New Orleans Saints “Intrigued” By QB Kyle Trask

The New Orleans Saints are in the process of moving on from their Hall of Fame quarterback, Drew Brees. After a couple months of rumors surrounding a plan for New Orleans to move up in the draft to pick a QB, these ideas cooled off for a while after the re-signings of both Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill. However, the Saints have entered the draft’s rumor mill once again after being connected to former Florida quarterback, Kyle Trask. 

Trask is not one of the highly touted QBs in this draft, but he is talented nonetheless. His playstyle is one that would fit Sean Payton’s aggressive approach, and while Drew Brees wasn’t the most mobile quarterback, Trask’s dual-threat ability is just the type of unpredictable player that Payton craves. 

He was also a very accurate passer in his college career, completing 68.9% of his passes during the 2020 season. Of course, that is easier to do when you have a monstrous target like Kyle Pitts on your team. In New Orleans, he won’t have that type of tight end presence, but Michael Thomas is about as reliable (when healthy) as it gets in the NFL. 

Similarly, as stated by Uffda! Sports’ very own Kirby O’Connor in his draft profile, one of Trask’s biggest flaws as a player is his inability to look for his second read. Well, New Orleans’ bread and butter as Brees’ arm weakened was getting him quick, short reads that he could hit immediately. Kamara and Thomas are very good at this, and Trask’s ability to fling the ball downfield can still keep defenses on their toes. 

He also struggles with the blitz, but behind New Orleans’ offensive line they should be able to protect him quite well. Per Pro-Football Reference, the Saints’ offensive line has been among the best four units in terms of pressure rate over each of the past three seasons. They still have one of the best LTs in the game, Terron Armstead, so the trend should continue. If this draft is like others in recent Saints history, they will look to add more depth as well.

Finally, since Trask isn’t one of the most wanted QBs in this draft, if New Orleans wants him they should be able to get him. This is helped by the fact that they now have four picks in the first three rounds after receiving two compensatory third rounders for offseason losses. If Trask is taken before the third round, it would probably be a reach, so New Orleans shouldn’t have to move up to get him. If the Saints do pick him up, it will be interesting to see who wins the three-way QB battle between Hill, Trask, and Winston.