Kyle Sheets May Continue Good Fortune Of The New Orleans Saints With Overlooked Wideouts

A look at Slippery Rock star Kyle Sheets and his chance to add his name to the list of Saints receivers who were overlooked entering the NFL

Slippery Rock University wide receiver Kyle Sheets (5) pulls in a reception for a touchdown / rockathletics.com

The New Orleans Saints have had more success than any other NFL team with wide receivers that were late-round picks or undrafted altogether. Lance Moore (undrafted, cut by Browns) and Marques Colston (7th round) are two of the best receivers in franchise history. Deonte Harris (undrafted), Juwan Johnson (undrafted), and Rashid Shaheed (undrafted) have made significant impacts to the team. A.T. Perry (6th round) seems poised to add his name to that list.

Even Brandon Coleman, Marquez Callaway, Austin Carr, Emmanuel Butler, Keith Kirkwood, Kirk Merritt, and Shaq Davis have made the Saints active roster as undrafted rookies, with a couple of those players making a contribution. Bub Means, a fifth-round choice this year, hopes to make the type of impact that some of those other overlooked players did.

The Saints also brought in a few other undrafted rookies at receiver to compete for spots this offseason. Here's a closer look at one hopeful that could make some veterans on the depth chart sweat out a close competition for a job.

Kyle Sheets, WR - Slippery Rock

Slippery Rock University wide receiver Kyle Sheets (5) / Slippery Rock University and rockathletics.com

After graduating from Conneaut Area High School in northwest Pennsylvania, Kyle Sheets traveled just a short distance down the highway to star with a highly successful program at Slippery Rock University.

A two-time All-PSAC selection and AP Division II All-American, Sheets had 154 receptions for 2,440 yards and 29 touchdowns in 51 games for Slippery Rock. His 2023 campaign was especially impressive, catching 76 passes for 1,186 yards and 17 scores.

With good size (6'4" and 220-Lbs) and fluid athletic ability, Sheets was an excellent vertical threat in college. His long stride allows him to eat up cushions quickly and pull away on long routes. He has excellent ball-tracking ability with good build-up speed and adequate acceleration to make him a big-play threat.

Sheets can physically work off the line into his routes against the press and uses his body well to shield defenders from a throw. He has good reach and outstanding leaping ability to create a nice catch radius. His body control and ability to adjust to the pass is terrific, especially on back-shoulder throws.

Wide receiver Kyle Sheets (5) pulls in a touchdown pass for Slippery Rock University / Slippery Rock University and theonlinerocket.com

Obviously, Sheets must show that he can handle an expanded route tree and extreme jump in competition at the NFL level. With more straight-line speed than short-area quickness, Sheets needs better precision on his intermediate routes to get separation. As with all undrafted rookies, he'll also need to make a significant mark on special teams to stick on a roster.

The Saints are no strangers to developing wideouts from tiny or little-known colleges. Lance Moore (Toledo), Marques Colston (Hofstra), Emmanuel Butler (Northern Arizona), Deonte Harris (Assumption), Kirk Merritt (Arkansas State), Rashid Shaheed (Weber State), and Shaq Davis (South Carolina State) are proof of that.

Kyle Sheets is just the ninth Slippery Rock player to sign with an NFL team and the first since 2015. With New Orleans more so than any other franchise, he'll have an opportunity to earn a job regardless of the size of the program he played in college.

It will now be up to Sheets to cash in on the opportunity. Perhaps even adding his name with Moore, Colston, Harris, and Shaheed as emerging from obscurity into a key role in the NFL.