NFL Rumors: Derek Carr won’t be happy about Saints pre-draft meetings

Despite leading the New Orleans Saints to a winning record in his first season with the team in 2023, Derek Carr left a lot of meat on the bone.

Carr signed a four-year, $150 million contract with the Saints last offseason a few weeks after he was released by the Las Vegas Raiders as a cap casualty, a move many thought would give New Orleans a positional advantage at quarterback and make them the team to beat in a weak NFC South division.

Considering how things unfolded last season, the Saints’ recent pre-draft meetings at the 2024 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis suggest New Orleans wasn’t thrilled with Carr’s performance last season, and he won’t be happy to hear about it.

NFL Rumors: Saints meet with QB Jayden Daniels, despite Derek Carr

The Saints are reportedly one of nine teams to have met with LSU’s Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Jayden Daniels at the combine Tuesday and Wednesday, per NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Daniels had a monster campaign his fifth year at college en route to leading the LSU Tigers to a 10-3 record and ReliaQuest Bowl appearance (which he didn’t play in), setting career highs across the board.

In 2023, Daniels completed 72.2 percent of his pass attempts for 3,812 yards, 40 touchdowns, and four interceptions, while rushing for 1,134 yards and an additional 10 scores through the ground, showing off his dynamic dual-threat ability.

Currently ranked as the No. 6 player on NFL Media analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s most recent 2024 NFL Draft prospect rankings, Daniels is not expected to be on the board when the Saints are on the clock with the fourteenth overall pick.

Is New Orleans willing to sacrifice substantial draft capital to move up in the draft and put themselves in a position to select Daniels, even though they don’t have a potential way out of Carr’s contract until 2026?