Setting realistic rookie year expectations for Saints QB Spencer Rattler
The New Orleans Saints ended up with a very intriguing quarterback in the middle of the 2024 NFL draft as they selected South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler with the No. 150 overall selection in the fifth round.
Rattler, once the best pro-style quarterback out of high school, had a very contentious college career that landed him as a project player instead of a first-round guy. He famously had his own fans calling for him to be benched in favor of Caleb Williams at Oklahoma. He then transferred to South Carolina where he was able to actually revive his career a good bit.
He’s played a lot of football and would probably be able to handle managing a system in an emergency situation. That’s likely the only type of situation that you would see him in, so expectations shouldn’t be very high. What would be best for him as a rookie is to just sit and learn. He should focus on coming into the locker room and proving to the front office and his teammates that he has indeed matured from his television days.
He has more starter upside than most fifth round or later quarterbacks and has landed in a perfect situation for him. The Saints’ new offensive system is tailored to what he excels at, just don’t expect to see him slinging passes as a starter by the end of the season. This is is still Derek Carr’s show.
