Saints listed as a sleeper to potentially draft a QB in first or second round

Could the New Orleans Saints look to snag a quarterback in the first couple rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft? CBS Sports seems to think so, as they recently listed the Saints as a team who could potentially take a quarterback in the first or second round.

Derek Carr is currently the Saints starting signal-caller after the team signed him to a four-year deal worth $150 million last year. In his first season with the Saints, Carr threw for 3,878 yards, 25 touchdowns and just eight interceptions.

Behind Carr, the Saints have Taysom Hill and Nathan Peterman. However, none of those guys are necessarily a long-term answer at the position for the Saints, so perhaps they could look to find their quarterback in the future in the draft.

From CBS Sports:

"Incumbent starter Derek Carr is only a year removed from signing a $150 million deal, but he's 33, coming off an uneven Saints debut and is easily expendable following 2024; New Orleans could save up to $30 million by designating him a post-June 1 release in 2025, per Over the Cap. The Saints are notorious for refusing to rebuild, but they also lack a surefire No. 2 behind Carr after Jameis Winston's exit in free agency."

Saints have two total picks in first two rounds

The Saints possess the 14th overall pick in the first round of the '24 draft, and they also have the 45th pick. Perhaps they will use one of those two selections on a QB. After that, they don't have a pick until the fifth round of the draft, but they do have four fifth round picks in addition to two sixth round picks and one pick in the final round.

Perhaps the Saints could package a couple of those picks to move up in the draft and give themselves another shot at landing a solid quarterback relatively early in the draft. The top few quarterbacks are expected to be selected extremely early, but there should still be some talented players at the position to choose from.

While quarterback probably isn't the team's most pressing need heading into the draft, it could make sense for the team to prioritize the position given its overall importance in today's NFL, coupled with Carr's advancing age and his uncertain future with the franchise.

Even if the team is happy with Carr as the starter in the present, they could draft a quarterback to play behind Carr for a season, or two, before taking over the starting spot. It will be interesting to see if this is a path that they ultimately choose to take.