Saints connected to Derek Carr successor who could take over sooner rather than later

Despite being an starting quarterback for a decade, you and I have won as many division titles for a NFL team as Derek Carr has. Yes, a lot of that has to do with playing for the Oakland/Las Vegas Raiders. However, Carr was brought into the New Orleans Saints franchise to be a lesser version of Drew Brees. The Saints came up short of making the NFC playoffs for the third year since he retired.

Carr is one of the most polarizing starting quarterbacks in the NFL. At times, he can play like a top-eight player at his position group. Other weeks, are we sure he is even top 24? For the most part, Carr slots in comfortably in the top 12 to top-18 range, which is good enough to start for most teams, but never enough to lead your favorite team to the promised land. Teams are always looking to upgrade.

That is precisely what Bucky Brooks of NFL Network tried to do. He put three dudes on a team, bruh. While getting Oregon quarterback Bo Nix onto the Denver Broncos at No. 12 makes a lot of sense, as does Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. a pick later to the Silver and Black, look at who he has going to the Saints in the middle part of the draft: Spencer Rattler out of South Carolina.

Try to avoid seeing Nix as Mike Shanahan's long lost son in a Broncos uniform to look at Rattler in his.

Rattler is not a first-round prospect, but he would be a great selection for someone in day-two or so.

Can Spencer Rattler be the heir apparent to Derek Carr in New Orleans?

I wrote about this a little over a week ago. Apparently, New Orleans isn't the only NFC South franchise who could look to draft Rattler out of South Carolina. My Atlanta Falcons could be in play for him as Kirk Cousins insurance in the latter part of his four-year contract. Atlanta still has Taylor Heinicke under contract for this season as a backup, but whoever drafts Rattler could be getting a bargain!

With Carr under contract for the next three seasons, what happens if the Saints get leapt by the Falcons in the NFC South race and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers don't go away easy? Carr will get raked over the coals for being a highly compensated quarterback in a division with overachievers like Cousins and Baker Mayfield, as well as a blue-chipper coming out of college in the tiny Bryce Young.

New Orleans has an out in Carr's contract after 2025. It would be a $28.674 million dead cap hit. That seems like a lot of money, but inflation is an unrelenting beast. In a world with an expanding salary cap, that big number could look considerably smaller this time roughly two years from now. By that point, maybe Rattler is ready to be the NFL starter we all thought he would be while at Oklahoma?

Rattler's college career was tumultuous, but he was a highly-rated prospect coming out of high school in Greater Phoenix. His Oklahoma tenure ended horribly, but I saw him mature quite a bit playing for a mediocre South Carolina team the last two years. He has been humbled and is ready for the next big chapter in his life. Truth be told, we could probably argue the same thing for the Saints.

If the Saints miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row, you cannot bring back head coach Dennis Allen. Frankly, you might want to move on from general manager Mickey Loomis. If you can get Terry Fontenot to come back home from Atlanta, that would add yet another wrinkle into the NFC South's most hated rivalry. By that point, no one will want to stand by their man Carr. Bring in The Rattlesnake!

Of the handful of quarterbacks who will not go in the first round this year, keep a keen eye on Rattler.