Are The New Orleans Saints Guaranteed to Draft a Quarterback with Carr Injury?

Whatever the New Orleans Saints were planning to do with this year's NFL Draft may have been blown up over the weekend. Actually, it might have happened before that, the public might have been the last to hear about it.

Saints starting quarterback Derek Carr has a shoulder injury that became public over the weekend. The extent of this injury might keep him off the field for the entire season. While that became public during the weekend, connecting some dots might reveal that the news wasn't news to everyone.

Did The Oddsmakers Know About The Injury Before The Report?

Some odd changes around the football world last week could have pointed to something happening behind the scenes, even though there wasn't any news on Carr's shoulder.

On April 9th, two days before the news on Carr's injury broke, Fox Sports reported a change to the betting odds for the team favored to draft Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders. The favorite to land the quarterback became the New Orleans Saints, with +205 odds (Pittsburgh Steelers were second with +350, and the New York Giants were third with +400).

Even at the point the updated odds were released, the thought was that Sanders would join Carr in the quarterback room, not be the possible replacement for an injured starter.

How Can The Saints Land Shedeur Sanders?

The Saints have the 9th overall pick in the NFL Draft, which will take place this month in Green Bay, Wisconsin. There are multiple teams that select in the draft ahead of the Saints that have a need at quarterback. Meaning some teams would have to decide against Sanders, or against a QB altogether, for Sanders to fall to the Saints.

Teams like the Tennessee Titans (#1 overall pick), Cleveland Browns (#2 overall pick), and the New York Giants (#3 overall pick) all need quarterbacks, and all pick before the Saints. Most draft grades have Sanders as the second rated quarterback in the draft class, so in order for Sanders to become a Saint, two of the three teams that need a QB and draft ahead of them would have to leave Sanders available.

Could The Saints Make A Trade To Get Shedeur Sanders?

Of course the other way the Saints could guarantee getting Sanders would be to trade up in the draft to get him. Does that mean they would need to trade into the #2 overall pick? Maybe. If that is the case, it will take A LOT to make it happen. So they could be mortgaging their future to secure Sanders.

If he starts falling past the 5th pick, with no other team starting to trade up, the Saints might be able to move up a few places to select him. Or, if they want to gamble, they see if he falls to them.

Could The New Orleans Saints Draft A Different QB In The Draft?

But Sanders might not be the quarterback the Saints want in the first place. Prospects like Ole Miss' Jaxson Dart have been shooting up some mock drafts, and could be an option for the Saints if something were to go wrong in the top 10. If they have to drop back in the draft, or just wait for a quarterback to come their way, they could land another quarterback prospect.

No matter when they take a QB, after the Carr injury news, it's a pretty safe bet that the Saints will make a move on a quarterback in the draft.