Former South Carolina star Spencer Rattler had to wait until the fifth round before his name was called in the NFL Draft, but it appears as though he has ended up in a good spot.
The Saints eventually selected Rattler with the No. 150 overall pick. The plan is to give him an opportunity to compete for the starting job, according to head coach Dennis Allen.
“The plan is that he comes in and really basically competes, and we’ll let the cards kind of play out as they do,” Dennis Allen told Rich Eisen.
Starting quarterback Derek Carr is back for the Saints, but the 33-year-old has been inconsistent in recent years. That could give Rattler a chance to win the job if he performs well during the preseason.
Six quarterbacks were selected in the first 12 picks of the NFL Draft, before Spencer Rattler was the next QB off the board, taken with the No. 150 pick. Allen feels like the Saints got a steal.
“I think we were excited about the fact that we got into the fifth round and he was still there. From where we had him graded on our board, we felt like this player was probably more of a second or third round talent,” Allen said. “And the fact that he was still sitting there in the fifth round, I think a lot of that has to do with the fact that there were six quarterbacks already taken in this draft.
“And that’s a little bit of a unique position in terms of the draft. So the fact that he fell all the way to us in the fifth round, we were really excited about that.”
The Saints were thought to be in the running for a quarterback in the first round, but they ended up taking Oregon State offensive lineman Taliese Fuaga in the first round at No. 14 overall instead.
The top six quarterbacks were all off the board at that point, which Allen was happy about. Despite there being talk that New Orleans wanted a QB in the first round, Allen loved the way the draft played out.
“The reality is I was kind of excited to see all of the quarterbacks go, because at the spot that we were picking at, quarterback was not a high priority at that spot,” Allen said. “So when you see some quarterbacks going, that means they’re pushing some other players down the board to you.”
That left Spencer Rattler for the Saints to draft in the fifth round. Allen believes he has a bright future in New Orleans.
“He’s got tremendous talent. And now it’s just about getting him in here, teaching him the things that we want him to know and being able to execute the things that we want him to be able to execute,” Allen said.
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