New Orleans Saints: Logan Woodside as the heir to Drew Brees?

Could the New Orleans Saints look at Toledo’s Loogan Woodside in their attempt to find a quarterback to groom behind Drew Brees

This offseason, the New Orleans Saints and quarterback Drew Brees agreed to a two-year deal worth $50 million. He’s 39 years old now and while his ager wasn’t a factor in 2017, there’s not much reason to believe he will be playing beyond that deal he and the team just agreed to.

That could lead to the team searching for his replacement in the upcoming 2018 NFL Draft. Such a move would give them a couple seasons to allow a young player to learn from one of the best in the business.

As for the Saints, it could also mean they could grab someone beyond the first couple days of the draft that they feel has the upside to succeed, but just needs a team to be patient with them.

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That could very well describe Toledo quarterback Logan Woodside, who is an incredibly interesting prospect for the Saints.

Listed at 6-2 (but has to be shorter than that) and 210 pounds, Woodside is reminiscent of a young Brees (listed at 6-0 and 209 pounds) on the field. Let’s look a little deeper at his game and see if he’s the right guy to consider as an heir to the current Saints field general.

Positives

The best thing about watching Woodside play is that he’s decisive. The ball comes out of his hands quickly and he throws it rather accurately. He made several on-target throws in a game against Miami, where they could have actually could have upset the Hurricanes.

The problem was there was somewhere in the range of 10 catchable balls that hit the turf. He also took a lot of heat due to the offensive line being overmatched.

Even with those issues going on in this game, he keeps his composure and keeps firing the ball. Woodside also delivered a few solid passes while taking big hits — something that’s great to see out of an undersized player.

He can also move int he pocket, although he’s not a threat to take off and run. Woodside’s mobility is centered around escaping pressure and stepping up to find room to deliver the pass.

Negatives

The size will be considered a negative even though it isn’t. Drew Brees is shorter than Woodside as is another Super Bowl winner in Russell Wilson. He’s also close in height to guys like Dak Prescott and Tyrod Taylor, who have guided teams to the post season.

Real issues for Woodside will be his lack of work from under center. He played in a spread offense and lined up in shotgun formation. Outside of that, the limitations seem minimal and all he would need is someone who gave him the time needed to become fully engulfed in an NFL offense.

Verdict

Woodisde finished his career at Toledo with 10,514 yards passing with 96 touchdowns against just 25 picks. Those are impressive numbers for anyone, but more so when you consider he played in an offense that excelled at the running game.

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A possible day three pick, Woodside would make a lot of sense for New Orleans. He couldn’t find a better mentor than Brees and head coach Sean Payton is smart enough to get the most out of a player with Woodside’s potential.