Saints beat the Falcons at their own game by drafting Spencer Rattler

The 2024 NFL Draft is in the books and the New Orleans Saints added a nice value pick in the fifth round when they nabbed Spencer Rattler out of South Carolina. Considering that Rattler was once considered a first-round draft pick not too long ago, getting him in the fifth round is great value.

Meanwhile in Atlanta, the Falcons stunned everyone when they took Michael Penix Jr. with the eighth overall pick. This was a surprising selection because Penix was not thought to be a top-10 pick and the Falcons signed Kirk Cousins to a four-year deal over the offseason. Penix will be 27 years old by the time Cousins' contract is up and that's a long time to have a guy sit and wait on the bench.

The Saints, however, drafted Rattler in the fifth round and he's younger than Penix. The Saints could get out of Derek Carr's contract in 2026, meaning that if the team ends up viewing Rattler as a legitimate starting option, he can do so sooner than Penix will be able to for Atlanta.

Saints got better value with QB pick than Falcons

Now, of course, it's far too early to know how these quarterbacks will pan out for their respective teams but right now, the Falcons are getting rightfully dunked on for their selection of Penix in the top 10. Penix might be a good quarterback but they had signed Cousins to an expensive deal and could have used that eighth overall pick to help their defense. There were so many aspects as to why this pick was puzzling but Saints fans are loving it.

Rattler probably serves as the third-stringer for the Saints this year but he'll have a chance to win the backup job this summer. If he beats out Jake Haener and wins the QB2 job, the Saints definitely will look smart for investing a late-round pick in Rattler.