Different reasons have come up as to why Spencer Rattler fell to the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft. ESPN’s Adam Schefter has his own thoughts on the slide, though, based on what he has head from sources around the league.
Schefter answered a question about Rattler’s slip to the 150th pick during ‘The Pat McAfee Show’ on Monday. He explained that two teams, Denver and Atlanta, were both interested in Rattle with selections on Day 2. However, since they both took quarterbacks in the opening round, that led Rattler to drop all the way to Saturday.
“You know what I think it was with Spencer Rattler more than anything else? The two teams that liked him most, in my mind based on the people I spoke to, were the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons. I think they had a mid-second, early-third round grade on him,” explained Schefter. “Spencer Rattler’s big problem there was that the Broncos went Bo Nix at 12, the Falcons went Michael Penix at eight. His two best options closed up immediately, which left him sitting on the board longer than a lot of people think.”
This conversation stemmed from a separate report by Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network. He noted how Rattler’s appearance on QB1: Beyond The Lights, a series on Netflix during his time in high school, did not portray in a positive light to teams. ESPN’s Pete Thamel also had updates of his own about Rattler’s work ethic and attitude. South Carolina’s Shane Beamer then had some things to say in response to that one.
Still, even for all that potentially working against him, a game of musical chairs was what cost Rattler to Schefter. Penix Jr. got one chair with the Falcons before Nix got the other with the Broncos. Rattler was then still there without one until the New Orleans Saints came calling.
These words from different reporters could have all had varying levels of truth behind why Rattler fell in this draft. However, for Schefter, he just thinks it had more to do with the circumstances of some of the teams who liked him most rather than anything about Rattler himself
“I think that had as much to do with it as anything else,” Schefter said. “You can talk about all the other factors but there were some people on some teams. And I know this because I asked them before the draft. How high do you think Spencer Rattler is going to go? ‘Ah, mid-second, early-third’. Well, the problem was two potential landing spots closed up really quick. That caused him, in my mind, to slide further than a lot of people thought he would.
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