New Orleans Saints QB depth chart ahead of 2022 NFL Draft

QB2: Andy Dalton

The Saints surprised some people with their signing of Andy Dalton and while some fans didn’t like that this addition will likely cost the team a compensatory pick, I liked the signing of Dalton.

Dalton was a second-round pick out of TCU in the 2011 NFL Draft and spent the first nine years of his career with the Bengals. He led them to the playoffs in each of his first five seasons but things went downhill after that.

After the Bengals won just two games in the 2019 season, the writing was on the wall for Dalton, as Cincinnati held the No. 1 overall pick and took LSU golden boy Joe Burrow with that pick. Dalton was soon released and went on to the next chapter of his career, which was serving as a backup.

Dalton backed up Dak Prescott in the 2020 season and ended up seeing more playing time than he probably thought, as Prescott was injured early on. Dalton did what he could, throwing for 2,170 yards, 14 touchdowns, and eight interceptions through 11 games and nine starts in Big D.

In 2021, Dalton signed with the Bears with the expectation that he was going to be the starter. Chicago, however, moved up to draft Justin Fields, who ended up splitting time with Dalton during the 2021 season. The Red Rifle finished his lone season in the Windy City with 1,515 yards, eight touchdowns, and nine picks.

The Saints signed Dalton to be a backup and he knows that’s his role. If Winston goes on to miss an extended period of time, fans should feel confident that Dalton can do enough to keep this team afloat and that’s likely why he was brought in.