Tag: Spencer Rattler

Pro Football Focus grades Saints draft class with an impressive A+

You don’t see this too often. Pro Football Focus graded the New Orleans Saints’ 2024 draft class with an impressive A+

Take a bow, Mickey Loomis. And Jeff Ireland. You too, Dave Ziegler and Randy Mueller — the four different general managers (past and present) who crowded into the New Orleans Saints’ war room for the 2024 NFL draft.

You don’t see this too often. Pro Football Focus draft analyst Trevor Sikkema awarded the Saints with an elusive A-plus grade for their haul in the 2024 draft. Not just for getting the most out of their early-round picks in right tackle Taliese Fuaga and cornerback Kool-Aid McKinstry, but for getting great value later on with picks like quarterback Spencer Rattler and offensive tackle Josiah Ezirim, who Sikkema noted as a possible “hidden gem.”

This was a very different approach to the draft than Saints fans have grown used to. The team only traded up once and for the most part let the board come to them, selecting players at great value spots as opposed to forcing a pick at a position just because they needed it. Hopefully this more patient approach yields good results.

Just three other teams received an A-plus in PFF’s final draft grades. Six others were given a solid A, and four more made the cut with an A-minus. So it’s not like all 32 teams were given high marks. But winning the draft is one thing. Winning games in the regular season, so you can even get to the playoffs (which has eluded the Saints for three years in a row) is a whole other challenge. Let’s see Loomis pull that off next.

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Robert Griffin III says the Saints got the steal of the draft in Spencer Rattler

Robert Griffin III says the Saints got the steal of the draft at quarterback in fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler:

There weren’t many people expecting Spencer Rattler to make it to the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft, but the New Orleans Saints made sure he didn’t fall any further. And Robert Griffin III was ecstatic to see them to do it — he says the Saints got the steal of the draft at quarterback by picking Rattler at No. 150.

“Of all the quarterbacks in this year’s draft class Spencer Rattler probably had the worst offensive line,” Griffin began, highlighting a fourth-quarter play against Kentucky in which he keyed his running back into picking up the blitz. He continued, “No hate on them, because he never complained about it, but it shows up routinely on his tape.”

On that play Rattler stepped in the pocket and hit his receiver Xavier Legette for a go-ahead touchdown. But he was sacked 103 times in his five-year career, including 39 times last season at South Carolina. He could develop into something special if the Saints can do a better job protecting him.

But that’s far off in the distance. It’s important Rattler take this journey one step at a time, learn from his experience in practice, and work out the wrinkles. He has all the arm talent in the world and a great understanding of the game. Limiting his gambles and protecting the football will go a long way.

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WATCH: Spencer Rattler learns he’ll be drafted by the Saints

Cameras were rolling when Spencer Rattler and his family learned the Saints were drafting him. He’s ready to get to work:

Cameras were rolling when Spencer Rattler and his family learned the New Orleans Saints were drafting him. He’s ready to get to work.

“About time. About time,” Rattler said after swapping his South Carolina hat for a Saints cap, embracing his family. He was widely projected to be a third-round pick but slipped and fell all the way through rounds three, four, and partly through the fifth frame before the Saints called him up.

He’s entering a great spot to learn and compete. Rattler needs to dislodge veteran backups like Nathan Peterman and Kellen Mond before he can push Jake Haener for the backup job behind Derek Carr. But he clearly feels like he’s up for that challenge. His tumultuous college career started in Oklahoma before he moved on to South Carolina. Now he’s headed to New Orleans.

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Draft Grades: Saints pick QB Spencer Rattler at No. 150

The Saints picked South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft. How do you grade that pickup?

The New Orleans Saints have gone with a contingency plan for Derek Carr as they select South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler with the No. 150 overall selection in the 2024 NFL draft.

Rattler has been through a lot during his football career up to this point, but has all of the talent in the world that can be unlocked in the right situation.

He was a five-star recruit out of high school and the top quarterback in the country as he committed to Oklahoma where he had a complicated career — fans chanting for him to be replaced by Caleb Williams — that led to him transferring to South Carolina. He has had to do a lot of maturing in his football career, but looks to be ready to compete.

This is a pick that can actually turn into a starter one day if he develops, rather than the usual late-round backup pick. He has pretty much every tool outside of the strongest arm at his disposal, which means he could be a fine fit in Klint Kubiak’s offense.

There are some other positions that they could have targeted here, but this is a good spot for someone to come in and learn behind Derek Carr to potentially surpass him one day soon.

Grade: B+

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Spencer Rattler fell in the NFL Draft, and his appearance on Netflix’s QB1 reportedly could be why

It’s easy to see why this show might have hurt Spencer Rattler’s draft stock.

Spencer Rattler wasn’t the highest-touted quarterback prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, but parts of his tape probably did say he should’ve been drafted much earlier. Instead, the former South Carolina signal-caller fell all the way to the fifth round and the New Orleans Saints.

According to a report from NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Rattler’s draft stock might have taken a hit because of his appearance on Netflix’s QB1 reality show back in 2019. Rattler was, of course, a high school football player back then, but it seems his approach on the show might have rubbed some teams the wrong way.

Whether that’s the right approach to evaluating a draft prospect (it probably isn’t) is a different story:

Hmm. What could Rattler have possibly done as a teenager to hurt him in his future NFL Draft? One clip from a Twitter user from the program shows Rattler criticizing his teammates. That isn’t necessarily groundbreaking — I imagine most good quarterbacks critique their teammates all the time — but NFL teams might have seen instances like this and deemed that it crossed a line:

Whatever happened here, this should all hopefully be water under the bridge for Rattler. He has his NFL home in New Orleans, and he can finally start focusing on his professional football future.

Another quarterback finally comes off the board at No. 150

Spencer Rattler is heading down to the Big Easy.

After a long wait since the Bo Nix selection with the No. 12 pick in the first round, we finally see another quarterback go off the board with the selection of Spencer Rattler of South Carolina.

Rattler transferred from the University of Oklahoma following the 2021 season. This occurred after he was replaced by Caleb Williams as the starting quarterback. Rattler now gets the opportunity to chase his NFL dream with the New Orleans Saints.

Currently, the Saints have four other quarterbacks on the roster with Derek Carr returning as the incumbent starter. The Senior Bowl MVP will have his hands full working his way up the depth chart. The current depth chart doesn’t even include Taysom Hill, who is used as a gadget player at quarterback and tight end.

Projected Saints Quarterback Depth Chart

Quarterback Year
Derek Carr 11th Season
Jake Haener 2nd Season
Nathan Peterman 8th Season
Kellen Mond 4th Season
Spencer Rattler Rookie

We will soon find out if Rattler has what it takes to stick around with the Saints by either making the active roster after camp or joining the practice squad. Either way, he should be given the opportunity, what he does with it is completely up to the former Oklahoma and South Carolina gunslinger.

Saints select Spencer Rattler in 5th round of NFL draft

Spencer Rattler enters the NFL as a 23-year-old rookie with four years of starting experience in college.

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.

Saints stun in Round 5, draft South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler

The Saints stunned in Round 5 by drafting South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler at No. 150:

The New Orleans Saints stunned in Round 5 by picking South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler at No. 150 overall in the 2024 NFL draft. Projected to be picked much sooner, Rattler’s selection ended the longest drought between quarterbacks being picked in draft history (138 slots).

Rattler, 23, lost his starting job to Caleb Williams at Oklahoma in 2021 and transferred to South Carolina the next year. He started two seasons for the Gamecocks, finishing his college career with a 68.5% completion percentage and 10,807 total passing yards. He scored 77 touchdown passes against 32 interceptions.

Look for Rattler to push Jake Haener as the Saints’ backup quarterback. Derek Carr will continue to start, but the competition for his understudy is suddenly very crowded. The Saints also signed Nathan Peterman and Kellen Mond this offseason. We’ll see what other moves they have in store as the draft continues.

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Packers hosted pre-draft visit with South Carolina QB Spencer Rattler

The Green Bay Packers hosted South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler on a top 30 visit ahead of the draft. 

One final pre-draft visit to know for Day 3 of the 2024 NFL draft: the Green Bay Packers hosted South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler on a top 30 visit ahead of the draft.

Rattler (6-0, 211) started 42 games over five seasons at Oklahoma (2019-21) and South Carolina (2022-23). He completed 68.5 percent of his passes and produced 10,807 passing yards, 77 passing touchdowns and 16 rushing touchdowns while throwing 32 interceptions. His record as a starter was 28-14.

Ratter completed 65.0 percent of his passes during all four seasons as a starter. He three 19 touchdown passes and eight interceptions in 2023.

Rattler was a team captain at South Carolina in 2022 and 2023.

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At the combine, Rattler ran the 40-yard dash in 4.95 seconds, hit 32″ in the vertical leap, covered 9-0 in the broad jump and finished the three-cone drill in 7.21 seconds. His Relative Athletic Score is 4.0 out of 10.0.

Rattler, who is 23 years old, participated at the Senior Bowl. He was the MVP of the Senior Bowl game.

The Packers could see Rattler as the perfect competition quarterback for Sean Clifford as the backup behind Jordan Love. Brian Gutekunst holds eight picks on Day 3.

Rattler is the No. 72 overall player on Dane Brugler’s big board.

Ranking the top 25 remaining prospects for Seahawks going into Day 3

Here are the top 25 prospects who are still on the board as far as Seattle should be conerned.

Last night we had time to finish reading a novel and start another one as the Seahawks were waiting for their turn to pick in the third round of the 2024 NFL draft. Today that won’t be the case, as Seattle is slated to pick second behind Carolina at the top of the fourth round at No. 102 overall. The Seahawks will be on the clock again not long after at 118. That means they’ll have their choice of the top remaining prospects in the draft.

With that in mind, here are the top 25 prospects who are still on the board as far as Seattle should be conerned.