It's nearly decision time for the New Orleans Saints.
Thursday brings the first round of the NFL Draft, and the Saints may have more options on the table than any other team in the league. They could easily go the quarterback route to replace the injured Derek Carr, but doing so with the ninth-overall pick could be a little risky with so many other roster needs.
The primary quarterback options for New Orleans would seem to be Colorado's Shedeur Sanders and Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart, both of whom come with question marks. Miami's Cam Ward, the most likely franchise QB in the class, seems like a lock to go to the Tennessee Titans with the number-one overall pick.
If the Saints do pass on the quarterback position at nine, though, there's still a chance they could select a signal-caller in the first round. It would simply take a trade, and one NFL writer believes that's just what they'll do.
In a Monday article, Athlon's Luke Easterling predicted that the Saints would trade up to acquire the 29th overall pick from the Washington Commanders, using their new selection to draft Dart.
"The (Pittsburgh) Steelers traded up ahead of the Saints to grab Shedeur Sanders earlier in this projection, and New Orleans responds with a bold move of their own to land their new franchise passer," Easterling wrote.
"Dart isn't a finished product just yet, but he's got the traits to develop into a quality starter, which would be worth sending a third-round pick to Washington to get back into the first round and grab him."
The 21-year-old Dart had an impressive senior season, passing for an FBS-best 10.8 yards per pass attempt, 29 touchdowns, and six interceptions. Ole Miss' offense is difficult to project to the professional game, but it appears he at least has the arm talent to make pro-level throws.
There's no telling for certain what it would cost the Saints to land the 29th pick. They own the 40th overall pick, so they'd be moving up 11 spots, which could cost them this year's third-rounder, a future second or third, or something else entirely.
