out on tape.



My goodness 6'2, 220 lbs, with that kind of playmaking instinct. I think he would be perfect in the Saints Offense. Love that he's just as dominant on the shorter possession routes the slants, curls, pivot routes, and screens with catching and transitioning seamlessly to get big time yards after the catch. He also has some amazing highlights running plays out of the Wild Cat... (interesting possibilities with him Taysom, and AK in the backfield at once?)

To me he's the 3rd best in this class outside of CeeDee Lamb, and Jeudy and I might even prefer him over Jeudy in this system. Thoughts?

He is an absolute man among boys. He will blow the scouts away.

 

[Super44]

The first question to always ask when trying to figure out the level of Saints interest in a WR is can he master Payton’s offense quickly. Seems that only Colston and Thomas were quick studies while most of the others notably Meacham and Tequan Smith took multiple years.

Tequan Smith? Even if we had a Tequan Smith, I do not think he would be any worse, than Tre'Quan Smith.

 

[ThrowbackSaintXXL]

We draft this kid n It’d make me feel a lot better when they more than likely bring Drew back. Seems exactly like the kinda WR he needs. Scrappy on the intermediate routes. Strong hands. Not exactly slow but not too fast for Drew’s musket arm. He’d be perfect

 

[HogsNSaints]

I love Shenault as a prospect, but he’d fall into the category for me of not a good fit for what the Saints can do right now. I understand the concept of taking talent over fit, but with the current roster being what it is, theres first round talents at WR I’d prefer.

He’s a lot like DJ Moore/Deebo Samuel. Hyper explosive as an athlete and his skill set will be served best by a vertical offense that he can threaten downfield, as well as being a weapon as a runner and in the screen game.

Again, plenty talented. But I would prefer guys like Justin Jefferson from hometown LSU, or KJ Hill from Ohio State. I think in the Saints offense, they would provide much more utility.

 

[SaintStephen1]

I just hope Payton doesn’t trade up for a WR. There are a dozen good ones available.

 

[Vega$$aint]

He reminds me of Cordarrelle Patterson

 

[Bespoke]

I love Shenault as a prospect, but he’d fall into the category for me of not a good fit for what the Saints can do right now. I understand the concept of taking talent over fit, but with the current roster being what it is, theres first round talents at WR I’d prefer.

He’s a lot like DJ Moore/Deebo Samuel. Hyper explosive as an athlete and his skill set will be served best by a vertical offense that he can threaten downfield, as well as being a weapon as a runner and in the screen game.

Again, plenty talented. But I would prefer guys like Justin Jefferson from hometown LSU, or KJ Hill from Ohio State. I think in the Saints offense, they would provide much more utility.

I can understand preferring other prospects but I definitely don't agree that he wouldn't fit into the Saints Offense.

At this point, especially if Drew is going to be the Quarterback for another season I think you need to get big, physical targets, who are fearless going over the middle, strong hands catchers with a high catch radius. Who possess Run after the catch ability.

Leviska was heavily featured on stops, curls, shallow crossers, WR screens at Colorado to get the ball in his hands quickly and let him do major damage after the catch.. those are staples in a West Coast Offense, and heavily run from the Saints Offense. Leviska is your proto-type outside X-receiver, with Slot versatility.

If Leviska has a weakness it would be lateral cutting, and that he doesn't have amazing hip fluidity on sharp cutting routes; but he still has good initial short area quickness to make up for it and just has playmaking instincts once he gets the ball in his hands. I don't see the Saints running a lot of sharp cutting double moves, or having a lot of routes outside the numbers with Drew at QB anyway.

I do like Justin Jefferson I think he has very reliable hands, and he's perfect running the quick slants and will not be afraid to go over the middle which is a plus in the Saints Offense.. but I think he's an early to mid 2nd rounder and the Saints do not have a Second round pick in this Draft... Definitely don't like KJ Hill's fit in the Saints offense, undersized receiver who doesn't particularly attack the ball, and gets pushed off his routes by press, cradle catcher.. Saints have had enough of those kind of receivers the past few years.

 

[HogsNSaints]

I can understand preferring other prospects but I definitely don't agree that he wouldn't fit into the Saints Offense.

At this point, especially if Drew is going to be the Quarterback for another season I think you need to get big, physical targets, who are fearless going over the middle, strong hands catchers with a high catch radius. Who possess Run after the catch ability.

Leviska was heavily featured on stops, curls, shallow crossers, WR screens at Colorado to get the ball in his hands quickly and let him do major damage after the catch.. those are staples in a West Coast Offense, and heavily run from the Saints Offense. Leviska is your proto-type outside X-receiver, with Slot versatility.

If Leviska has a weakness it would be lateral cutting, and that he doesn't have amazing hip fluidity on sharp cutting routes; but he still has good initial short area quickness to make up for it and just has playmaking instincts once he gets the ball in his hands. I don't see the Saints running a lot of sharp cutting double moves, or having a lot of routes outside the numbers with Drew at QB anyway.

I do like Justin Jefferson I think he has very reliable hands, and he's perfect running the quick slants and will not be afraid to go over the middle which is a plus in the Saints Offense.. but I think he's an early to mid 2nd rounder and the Saints do not have a Second round pick in this Draft... Definitely don't like KJ Hill's fit in the Saints offense, undersized receiver who doesn't particularly attack the ball, and gets pushed off his routes by press, cradle catcher.. Saints have had enough of those kind of receivers the past few years.

I agree on all the points you made on his ability and skill set, but given that profile I think he fits the mold of an NFL Z-receiver. I think you want to play him wide and off the line of scrimmage. Give him free release off the snap and give him the utility to move into the backfield on motion. The Z role within Sean Payton’s offense has always been primarily to threaten over the top, with the occasional sweep/screen. Brees’ diminishing arm strength has made that role significantly less effective than in prior years, and I think that’s why there’s the idea that Tre’Quan is not delivering on his draft stock. I think Tre’Quan is what he is, and can be a good deep ball receiver. His success (as well as Ginn’s) just depends on Brees having the arm to put it over the top.

While Shenault is no doubt a talent upgrade for what the Saints have at Z right now, I think the utility of the position from what the Saints ask of the role is being served. What has not been serviceable recently is the slot position in the Saints offense, when not served by Michael Thomas. Ideally, Thomas wouldn’t be asked to move around and be the primary on every play. He could play more and almost exclusively out wide as the X. When the Saints offenses have been at their best, they’ve had a capable receiver running the slot that could win immediately off the snap. I think quick separation with sharp routes from the slot is more important to the Saints right now, and I don’t think Shenault is the best fit for that. Great talent yes, but I don’t know if he’s best fit for New Orleans.