Saints tight end Foster Moreau says the quarterback competition is wide-open in New Orleans. Truer words have seldom been spoken. I'm not interested in whoever wins, but I'll be very interested in streaming the defenses facing them.
Derek Carr retired, leaving New Orleans starting a youngster at quarterback. Second-rounder Tyler Shough is the favorite, but last year's fifth-rounder Spencer Rattler is a reasonable possibility. (The previous year's fourth-rounder, Jake Haener, must be mentioned, but the Saints pulled the plug on him so quickly last year I think it's fair to dismiss him from the mix.) It will be Shough or Rattler, and probably both will start a handful of games.
Either one is potentially appealing, at least to stream a defense against. Carr was a lesser matchup for opposing defenses, since he got the ball out of his hands quickly. To a fault; short completions that keep sacks down but don't do much to move the offense are of debatable value. What's remarkable is the wide disparity between what was happening when Carr was running the offense compared to the other quarterbacks on New Orleans' roster last year.
Carr took 8 sacks last year while attempting 279 passes, for a league-low sack percentage of just 2.8 percent. New Orleans' initial backup quarterback last year, Haener, took 6 sacks while attempting just 39 passes, for a league-worst sack percentage of 13.3 percent. Working behind the same line. Small wonder he was in the lineup very briefly.
New Orleans wound up giving Rattler a lot more work, but Rattler was only marginally better. He took 22 sacks on 228 pass attempts. That sack percentage of nearly 9 percent was 9th-worst among the 39 quarterbacks to attempt at least 200 passes last year.
| SACK PERCENTAGE, 2024 (200 ATTEMPTS) | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Cmp | Att | Yds | TD | Int | Sk | Sk% |
| Deshaun Watson | 137 | 216 | 1148 | 5 | 3 | 33 | 13.3 |
| Will Levis | 190 | 301 | 2091 | 13 | 12 | 41 | 12.0 |
| Caleb Williams | 351 | 562 | 3541 | 20 | 6 | 68 | 10.8 |
| Jalen Hurts | 248 | 361 | 2903 | 18 | 5 | 38 | 9.5 |
| Drake Maye | 225 | 338 | 2276 | 15 | 10 | 34 | 9.1 |
| Russell Wilson | 214 | 336 | 2482 | 16 | 5 | 33 | 8.9 |
| Jayden Daniels | 331 | 480 | 3568 | 25 | 9 | 47 | 8.9 |
| C.J. Stroud | 336 | 532 | 3727 | 20 | 12 | 52 | 8.9 |
| Spencer Rattler | 130 | 228 | 1317 | 4 | 5 | 22 | 8.8 |
| Gardner Minshew | 203 | 306 | 2013 | 9 | 10 | 29 | 8.7 |
| Sam Darnold | 361 | 545 | 4319 | 35 | 12 | 48 | 8.1 |
| Geno Smith | 407 | 578 | 4320 | 21 | 15 | 50 | 8.0 |
| Daniel Jones | 216 | 341 | 2070 | 8 | 7 | 29 | 7.8 |
| Justin Herbert | 332 | 504 | 3870 | 23 | 3 | 41 | 7.5 |
| Jameis Winston | 181 | 296 | 2121 | 13 | 12 | 24 | 7.5 |
| Bryce Young | 234 | 384 | 2403 | 15 | 9 | 29 | 7.0 |
| Joe Burrow | 460 | 652 | 4918 | 43 | 9 | 48 | 6.9 |
| Dak Prescott | 185 | 286 | 1978 | 11 | 8 | 21 | 6.8 |
| Joe Flacco | 162 | 248 | 1761 | 12 | 7 | 18 | 6.8 |
| Baker Mayfield | 407 | 570 | 4500 | 41 | 16 | 40 | 6.6 |
| Aaron Rodgers | 368 | 584 | 3897 | 28 | 11 | 40 | 6.4 |
| Brock Purdy | 300 | 455 | 3864 | 20 | 12 | 31 | 6.4 |
| Trevor Lawrence | 172 | 284 | 2045 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 6.0 |
| Patrick Mahomes | 392 | 581 | 3928 | 26 | 11 | 36 | 5.8 |
| Kirk Cousins | 303 | 453 | 3508 | 18 | 16 | 28 | 5.8 |
| Jared Goff | 390 | 539 | 4629 | 37 | 12 | 31 | 5.4 |
| Kyler Murray | 372 | 541 | 3851 | 21 | 11 | 30 | 5.3 |
| Matthew Stafford | 340 | 517 | 3762 | 20 | 8 | 28 | 5.1 |
| Mac Jones | 171 | 262 | 1672 | 8 | 8 | 14 | 5.1 |
| Anthony Richardson | 126 | 264 | 1814 | 8 | 12 | 14 | 5.0 |
| Tua Tagovailoa | 291 | 399 | 2867 | 19 | 7 | 21 | 5.0 |
| Lamar Jackson | 316 | 474 | 4172 | 41 | 4 | 23 | 4.6 |
| Mason Rudolph | 146 | 228 | 1530 | 9 | 9 | 11 | 4.6 |
| Bo Nix | 376 | 567 | 3775 | 29 | 12 | 24 | 4.1 |
| Cooper Rush | 187 | 308 | 1844 | 12 | 5 | 13 | 4.1 |
| Aidan O'Connell | 154 | 243 | 1612 | 8 | 4 | 10 | 4.0 |
| Jordan Love | 268 | 425 | 3389 | 25 | 11 | 14 | 3.2 |
| Josh Allen | 307 | 483 | 3731 | 28 | 6 | 14 | 2.8 |
| Derek Carr | 189 | 279 | 2145 | 15 | 5 | 8 | 2.8 |
Maybe those numbers factored into the team's decision to draft Shough (rather than, say, Shedeur Sanders). Shough last year was downright Carr-like in terms of not taking sacks at Louisville. He was sacked just 14 times on 389 attempts, for a rate of 3.5 percent. Sanders, on the other hand, took 42 sacks on his 477 attempts, for a sack percentage of 8.8 -- same as Rattler as a rookie.
But never fear, because while Shough may be a lesser matchup for sacks -- may; he's a rookie quarterback operating behind what looks like a bottom-5 line, so the college numbers might not be reliable -- he might wind up being a strong matchup in other areas. Take interceptions. In his seven (yes seven) years in college, Shough threw more than 20 passes 24 times. He threw 19 interceptions in those games, making it seem pretty likely there will be interceptions and a Pick Six or two on the menu in New Orleans.
There's also the reality that Shough played seven seasons in college because despite the low number of sacks, he was brittle. He suffered season-ending injuries in three straight seasons at Texas Tech, before transferring to Louisville and playing all 12 games a year ago. For one reason or another, Rattler will probably be making plenty of starts.
Rattler did some good things. He moved the offense at times, and he ran around some, averaging 21 rushing yards. So maybe he outplays Shough in August.
But between the sack potential and turnovers (he threw 5 interceptions and also fumbled 5 times), he probably won't stay there for long. And it's the opposing defenses rather than the Saints offense that will look best.
--Andy Richardson