Garrett Grayson could be Saints' next in line after Drew Brees
CHICAGO – The New Orleans Saints may have landed Drew Brees' eventual successor.
They used a third-round draft pick (75th overall) on Friday night to select Colorado State quarterback Garrett Grayson, who started his upward pre-draft trajectory with a strong Senior Bowl performance and worked out for the Saints on Monday.
Brees, 36, is entering his 15th NFL season and had a trying season in 2014, when the Saints finished 7-9. Since then, the Saints have made significant personnel changes, including a trade of tight end Jimmy Graham and an investment in running back C.J. Spiller.
Last season, Grayson led Colorado State to its first 10-win season since 2002 and was Mountain West player of the year, starting all 13 games and completing 64.3% of his passes for 4,006 yards and 32 touchdowns with seven interceptions.
One NFL veteran executive told Paste BN Sports recently that he "wouldn't be surprised if Grayson was better than all of" the other quarterbacks in this class – including Jameis Winston and Marcus Mariota, who were the first two players off the board Thursday.
"I just think (Grayson)'s got the intangibles," said the executive, who spoke on condition of anonymity for competitive reasons. "He's got a good presence about himself in the pocket. He's got the physical traits. His arm's strong enough, and I think he's got the right temperament."
Grayson, 23, was the third quarterback taken overall and the first in 73 picks since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took Florida State's Winston and the Tennessee Titans took Oregon's Mariota with the first two selections Thursday night.
Fourteen picks after Grayson was picked, the St. Louis Rams drafted Oregon State pocket passer Sean Mannion at No. 89.
Both Grayson and Mannion come from offenses that feature pro-style elements, whereas UCLA's Brett Hundley and Baylor's Bryce Petty – still on the board entering Sunday's fourth round – played in versions of the spread and may need more time to transition.
The Rams' long-term plan at the most important position isn't clear. They traded away often-injured starter Sam Bradford in a March deal with Philadelphia that brought them Nick Foles, who is entering the last year of his rookie contract.
"I (graded) him very similar to Hundley," an AFC personnel man said of Mannion before the draft. "He doesn't fit like a Philadelphia (offense), because they want an athlete, and Mannion's a drop-back guy. But there are teams that just want a drop-back guy. … He's a top-notch kid."
No quarterbacks were taken in the second round, marking just the second time in 15 drafts that two QBs or fewer were selected over the first two rounds. The other was 2013, when Buffalo took EJ Manuel in the first round and the New York Jets took Geno Smith in the second.