2020 NFL Draft: New Orleans Saints should be thinking quarterback early

Drew Brees can’t play forever. The New Orleans Saints have enjoyed Brees for more than a decade and won their first — and only — Super Bowl with the future first-ballot Hall of Famer. He’s easily the best and most important player in team history and will assuredly have a statue built in his honor outside the Mercedes-Benz Superdome one day.

However, reality is lousy knocking on general manager Mickey Loomis’ door. The Saints lost backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater in free agency to the Carolina Panthers on a three-year deal. Taysom Hill now assumes said role and while there is optimism about his future, he’s also 30 years old.

Speaking of age, Brees is 41. This is likely his last season taking snaps before retiring to a life of family and NBC Sports telecasts. In this vein, Loomis understands that with the 24th-overall pick in Thursday’s 2020 NFL Draft, it would be wise to consider all options, including a signal-caller. Per the team’s official website:

“I think that any time you have a chance to get a quality quarterback prospect, regardless of your quarterback situation, you’d like to take advantage of that. For us, it hasn’t come. There hasn’t been the match where we’re picking with a prospect that we really like. Our approach is exactly the same this year: If there’s someone there that we really like and have a vision for at the time we’re picking, then we’re not afraid to pull that trigger.”

Barring the shock of a lifetime, Joe Burrow will be long gone — like 23 picks worth gone. Then there’s Tua Tagovailoa and Justin Herbert. Both are widely expected to be top-10 choices, although Tagovailoa’s injuries and Herbert’s perceived lack of upside could have both tumbling down the draft board. If either begins to slide, New Orleans could pounce.

Finally, the Saints have to be looking at Jacob Eason and Jordan Love. Both have significant skill sets with Eason known for his rocket arm and prototypical size, while Love is an athlete with a good arm. The issues with love largely center around his senior season at Utah State, which produced 20 touchdown passes against 17 interceptions.

If the board doesn’t fall in such a way where New Orleans likes the men under center, the wise choice is to pass on them for a better player. However, if the Saints like Love or Eason, or if Herbert or Tagovailoa are somehow on the board, it’s time to make a move.