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The New Orleans Saints went into the 2020 NFL Draft with just two quarterbacks under contract for the upcoming season: Drew Brees and Taysom Hill.
Now that the draft is behind us, the Saints are on the verge of adding not only rookie draft pick Tommy Stevens to the equation, but also Jameis Winston. The former first-overall pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers chose New Orleans over other suitors as a free agent, eager to work with Brees and the Saints coaching staff in a bid to turn his career around.
But how do all these pieces fit together?
Right now, the Saints playbook has a clear division between what it’s running most of the time (with Brees under center) and a special package of plays designed for a more mobile, versatile passer (when Hill steps in). When you consider the skills sets and backgrounds of Winston and Stevens, it’s easy to see each player’s role.
Winston is a traditional pocket passer, trained in running a pro-style offense much like Brees. While he has to cut down on the negative plays, the Saints could swap Winston for Brees in an emergency without throwing out most of the plays that they like to run. It would take much more time to transition to an offense designed with Hill in mind, and likely limit what the Saints can do, especially mid-game.
Conversely, Stevens was once Hill’s prototype. The package the Saints have developed for Hill was first put together by Joe Brady; ever heard of him? Before he was the Carolina Panthers offensive coordinator, and before he rose to stardom during the LSU Tigers title run, Brady was an assistant coach for the Saints. And prior to joining New Orleans, he worked with Stevens at Penn State.
As a gadget player in 2016, Stevens ran 21 times in six games, gaining 198 rushing yards and scoring on two different touchdown runs. His workload increased with each subsequent season, executing many of the same concepts that Hill has used to light up the NFL. He’s six years younger than Hill and nearly as athletic, with an intimate knowledge of the playbook. Stevens is No. 7’s backup and maybe the long-term replacement for that role once Hill starts playing quarterback full-time.
So don’t look at the depth chart as Brees-Hill-Winston-Stevens. The Saints are basically working with two different systems here, with Winston slotted in as the understudy for Brees and Stevens backing up Hill. It’s a little more complicated than most quarterback situations you’ll find around the NFL, but it’s the best way the Saints have come up with to keep their offense running on-script.
At some point New Orleans will marry their two different schemes together, once Hill is starting, and that’ll be fascinating to watch. Until then, though, they have bigger fish to fry. This might be their last shot to win a Super Bowl with No. 9 in the building.
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