Travel restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic have resulted in NFL teams conducting interviews with draft prospects over video chat services such as FaceTime, and the New Orleans Saints are no exception. It’s nobody’s preference, of course; teams typically fly in 30 prospects for tours of their facilities, private workouts, and one-on-one meetings with position coaches and front office staff. But like other teams, the Saints are working to remain innovative, doing what they can to keep this hurdle from slowing them down.
Justin Melo over at Draft Wire reports that the Saints have spoken with two different linebackers recently, including Colorado prospect Davion Taylor and California’s Evan Weaver. Both players have also touched base with other teams, which isn’t unusual. By the end of this process, just about every draft-eligible prospect will have contacted each team in the NFL.
Weaver (6-foot-2, 237 pounds) was the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2019, following a senior season in which he racked up 181 total tackles (103 solo, 11.5 for loss of yards), 2.5 sacks, and forced a pair of fumbles. He has been a big part of the Golden Bears defense throughout his college career but played his best football the last two seasons as a starter. He’s likely to be picked on the final day of the draft but could go late in the third round if a team like the Saints rates him highly.
Taylor (6-foot-0, 228 pounds) is a better athlete than Weaver, thanks to a background in track and field as well as football; it showed up at the combine when he clocked the 40-yard dash in just 4.49 seconds against Weaver’s 4.76 time. But he brings a smaller body of work against top competition, having played just two years at Colorado after transferring from the junior college ranks. He’s projected to be drafted in rounds four through seven on the third day, if at all, and his evaluation largely depends on how well teams think he can bulk up to NFL standards without sacrificing his movement skills.
