Sleeper QB prospect worked out with Drew Brees, interviewed with Saints

The New Orleans Saints met with North Texas quarterback Mason Fine, a sleeper prospect in the 2020 NFL Draft who worked out with Drew Brees.

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It almost feels like a certainty that the New Orleans Saints will add a quarterback at some point around the 2020 NFL Draft. Saints coach Sean Payton admitted as much in a recent conference call with local media, clarifying that while Taysom Hill is expected to back up Drew Brees this year, the team wants to bring in another passer who will be active on game days, ensuring Hill can continue to block, catch, and run with the best of them. One name to watch on draft day: North Texas quarterback Mason Fine.

Per NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, the list of interested teams to contact Fine recently includes the Saints. Additionally, Fine’s workout partner (before national lockdowns were enacted due to the novel coronavirus) was none other than Brees, whose longtime personal trainer Todd Durkin put them both through their paces.

So, that’s interesting. Fine is a dark horse in this year’s draft class, an unheralded prospect who might be picked in the final rounds if at all. That puts him in a similar boat to Florida International’s James Morgan, Hawaii’s Cole McDonald, and Colorado’s Steven Montez.

What sets Fine apart from those other late-round prospects is his sky-high college production. He put the team on his shoulders at North Texas with over 1,000 pass attempts in four years, leaving school with a solid 62.8 completion percentage and with 93 touchdowns thrown against 34 interceptions (15 of those coming in 2017, his first full year as a starter). He’s shown he can handle a high volume of dropbacks, a responsibility some collegiate passers struggle with.

Snubbed by this year’s NFL Scouting Combine, Fine instead traveled to San Diego to work out with Brees and Chase Daniel, under Durkin’s tutelage. While he tips the scales at just 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, Fine put in the work to max out his frame and pack on muscle mass. And it was enough for others to take notice.

“So, yeah, Drew Brees said I was too jacked to play quarterback,” Fine joked to Tulsa World’s Dekota Gregory. “I will say I have a little bit more of a muscular build than him, but that doesn’t mean anything when you’re holding the career passing yards and touchdowns record like Drew.”

It’s easy to envision the Saints taking a late-round flier on Fine (their final pick in this year’s draft is near the end of the sixth round, at No. 203 overall) or maybe signing him afterwards as an undrafted free agent. They’ve taken an interest in these NFL longshots before while padding out the roster, ranging from Daniel himself to Sean Canfield and J.T. Barrett. But maybe Fine can carry over the poise that’s set him apart at the college level, and thrive where others didn’t.

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