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Nine Teams that could take a quarterback early in the 2022 NFL Draft

By Christopher Thomas

Sep 12, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) attempts a pass during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 12, 2021; Houston, Texas, USA; Houston Texans quarterback Tyrod Taylor (5) attempts a pass during the game against the Jacksonville Jaguars at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports /
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JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 12: Jameis Winston #2 of the New Orleans Saints speaks to Taysom Hill #7 during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at TIAA Bank Field on September 12, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
JACKSONVILLE, FLORIDA – SEPTEMBER 12: Jameis Winston #2 of the New Orleans Saints speaks to Taysom Hill #7 during the first quarter against the Green Bay Packers at TIAA Bank Field on September 12, 2021 in Jacksonville, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images) /

New Orleans Saints

This year started a new era for the New Orleans Saints. Future Hall of Fame quarterback Drew Brees decided to retire after last season, something the Saints were prepared for.

They had traded for Teddy Bridgewater in 2018 and retained him on the roster until the Carolina Panthers offered him a three-year $63 million deal. New Orleans then signed former 2015 first overall pick Jameis Winston to a one-year $1.1 million contract to replace Bridgewater. However, when Brees missed time with a rib injury last season, utility player Taysom Hill replaced Brees as the team’s starting quarterback instead of Winston.

After Brees retired this offseason the Saints re-signed both players to larger contracts. The Saints resigned Winston to a one-year deal worth $12 million and restructured Hill’s deal to give him a four-year $140 million extension. However, Hill’s deal has four voidable years. New Orleans gave Hill that extension to stretch out the rest of his contract and free up cap space.

The Saints had a quarterback competition during camp between Winston and Hill. The more traditional quarterback, Winston, won the competition. Week 1 was the first time Winston had started a game since he led the league in passing yards in Tampa Bay. During his time in Tampa Bay, Winston was known for unleashing his cannon of an arm and airing the ball downfield constantly looking for the big play. This type of play led to a lot of ill-advised throws and turnovers. In 2019-20 Winston became the first quarterback in NFL history to throw at least 30 touchdowns and 30 interceptions in one season.

For the majority of the season, Winston has looked anything like how he looked in Tampa Bay. He is playing a lot more conservatively. In the first four games, he completed 64% of his passes for 613 yards and thrown eight touchdowns and two interceptions. His 7.1 yards per attempt during that stretch was way down from the 8.2 that he had his last season in Tampa Bay and was on pace for a career-low. At the time it was the 19th lowest yards per attempt in the league which feels like a misuse of a quarterback with as strong of an arm as Winston. During the first game against the Packers, he threw for 148 yards and five touchdowns which is the lowest passing yards for a quarterback who threw five touchdowns in a game.

In Week 5 against Washington, Winston aired the ball out more and looked more like himself. He averaged 9.3 yards per attempt. He only completed 50% of his passes but threw for a season-high 279 yards and four touchdowns. This led to New Orleans reaching their second highest point total of the season (33) and their best offensive performance to date this season.

His play this season overall has been concerning for New Orleans because the offense has looked worse than last year despite having a younger quarterback with a stronger arm. In the first four weeks, he averaged only 153.3 passing yards per game which is the lowest among quarterbacks who have started in all four games by that point. Also between Weeks 2 and 4 Winston only threw three touchdown passes.

Winston doesn’t have the greatest group of pass-catchers at his disposal after Emmanuel Sanders and Jared Cook left in free agency. But that brings up why Winston refuses to use his best weapon Alvin Kamara in the passing game. Kamara has only 22 targets on the season and did not see one in Week Four against the Giants.

It is fair to say up to this point Jameis Winston has been a disappointment from the perspective that he has failed to consistently give this offense the juice that it lacked last year. Instead, this offense could go down as one of the worst Sean Payton has coached since joining New Orleans. If this continues it is fair to say that the Jameis Winston experiment has failed and it is time to move on.

The only quarterback that has a guaranteed contract past this season is 2021 fourth-round pick Ian Book. New Orleans may try to acquire a disgruntled veteran quarterback like Deshaun Watson or Aaron Rodgers this offseason to put them back in win-now mode. But they could possibly take a quarterback in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft to grow under one of the great offensive coaches in the league Sean Payton.

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