Saints put Derek Carr on notice with Day 3 flier at quarterback

The New Orleans Saints signed Derek Carr to a four-year, $150 million deal ahead of the 2023 season hoping that he could help lead them to a NFC South title. Sure, the Saints were far from stacked on paper and were in cap misery, but the NFC South was profiled as the worst division in football. Adding Carr to some nice pieces on that Saints team made them an intriguing team to watch.

Well, year one of Carr in New Orleans didn't quite work out as expected. He wasn't awful as he completed 68.4 percent of his throws and threw for 25 touchdowns and eight interceptions, but he only had 3,875 yards in the air and the Saints only won nine games. They missed out on the postseason as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the division.

This past season Carr proved that he's fine under center, but is far from the game-changer New Orleans was hoping he'd be. The Saints are stuck with him for at least a couple of more years, but they might have drafted a player who can fill in sooner than later in Spencer Rattler.

Spencer Rattler selection could put Derek Carr on notice with Saints

Carr is 33 years old and is far from the elite quarterback he was in 2021 when he threw for nearly 5,000 yards and led the Raiders to the playoffs. He's still a capable starter, but how long that will be the case remains to be seen. The Saints are hoping they catch lightning in a bottle with Rattler.

The Saints selected Rattler in the fifth round, No. 150 overall in the 2024 NFL Draft. He's the first quarterback to come off the board since the Broncos inexplicably selected Bo Nix with the No. 12 pick of the first round.

Rattler is coming off a decent season with South Carolina, completing 68.9 percent of his throws for 3,186 yards. He had 19 passing touchdowns compared to eight interceptions. He might not be the top prospect he once was, but he has incredible arm talent and is a worthwhile risk for New Orleans to take, especially with a Day 3 pick.

Rattler won't start right away, but he can learn from the veteran before potentially taking over if Carr struggles or gets injured. The fact that he's 23 with all kinds of arm talent suggests that he might be NFL-ready sooner than later.