New Orleans Saints need to take quarterback in 2021 NFL Draft
Drew Brees’ retirement could be on the horizon and the New Orleans Saints need to be prepared next season.
Sunday could mark the end of Drew Brees’ NFL career (at least in the regular season), as the expectation is leaning toward the New Orleans Saints quarterback hanging up the cleats and heading to the broadcast booth.
With this in mind, the Saints need to be smart about their future. Sean Payton can believe whatever he wants about Taysom Hill and how he’s their next quarterback, but the Saints still need to be smart and add a quarterback in the draft. This year’s draft class is pretty stacked and New Orleans needs to land themselves a quarterback early on.
If the rumors are true and Brees does indeed retire, quarterback becomes one of the biggest weaknesses on the roster and if a team doesn’t have a viable quarterback, they won’t be competitive. Hill did okay while Brees was out, but he’s better utilized as an offensive weapon.
The leaguewide expectation is that #Saints QB Drew Brees will officially retire after the season is over, per @AdamSchefter. Brees signed a broadcasting deal with NBC in April, and after going through a season that included 11 fractured ribs, Brees is likely done playing.
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) January 3, 2021
The New Orleans Saints need to draft a quarterback in April.
Obviously, they’re not going to get Trevor Lawrence or the other big names like Justin Fields or Zach Wilson, but there are plenty of other talented options the Saints can target. They’ll likely have to trade up in order to land one of these other guys, but it’ll be worth it if they find their next franchise quarterback (just ask the Chiefs who traded ahead of the Saints in 2017 to get Patrick Mahomes).
Other names the Saints could look at would be North Dakota State’s Trey Lance, Florida’s Kyle Trask, or Alabama’s Mac Jones, all of whom would be intriguing options for Payton and the Saints. Payton seems stuck on the idea that Hill is the next option moving forward, so maybe he drafts one of these other quarterbacks and lets Hill prove himself in 2021. That would allow the rookie quarterback some time to sit on the bench and learn behind Hill.
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If Brees does retire, what a career he’s had. The Saints are definitely grateful that Brees chose to sign with them in 2006 and he’ll be a legend in New Orleans forever, but with the injuries he’s had the past few seasons, the decision to retire makes sense. Hopefully, the Saints replace him with someone who can continue the tradition of winning in the Big Easy.