Don’t look now, but the New Orleans Saints extended their streak of years without picking a first-round quarterback in the NFL draft. With 2025’s first round in the books and no rookie QB coming to New Orleans, the Saints have officially gone 54 years without taking a quarterback at the top of the draft. But get this. If the Saints take a passer in the second round on Friday night, it’ll be the first time that’s happened in franchise history, too.
Since they took Archie Manning at No. 2 overall way back in 1971, the Saints have only spent top-100 picks on quarterbacks twice. They took Danny Wuerfel with the No. 99 pick in 1997, when it was technically a fourth rounder, but he was off the roster in just a few years. That’s also true for Garrett Grayson, the No. 75 pick in 2015, who never got into a regular season game with New Orleans.
But the second round does not lack for options, at least this year. With Cam Ward going to the Tennessee Titans and Jaxson Dart joining the New York Giants, the best available quarterbacks include Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe, and Tyler Shough, among others. The Saints have an uncertain future with Derek Carr that increasingly feels like it’s already over. Spencer Rattler might develop into a viable starter but this is a team that badly needs more help under center. We may have to wait for another year for their first-round streak to end, but at this point it sure looks like a quarterback may land in New Orleans in Round 2.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints exit Round 1 without QB, extend NFL draft’s most bizarre streak
Don’t look now, but the New Orleans Saints extended their streak of years without picking a first-round quarterback in the NFL draft. With 2025’s first round in the books and no rookie QB coming to New Orleans, the Saints have officially gone 54 years without taking a quarterback at the top of the draft. But get this. If the Saints take a passer in the second round on Friday night, it’ll be the first time that’s happened in franchise history, too.
Since they took Archie Manning at No. 2 overall way back in 1971, the Saints have only spent top-100 picks on quarterbacks twice. They took Danny Wuerfel with the No. 99 pick in 1997, when it was technically a fourth rounder, but he was off the roster in just a few years. That’s also true for Garrett Grayson, the No. 75 pick in 2015, who never got into a regular season game with New Orleans.
But the second round does not lack for options, at least this year. With Cam Ward going to the Tennessee Titans and Jaxson Dart joining the New York Giants, the best available quarterbacks include Shedeur Sanders, Jalen Milroe, and Tyler Shough, among others. The Saints have an uncertain future with Derek Carr that increasingly feels like it’s already over. Spencer Rattler might develop into a viable starter but this is a team that badly needs more help under center. We may have to wait for another year for their first-round streak to end, but at this point it sure looks like a quarterback may land in New Orleans in Round 2.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Saints exit Round 1 without QB, extend NFL draft’s most bizarre streak
