Kellen Moore was introduced as the New Orleans Saints head coach on Thursday, but the report of him being less than enthused with the quarterback room will linger until at least the NFL draft, and possibly the entire offseason.
A decision on Derek Carr will likely be made soon. Regardless of that decision, Moore may desire to pick his own quarterback and turn his attention to this year’s draft class.
Insert Jaxson Dart.
Opinions seem to be split on where he may go in the upcoming draft. Bleacher Report’s scouting department believes Dart is a prime candidate to be drafted too high due to positional value and sees the Saints as the team most likely to do it.
The department sees Dart as a player who needs time to develop, but has an appealing set of physical tools. Sometimes that’s all it takes for a team to take a gamble on a quarterback early.
The article doesn’t give an exact range of where they would pick Dart, but this line stood out.
“Especially if one is able to trade back into the first round and ensure a fifth-year option on his rookie contract.”
If grabbing Dart at the end of the first round would be categorized as being overdrafted, this would suggest they view Dart as a mid- to late-second-round player at best.
New Orleans has the 40th pick, and it wouldn’t take much to make that trade. There will likely be two quarterbacks in the top 10 this year, but there are six quarterback-needy teams in that range. That leaves four teams who could select Dart early in the second round.
Because of the competition in the market and the benefit of a fifth-year option, this trade would be unsurprising. However, do the Saints make the move?