After NFL news surfaced that New Orleans Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr might require season-ending shoulder surgery this offseason, many expected the franchise to use its first-round pick on Shedeur Sanders. However, that might no longer be the case.
Saints’ reporter Nick Underhill of NewOrleans.Football shared a week ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft that he believes New Orleans will wait until Day to before it selects a rookie quarterback.
“I think the Saints are going to surprise everybody…My guess though is that pick (9th overall) isn’t going to be a quarterback. I just don’t get the vibe that’s where everything lines up for them to make that selection. If they do take a quarterback, the sweet spot is that that second pick.”
Nick Underhill on when he thinks the New Orleans Saints will take a QB in the 2025 NFL Draft
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Notably, Underhill also doesn’t believe it matters who is on the board. Even if both Sanders and Jaxson Dart are available, the Saints’ reporter believes it won’t matter to the front office. There are glaring needs throughout the roster and New Orleans will take a player it has much higher on its draft board.
It adds further fuel to the circulating NFL rumors that Sanders could be in for a draft-day slide, with there now being a realistic chance he is available for the Pittsburgh Steelers with the 21st overall pick. If Sanders is the second quarterback taken off the board, coming outside the top 20, it could push the other top prospects at signal-caller further down on draft night.
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As for the Saints, who hold the 40th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, they could target someone like Louisville’s Tyler Shough with their original pick in the second round. However, there’s another option on the table for New Orleans that would still align with Underhill’s belief.
The team could package the 40th overall pick and the 93rd overall pick to move up into the end of Round 1. In that scenario, if Dart is still available, the Saints would get the coveted fifth-year option that is only available for first-round picks. Furthermore, New Orleans would still have its original third-round pick as the 93rd overall selection came in the Marshon Lattimore trade with the Washington Commanders last season.
