As the draft approaches, a sense is building that quarterbacks may be shut out of the top 10. A team with two picks in the second 10 could be paying close attention.
Jeff Duncan of the New Orleans Times-Picayune believes that, if the Saints go with a quarterback in round one, the guy they take could be Pitt’s Kenny Pickett.
The hand-size issue may not deter the Saints. The Saints play their home games indoors, eliminating the potential impact of the elements for at least eight or nine games per year (plus road games in domes). Also, Duncan notes that Saints assistant G.M. Jeff Ireland drafted quarterback Ryan Tannehill a decade ago. Tannehill had (and presumably still has) hands on the smaller size, at only nine inches.
The Saints have drafted 22 quarterbacks in the franchise history. They haven’t used a first-round pick on a quarterback since Archie Manning in 1971; in 1981, they used a supplemental first-rounder on Dave Wilson. They’ve never used a second-round pick on a quarterback, and they’ve only used a third-rounder once, on Garrett Grayson in 2015.
Pickett’s destination continues to be one of the biggest mysteries of the draft. Will he be the first quarterback picked? How high will he or other quarterbacks go?
We’ll find out in 10 days, when the first round arrives. Or maybe 11, when round two unfolds.