Saints Draft Outlook: Quarterback

Could the Saints actually look at drafting a quarterback with one of their picks? The case for it and against it, and who might be available to them.

Author:
John Hendrix
Publish date:
Apr 10, 2023 8:34 AM EDT

In this story:

New Orleans Saints

We're less than three weeks away from the NFL Draft, and a ton of eyes will be on what the Saints do on opening night when Apr. 27 rolls around. New Orleans has some interesting decisions to make on how they'll approach their pick at No. 29, and it remains to be seen whether or not they'll be aggressive and move up to take the prospect they want.

There seems to be some intrigue at the quarterback position despite Derek Carr being the unquestioned starter. The Saints have also had several prospects in on visits. It begs the question, could New Orleans draft another quarterback?

Current Depth Chart: Derek Carr, Jameis Winston, Jake Luton, Taysom Hill

Draft Prospect Outlook

Day 1 Options: Hendon Hooker (Tennessee)
Day 2 Options: Tanner McKee (Stanford), Malik Cunningham (Louisville)
Day 3 Options: Clayton Tune (Houston), Jake Haener (Fresno State), Aidan O'Connell (Purdue), Jaren Hall (BYU)
Priority UDFAs: Grayson McCall (Coastal Carolina), Tyson Bagent (Shepherd)

THE CASE FOR DRAFTING: If you want to look at it this way, the Saints backup spot is really where you would look here. Jameis Winston is a solid option behind Derek Carr, but one of the things that you might be able to say is that Winston's outlook could get interesting. He obviously returned to New Orleans for several reasons, but mainly focusing on being healthy.

If Winston can ensure that he gets back to 100 percent and shines in training camp and the preseason, perhaps there could be a market for him to become available to trade to a quarterback-needy team. Of course, that would be assuming that New Orleans would draft a quarterback that could be learn more behind Carr and be better than Winston.

THE CASE FOR NOT DRAFTING: There's no quarterback controversy this season. This is Derek Carr's team, and Jameis Winston is one of the the best insurance policies out there. New Orleans shouldn't be worrying about drafting a quarterback to sit on the bench to learn, develop, and grow. Those picks are better spent elsewhere, and if you drafted a quarterback high, they're going to presumably sit on the bench for several years before they even get a real look. Of course, we've seen how unfortunate the Saints have been at the position for the past couple of years.

Overall, spending a pick on a quarterback at No. 29 or No. 40 really doesn't seem logical. If you used a Day 2 or 3 pick on a quarterback, that may make a little more sense. However, is the pick going to be a project or better than what you might have with a Jake Luton who has been around for a bit? There's also that Taysom Hill guy on the roster that the Saints have said they'll have a better idea to deploy in the offense next season. The track history for the Saints isn't encouraging when it comes to the quarterback spot. Just look what happened with Ian Book from 2021, who the team used a fourth-round pick on.