The Saints aren’t a serious contender in the 2023 NFL draft quarterback sweepstakes, but they still have their hook and bait in the water.
woohoo! The New Orleans Saints have their quarterback of the future in Derek Carr, right? To the right??
Not so fast.
About a month after Carr signed to anchor their quarterback room for the next four years, New Orleans is reportedly receiving a planned late-round QB prospect for a visit: Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker.
#Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker is flying in today for a visit to the #saints tomorrow, the source said. After a clean cruciate ligament tear, Hooker’s prospects for the 2023 season are positive. New Orleans votes May 29th
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) April 3, 2023
“Oh‘ is the most natural way to respond to this message. As in, “Oh… didn’t know the Saints were already looking for Carr’s replacement.” Or “Oh… I think the Saints front office is more confused than we thought.”
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport implies the Saints could make their 29th pick overall on Hooker, but picking a development prospect so early in the draft might not go as well as NOLA thinks. What exactly is the franchise thinking? Let’s imagine for a moment being a bug in Dennis Allen’s office.
Saints walk a fine line between folly and sanity with Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker
The Saints have Carr under contract for the next four years, and when he was signed all thoughts of NOLA drafting a quarterback in early 2023 seemingly vanished. But Carr’s contract is structured in such a way that the Saints have an out after two years if they want to take him; Should Carr not perform the same, NOLA would make a prudent decision to draft a developmental talent like Hooker now and prepare him to take over the starter by 2025 or so.
With that in mind, the Saints may be working on a contingency plan to keep the team competitive even if Carr doesn’t live up to their standards for the next few years. That sounds reasonable enough, but taking a Plan Z quarterback late in the first round feels like… overkill.
New Orleans hasn’t drafted a quarterback in the top-100 since 2015, when the team gave Garrett Grayson a shot at 75th overall.
The franchise has admittedly suffered from quarterback instability since Drew Brees retired and could see a golden opportunity in 2023 to take on a promising candidate who is arguably ranked as the fifth-best quarterback in this year’s class.
Is Hooker worth this first round pick?
Hooker is coming off a season-ending ACL injury and is 25 years old, which is considered senile for rookie quarterbacks. The Draft Network is projecting Hooker as a fourth-round pick most similar to Seahawks’ Geno Smith, and they’re not the only ones rating the former volunteer as a Day 2 or Day 3 pick.
For the Saints to pick Hooker in the first round, he would have to really impress the franchise when he visits. None of those one-throw-wonder videos like Zach Wilson. Like seriously impressing, and he’s not very good at that given his current state of health.
Maybe the Saints hosting Hooker are just a visit and nothing more. Maybe it’s a move to stoke the flames under Derek Carr and get him to play a little angrier in 2023 like he still has something to prove (he does).
Either way, New Orleans walks a fine line between making a outrageous decision and finding the franchise quarterback of the future. The franchise faced last year’s first-round picks Chris Olave and Trevor Penning — although the original trade with the Eagles was questionable — giving Dennis Allen and co. the benefit of the doubt for now.
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