Spencer Rattler Has Traits That Could Make the Saints Future Interesting

Everyone we've talked to has said that Spencer Rattler got a bad rap, and their loss could be the Saints' gain.

Jan 31, 2024; Mobile, AL, USA; American quarterback Spencer Rattler of South Carolina (2) throws the / Vasha Hunt-USA TODAY Sports

The Saints are working through Phase Two of the offseason right now, which started on Monday. For three weeks, New Orleans will be able to have on-field workouts, drills and walkthroughs with the offense and defense lining up across each other, but no live contact or team drills are allowed. The rookies will be in soon enough, with their own minicamp happening from May 10-12.

One draft pick for the Saints has certainly been a big topic from the past weekend, and that's South Carolina's Spencer Rattler. Let's take a further look at him.

Spencer Rattler, QB, South Carolina

The whole character concern nonsense from high school that forced Rattler's stock to drop is quite ridiculous when you think about it. The fact that anyone would hold that over his head to neglect drafting him after putting out several years of college tape seems irresponsible and lazy.

If there were big red flags on a player, you'd find that out during the draft process. That's exactly what that is intended for. For instance, all it took was one conversation with Taliese Fuaga for the Saints to fall in love with him. Teams do evaluations differently, naturally, but this one on Rattler was a little puzzling. However, every team's loss is New Orleans' gain here.

We got to speak to South Carolina's head coach Shane Beamer and offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains to get their insight on Rattler, which spoke volumes on what he can possibly do at the next level.

Beamer also defended Rattler and posted on social media, "Such a tired , lazy narrative. And bullcrap. None of the NFL teams that called me said that (questions about work ethic, attitude)….And any team that thinks that clearly hasn’t done their research. He dealt w/adversity at OU in a class way, came to SC, was a great player and was voted by his TEAMMATES as a captain…TWO YEARS IN A ROW. He’s a great person, great player and some team is getting a future starter today."

Beamer pointed out that he's been around Spencer Rattler since 2019 and 'weathered some storms' throughout his college career, and actually has known him since his junior year of high school. He was more than happy to reunite with him at South Carolina after being with Oklahoma when Rattler was there.

"He was exactly like I thought he would be, hard-working, went right to work, didn't really say a whole lot. Just tried to earn the respect of his teammates, and he did. He was a two-time captain here at Carolina and elevated our program and led us to some big-time wins over the last two years."

Beamer admitted that he never watched the Netflix special that sparked controversy, and also added that many people at the age of 17 wouldn't be too proud of a reality show being done on them that could portray people to look a certain way by producers.

Beamer said, "All I knew was what I saw with my own eyes, and I saw the way people respected him and liked him in the football facility at Oklahoma. I know his family and how grounded he is, his mom and dad are awesome. If his dad ever called me during his time here at Carolina, it was only to thank me for the experience that Spencer was having at South Carolina. His mom and dad are fantastic, whole family's great, he's great. So whatever that narrative is on the outside, if people are basing that off something that he did at the age of 17, in my opinion, shame on them. He's grown so much and has the respect of so many."

Rattler can make pro-level throws, and he has played in several different systems during his collegiate career. He can manage the game and can demonstrate good pocket presence and accuracy, is mobile when he needs to be. His coaches have had NFL experience too, including Loggains. Beamer said that he doesn't get 'too high or too low' and is battle-tested.

Roster Outlook

It's quite crowded in the quarterback room, and it's hard seeing all of them hanging around over the next couple of months. Carrying this amount of quarterbacks doesn't seem likely going into training camp, because the problem will be reps. Last year during training camp, Derek Carr and Jameis Winston typically split the reps, but Carr would also get more obviously being the starter, which left Jake Haener getting a couple here and there, but not always.

Unless something catastrophic happens, Rattler shouldn't be someone the team parts ways with during final cuts. Teams would absolutely look at picking him up on waiver claims, and their best laid plans would be blown up. This is a big opportunity for the Saints to right some wrongs in terms of growing a quarterback. They didn't pay a higher-priced backup this year like they have in the past with Andy Dalton and Jameis Winston. They're trying to work their way towards a better cap situation, and many of their personnel decisions have reflected that.

Year One Expectations

Derek Carr faced his fair share of injuries last year, and Rattler has to do a few things to enter the conversation of being his backup. It's an uphill climb of sorts, and as of right now, Jake Haener looks to be the favorite to be second on the depth chart. At least that's what the Saints are expecting out of him going into training camp, to compete for that spot. Naturally, things can change, but as we hinted to earlier, there are other veterans on the roster in Kellen Mond and Nathan Peterman, and you still can't count out Taysom Hill getting some work in.

Rattler's growth could be tied to how quickly he can grasp the offensive lingo and installs. Haener somewhat had a leg up last year since he ran a version of the Saints offense at the Senior Bowl with Ronald Curry in the previous season, however the preseason wasn't that great for him. New Orleans needs to look at developing a quarterback, even if they are committed to Derek Carr for the foreseeable future. Rattler might have to sit on the bench for a couple of years, but if both parties can stay patient, this could pay off for them in a big way.