Kenny Pickett listed as Saints’ dream target in 2022 NFL Draft
It’s not a secret that the New Orleans Saints need a quarterback for the upcoming season and the 2022 NFL Draft might be the best place to find their future franchise signal-caller.
Alex Kay of Bleacher Report wrote up every team’s dream target in the 2022 NFL Draft and for the Saints, it’s Pittsburgh quarterback Kenny Pickett.
Kay offered this analysis on why Pickett should be the man of New Orleans’ dreams:
"Pickett is arguably the most pro-ready quarterback in the class, which stems from his experience running a multitude of concepts during his tenure with the Panthers.The Heisman finalist completed 67.2 percent of his passes for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns against just seven interceptions last year.Despite the statistical success, Pickett could have been even better with improved vision and the awareness to stay inside the pocket longer before starting to scramble.Regardless, the 6’3″, 217-pound QB has quality size, athleticism and arm strength that a team will surely benefit from at the next level. He may not be a slam-dunk future-Pro Bowler, but the Saints will be hard-pressed to find a rookie better suited for their starting job in 2022."
This year’s quarterback draft class leaves little to be desired and NFL fans continuously compare this year’s class to the one in 2013. In that class, E.J. Manuel was the only signal-caller to go in the first round and he was a total bust. 2022’s class might have a similar fate but more than one guy will go in round one simply due to how many teams need quarterbacks.
Kenny Pickett makes a lot of sense for the Saints
While this year’s draft class isn’t great, Pickett is the best by a mile and might be the only one who could start and play decently as a rookie. He thrived at Pittsburgh during his final season, throwing for 4,319 yards, 42 touchdowns, and seven picks.
Some might be worried about Pickett’s not-so-great numbers before his explosive season in 2021 and I could understand why. We see late bloomers all the time in college football who go on to be great NFL quarterbacks, with the recent example being Joe Burrow. He didn’t make a name for himself until that historic 2019 season and look at him in the pros — He’s dominating!
New Orleans might end up re-signing Jameis Winston and if they do, they’ll likely pass on taking a quarterback in the first round and waiting until next year’s much better class. If they aren’t able to sign Winston or trade for anyone decent (decent being the keyword here), then it’ll be time to turn to the draft.
If the Saints are going to draft a quarterback this year, Pickett is who I’d like for them to land. The problem is that I don’t see a scenario where he falls down to No. 18, so maybe NOLA trades up and snags him earlier on or maybe he plummets on draft night.
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Either way, it’s not hard to see why Pickett is the Saints’ dream target in the 2022 NFL Draft. He could give them the franchise quarterback they desperately need.