It’s news to no one that New Orleans Saints coach Sean Payton leans on his mentor Bill Parcells for guidance and advice, so it shouldn’t surprise anyone to see Payton applying the legendary coach’s rules for finding a franchise quarterback.
The Saints selected Notre Dame prospect Ian Book in the fourth round of the 2021 draft, and Book met all seven thresholds Parcells worked with. Some of these benchmarks may seem outdated or arbitrary, but they worked for Parcells. Let’s run down the list.