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Lil’Jordan Humphrey had a quiet, unremarkable, and nearly forgettable rookie season for the Saints. Initially, the Saints waived Humphrey on August 31st and signed him to their practice squad the very next day.
The former University of Texas wide receiver was then promoted to the active roster on September 18th before appearing in games against the Cowboys, Jaguars, and Bears. He was targeted only once, against the Cowboys, but failed to register a catch.
Humphrey was later waived again on October 26th. He cleared waivers and was then re-signed to the Saints’ practice squad. Before the final game of the season, when Michael Thomas was hampered by a finger injury, the Saints activated Humphrey to bolster the 53 man roster. He was on the active roster for the playoff loss as well.
Humphrey finished the season with no catches and an overall PFF rating of 52.0.
Standing tall at 6’4” and 225 pounds, while boasting a decent for his size 4.47 second 40 yard dash time, Humphrey played running back before being converted to wide receiver at Texas. So, it’s important to remember he’s only played this position for three years in college and one in the pros.
He showed lots of growth and promise between his sophomore and junior years in college, but his limited professional experience is too small a sample size to adequately rate at the moment. Now that Humphrey is back on the roster, he has a chance to fight for a roster spot next season.
The competition is expected to be tougher, however, as the 2020 NFL wide receiver draft class in rumored to be as deep as the 2014 draft class which included Odell Beckham Jr, Jarvis Landry, Mike Evans, Brandin Cooks, Sammy Watkins, John Brown, and Allen Robinson.
The Saints would be wise to consider using their 24th overall pick to select a wide receiver who can alleviate some of the pressure off of #1 receiver Michael Thomas.
Tre’Quan Smith has shown glimmers of promise, but injuries this past season slowed his development into a true #2 receiver. Ted Ginn Jr. was a shell of himself and Keith Kirkwood ended another promising year on injured reserve.
A roster spot for the Saints’ #2 wide receiver is totally up for grabs, but we are months away from seeing if Humphrey has a chance to grab it for good.