What You Need to Know:

• Trautman’s 2nd season couldn’t have gone much worse, starting with a pair of medicall setbacks. First came a pilondial cyst that required surgery, pausing his training for about a month. Just as he was about to return, Trautman developed appendicitis. That required another operation and cost him another 3 weeks.
• “It was like a seven-week span where I couldn’t do anything.”
• An August ankle sprain cost him the final few weeks of preseason training and helped slow his start to the regular season.
• A November MCL sprain cost him 3 games. Trautman would miss a 4th after a positive COVID test. He says none of last year’s physical issues has carried over to 2022.
• This has been the 1st full offseason for the 3rd-year player.
• TEs coach Dan Roushar calls Trautman “one of the better blocking tight ends in this league.” That will obviously help Trautman get onto the field, especially in an offense that ranked 3rd most run-heavy last year and 5th most run-heavy in 2020.
• Here’s what Roushar had to say about Trautman’s passing-game potential: “There were a lot of plays to be made that he didn’t make. We don’t think that’s really who he is. As time went on, at the back end of the year, you started seeing him make those plays. Unfortunately, an injury occurs and we lose a few games with him. If we can make him a more valuable commodity in the passing game, he opens up another element to this offense that we need. And he needs to demonstrate that consistently.”
• The Saints traded picks 130 (overall), 169, 203 and 244 to move up to 105 and select Trautman late in Round 3 in 2020.
• Trautman led Dayton in receiving in each of his final 3 seasons, after switching from QB to TE upon arrival.
• Pro Football Focus graded him the top receiving TE in the country in 2019 and credited him with more “explosive plays” (gains of 15+ yards) than anyone else at the position. His 27 such plays actually marked the 2nd-largest total for any TE among PFF-charted college seasons to that point.
• Despite a lack of production at the position last season, the Saints added only low-level journeymen J.P. Holtz and Kahale Warring, and undrafted rookie Lucas Krull in the offseason. The passing offense also added WR Jarvis Landry and WR Chris Olave, and expects Michael Thomas back from a 2-year ankle injury.

Draft Sharks Bottom Line:

Trautman hasn’t given us reason to believe that a big breakout is coming. But he has also done so little through 2 seasons that the price to acquire him has nearly bottomed out. He remains the best bet on the Saints roster to become a well-rounded TE. His blocking has come along well, and Trautman’s college record shows potential for receiving upside. Targets might be spread thin if New Orleans doesn’t jump its passing volume vs. the past 2 years. But the talent at WR also has the potential to help create space for Trautman to work. Keep him in mind as a late 3rd TE in best ball and deep stash or “watch” player elsewhere.