The New Orleans Saints badly need to add talent at wide receiver, and LSU Tigers prospect Justin Jefferson might be the best possible fit for them in the 2020 NFL Draft class. Jefferson showed everything you’d hope to see in his final year with the Tigers, helping lead them to an undefeated record capped by a National Championship Game victory, but he sealed the deal with an impressive outing at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Jefferson nailed the 40-yard dash, finishing with a laser-timed official mark of 4.43 seconds (consistently running in the 4.4’s with hand-timed measurements). That proves that the breakaway speed Jefferson flashes in game tape isn’t a byproduct of scheme or system; he’s a naturally gifted athlete who the Saints badly need to help take some pressure off of Michael Thomas. Even if Thomas handled 185 targets with relative ease, the Saints offense has always been at its best with multiple viable threats through the air.
And Jefferson fits that description. He’s excelled in a similar offense conducted by former Saints assistant Joe Brady (now back in the NFL as Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator), playing with a style characterized by some observant Saints fans as “Willie Snead with more juice.” Jefferson specialized in winning on in-breaking routes out of the slot, attacking passes over the middle of the field and shedding wannabe tacklers for big gains throughout the year. That’s a skills set the Saints hoped to acquire in Cameron Meredith (who was cut down by a lingering knee injury) and haven’t really replicated since Snead left for the Baltimore Ravens a few years ago.
There’s no question whether Jefferson would be a great fit for the Saints. But after this combine performance, concerns have to surround whether he’ll even be available when the Saints go on the clock at No. 24.
