The New Orleans Saints selected quarterback Spencer Rattler at No. 150 in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL Draft, snapping a record 137-pick drought of quarterback draft picks after Bo Nix went No. 12 to the Broncos. The former South Carolina quarterback will join a Saints quarterback room including Derek Carr, Jake Haener, Nathan Peterman and Kellen Mond.
Rattler, 23, spent the past two seasons as the starting QB for the Gamecocks. He opened his career with Oklahoma after being the top pro-style QB recruit in the country. The 6-foot, 211-pound Rattler spent three seasons in Norman (2019-2021), including two years as a starter before transferring to South Carolina.
Rattler is the highest-drafted quarterback in South Carolina history. The previous highest was Larry Craig, whom the Green Bay Packers picked in Round 6 of the 1939 draft.
NFL Draft 2024 tracker: Live blog, picks and analysis
Big board best available: Who’s left from Dane Brugler’s Top 300?
Draft pick grades: Round 1 | Rounds 2-3
Full draft order: Team picks for all 257 selections
‘The Beast’ breakdown
Rattler ranked No. 72 in Dane Brugler’s Top 300 big board. Here’s what Brugler had to say about him in his annual NFL Draft guide:
“Rattler has a methodical play style and needs to be more urgent in his movements/reads, but he has the arm talent, self-confidence and work habits that give him a fighting chance to work his way up an NFL depth chart. He offers upside at the position, but the interview process will be crucial to his draft grades.”
Coaching intel
What an anonymous offensive assistant coach had to say about Rattler in Feldman’s NFL Draft confidential:
“He’s changing arm angles, trajectories. He stays in the pocket. I think he’s a real guy. Is he a Gardner Minshew-type of range guy? His arm is better than Minshew’s. He’s got a Baker-ish type personality but I don’t know if he can bring people with him like Baker can. It’s like, ‘I know what I can do,’ which is appealing. He likes the bright lights. He likes the flash but he likes to be coached and his technique is real good. He has a repeatable strike. He’s balanced. It’s like a nerf ball in his hands.”
Why he’s a fifth-round pick
Many saw Rattler as the next-best quarterback in this draft outside of the top six, but few saw him slipping all the way to Round 5. That could be a product of the up-and-down trajectory of his career.
He lost his Oklahoma starting job in the 2021 season when Caleb Williams replaced him at midseason. Rattler became the starter with South Carolina the following year. He threw for 3,026 yards with 18 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 2022. Rattler followed that up with 3,186 yards, 19 TDs and eight interceptions last season. He was also the MVP of the Senior Bowl.
A dime from @SpencerRattler to @rosemy_marcus on the first drive for the American squad 🔥 @GamecockFB @GeorgiaFootball pic.twitter.com/3Ctqyj8AJR
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 3, 2024
Nick Baumgardner’s analysis
The Saints stayed patient and found what could be a late developmental steal in Rattler. His arm talent has been first-round caliber since his early days in front of Williams on Oklahoma’s depth chart.
Rattler’s issues with maturity off the field are pretty well documented and not much more than a youthful kid being a youthful kid. He totally rebuilt himself at South Carolina and was a team captain the last two seasons there. I thought Rattler had a chance to go on Day 2 and was pretty surprised no one took him — even after the mad dash on Day 1. Rattler has starting traits. He needs help, and he needs time. But he could absolutely grow into a starting-level player in the NFL.
(Photo: Wesley Hitt / Getty Images)
