We’ve got a long ways to go before the 2020 NFL Draft is something to mull over. But the 2019-2020 college football season is nearly upon us, so it’s a good time to brush up on which college players are making noise and might be worth watching on Saturdays this fall.
Anything less than a Super Bowl victory would feel like a disappointment to New Orleans Saints fans, and unfortunately the betting odds have them in the middle of a pack of contenders, rather than standing tallest as outright favorites. With most mock draft drafts deciding pick order by the latest win total odds from Las Vegas, that puts the Saints at the twenty-ninth overall slot.
With all that in mind, here’s what happend in the first preseason mock-up from PFF lead draft analyst Mike Renner. He has the Saints selecting Vanderbilt Commodores tight end prospect Jared Pinkney:
Pinkney’s receiving ability is right up there with last year’s top-10 pick T.J. Hockenson’s. While Pinkney isn’t near the blocker that Hockenson is, the Vanderbilt tight end is arguably a more polished route-runner already. He broke nine tackles on 50 catches last season.
Pinkney looks as if he were tailor-made for the Saints offense. Towering at 6-foot-4, 255 pounds, the former high school wide receiver recruit has steadily put on weight and taken on a bigger role in the Commodores offense. He peaked as a redshirt junior in 2018, posting career-bests in snaps played (762), targets (81), receptions (50), receiving yards (770), and touchdown catches (7). He’s versatile, too — 519 of his snaps (68.1%) came as an in-line tight end, with 182 (23.9%) seeing him out in the slot.
In many ways, Pinkney resembles a tight end very familiar to Saints fans right now: Jared Cook. It’s been quite some time since Cook played in college, but he entered the NFL as a bulked-up wide receiver recruit who was known for his crisp routes and impressive body control. He’d be a perfect understudy for Cook, whose two-year contract with the Saints will expire after the 2020 season.
