Leader could be emerging in Saints QB race

Rattler is competing with 2025 second-round pick Tyler Shough and 2023 fourth-rounder Jake Haener. Last season, Rattler, a 2024 fifth-round selection, appeared in seven games and finished the year 130-of-228 (57 percent) for 1,317 yards (5.8 yards per attempt), four touchdowns and five interceptions.

The Saints lost all six of his starts, and the offense averaged a pathetic 12.3 points per game. New Orleans was outscored, 196-74, or by an average of 20.3 points per game.

While it's still early in training camp, first-year head coach Kellen Moore's decision to roll with Rattler on the first-team offense indicates he won't simply hand the job to Shough, who was widely expected to take the reins of the starting unit after becoming the Saints highest-drafted quarterback since Archie Manning was selected at No. 2 overall in 1971. (The Saints picked quarterback Dave Wilson with the first pick in the 1981 Supplemental Draft.)

New Orleans opens its preseason on Sunday against the Los Angeles Chargers. On Wednesday, the team will travel to L.A., and it will remain on the West Coast for 10 days before returning to New Orleans ahead of a preseason Week 2 home game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

A lot can change from now to the start of the regular season on Sept. 7, but it's beginning to look like the Saints' starting quarterback role belongs to Rattler.