The New Orleans Saints felt like they got a steal in the 2024 NFL Draft when they selected QB Spencer Rattler in the fifth round. Rattler was a top high school QB prospect who was once regarded as a future 1st overall selection in the NFL. However, he lost his starting job at Oklahoma to Caleb Williams before transferring to South Carolina. Saints head coach Dennis Allen has already starting talking up the rookie signal caller ahead of training camp.
According to Allen, Rattler will be able to compete right away with entrenched starter Derek Carr.
“I think the plan is that he comes in and really basically competes and we'll let the cards kind of play out as they do,” Allen said. “We were excited about the fact that we got into the fifth round and he was still there. I think you know from where we had him graded on our board we felt like this player was probably more of a second or third round talent, and the fact that he was still sitting there in the in the fifth round I think a lot of that has to do with the fact there were six quarterbacks already taken in this draft uh 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 to the fifth round we're really excited about that, he's got tremendous talent.”
It is promising to hear that Rattler will immediately compete with Derek Carr in training camp. That doesn't mean that Rattler is automatically elevated off the bench, but he will have his chance to win the starting job away from Carr.
This quote also highlights how high the Saints are on Rattler as a prospect. The NFL does not have a good track record of 5th round QBs succeeding, but it helps to know that the Saints valued him as more of a 2nd- or 3rd-round talent.
Dennis Allen shoots down Marshon Lattimore trade rumors
Earlier this offseason there were several trade rumors surrounding Saints CB Marshon Lattimore.
Allen was quick to extinguish those rumors after the team returned for OTAs. According to Mike Triplett, Allen and Lattimore had a ‘positive conversation' and the team is ‘moving forward' with him. He did not come out and say the team is not trading Lattimore. However, it is easy to read in between the lines.
The Saints have no immediate plans to trade Lattimore and expect him to play in New Orleans this fall.
Saints lose defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon to Achilles injury
The Saints announced earlier this week that defensive end Tanoh Kpassagnon suffered a torn Achilles.
Injuries are never good news in the NFL, especially when it is an Achilles injury. New Orleans will have to scramble to find a replacement at defensive end, as Kpassagnon's season is likely over.
Kpassagnon turns 30 in a couple of weeks, which raises questions about the future of his career. Even with a speedy recovery, he would enter the 2025 season as a 31-year-old coming off a major injury.
New Orleans will need to lean on Chase Young, Payton Turner, and Isaiah Foskey to fill in for Kpassagnon.
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