The New Orleans Saints selected quarterback Spencer Rattler with the 150th pick in the NFL draft. Rattler ended a drought of quarterbacks picked in the draft; at pick 150, the most recent quarterback before him was Denver Broncos quarterback Bo Nix, taken with the 12th overall pick.
Rattler (6-0, 211 pounds) was a star quarterback at the University of Oklahoma, before being benched during the 2021 season in favor of this year’s number one overall pick, Caleb Williams.
After OU head coach Lincoln Riley left for the head coaching position at USC in 2022, taking Williams with him, Rattler entered the NCAA transfer portal, where he landed at the University of South Carolina. Rattler ended up playing more games for South Carolina (25) than at Oklahoma (23).
In 2023, Rattler passed for 3,186 yards, had a 68.9 completion percentage, and accounted for 23 total touchdowns (19 passing, four rushing) to only eight interceptions.
Draft Wire’s Natalie Miller had regarded Rattler at the lower end of the NFL draft’s top 75 players, where she placed him 67th out of 75.
Rattler was widely considered a mid-round quarterback prospect leading up to the draft. Rattler would be well-suited to being a developmental quarterback, learning from a veteran presence.