The QB gap in this draft lasted from Nos. 12 to 150, but the Saints are stopping the drought. They will be the team to bring in Spencer Rattler, doing so with their fifth-round pick. This draft’s first passer chosen since Bo Nix on Thursday night, Rattler will head to a Saints team that moved on from Jameis Winston this offseason.
In a top-heavy quarterback draft class, Rattler was the next man up after the draft’s top six passers. Rattler is used to this type of treatment at this point. As a consensus five-star recruit coming out of Pinnacle HS (AZ), Rattler, the top quarterback in the class of 2019, was immediately in the spotlight as one of the three stars of the TV show "QB1: Beyond the Lights." Once he got to Oklahoma, though, he was forced backstage as new transfer arrival from Alabama Jalen Hurts took the starting job at quarterback.
After redshirting behind Hurts, Rattler got the spotlight again, starting as a redshirt freshman for the Sooners. Throwing for 3,031 yards, 28 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while rushing for six more scores, Rattler earned freshman All-American honors. In his second year as a starter, though, Rattler struggled to find the same success. He had an impressive 74.9 completion percentage but often made poor decisions, resulting in turnovers. It didn’t help that he had five-star freshman, and eventual No. 1 overall pick, Caleb Williams breathing down his neck.
After getting benched for Williams in 2021, Rattler entered the transfer portal, finding his way to South Carolina. He would start the next two years as a team captain for the Gamecocks, though his stats would never quite reach the success of his redshirt freshman year.
Rattler enters an interesting situation in New Orleans. Derek Carr is firmly planted atop the depth chart, so Rattler will be competing for a backup job for the Saints. Tight end, and sometimes quarterback, Taysom Hill remains as an option for New Orleans on the roster, but the Saints have also brought in Nathan Peterman and Kellen Mond this offseason.
Peterman has the experience over Rattler, but his experience has been far from impressive at times. Mond has been in the league for three years, though he doesn’t have much to show for it as a former third-round pick. The Saints have chosen to look past some perceived personality issues to take Rattler, so it will be up to the 23-year-old quarterback to show more upside than Peterman or Mond. If he can, Rattler may be able to earn a roster spot as a rookie, instead of being subject to free agency and a practice squad.
Ely Allen contributed to this post.
More must-reads: