INDIANAPOLIS — I started sifting through my conversations from the days and nights last week while in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine in an attempt to jam them all into one column.
Impossible.
So I’ll unload my notebook from the combine on the Saints and some other tidbits (mainly LSU-related) during the next few days. It would have been information overload since I had already typed 1,200 words on numerous quarterback-related Saints topics:
1. We all know a deal with Drew Brees will occur sooner than later. He’s coming back. I’m sure the Saints will play salary cap Tetris with his contract the next year or two or three. I’ve never seen Saints general manager Mickey Loomis sweat publicly about the numbers potentially involved in another Brees deal. There seems to be less anxiety now than in previous situations.
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Having a Brees decision expressed well before the combine took much of the weight off the team’s back. Now Loomis and salary cap guru Khai Harley have plenty of time to work the algebra on a deal and how it affects the rest of the team (the Saints hold around $12 million in cap room as of now via Spotrac).
Brees’ early declaration of making another run with the team turned the combine quarterback chatter toward Tom Brady, Joe Burrow and … Taysom Hill.
Loomis pulled his patented bob-and-weave approach when meeting with the New Orleans media in Indy, especially when it came to Hill. Loomis insinuated there have been no conversations yet with Hill or his representation about an extension since the restricted free-agent tender (as high as first-round compensation) can occur.
“Look, I know Taysom has had a good experience in New Orleans and we’ve had a good experience with him, and obviously we’d like to continue that, and I think he’s stated he’d like to continue,” Loomis said.
I’ve been adamant throughout the offseason on the how the Saints will likely let the market set a price and adjust from there. There’s no point in negotiating against yourself if you don’t have to, and that’s the advantage of having the RFA tender to use.
2. As for Teddy Bridgewater, his name never came up at all in terms of a Saints connection in the numerous conversations I had with decision-makers throughout the week. “We still have free agents out there and Taysom is restricted. (Having Brees back doesn’t change) the decision relative to how we’re going to tender him, and obviously Teddy is going to be a free agent,” Loomis said. “He’s going to have some opportunities, so we’ll see.”
Any talk about Teddy occurred involving where he might land. It’s still up in the air, obviously. But the teams I’ve heard might be interested are literally all over the map: Tampa, Carolina, Los Angeles (Chargers), New England, Chicago. Bridgewater’s future will be fascinating to watch.
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3. It doesn’t seem like the Saints are in a hurry to draft a quarterback unless someone unexpectedly falls into their lap.
And that quarterback doesn’t seem like it would include Utah State’s Jordan Love. From what I gathered, there isn’t the same fascination from the Saints’ end with Love than what’s being portrayed through the mock drafts in the media the past couple of months.
Love, meanwhile, compared himself to Patrick Mahomes during the combine media availability. “I’d say Patrick Mahomes, based on arm talent and what he can do,” Love said. “I’m not saying I’m Patrick Mahomes, calm down, but Patrick Mahomes, Deshaun Watson, guys who can make plays.”
It’s well-documented how enamored Sean Payton was with Mahomes during the 2017 NFL Draft process. And the ceiling might be high for Love. But there’s little doubt the Saints would have to draft him in Round 1, and possibly trade up to make that happen.
There could be too many options for immediate help for New Orleans even if it stands pat at No. 24.
Yes, it’s lying season in the NFL. But there might not be a ton of Love for the Utah State prospect. (Bad puns are so fun, right?)
4. I asked if there was one pro day I should attend in terms of a Saints interest in a quarterback.
“Go to Georgia.”
That means Jake Fromm.
I covered Fromm’s games the past two years when he faced LSU. Neither game painted the best picture for Fromm, with Georgia falling to the Tigers in Baton Rouge in 2018 and the SEC Championship Game in Atlanta in 2019. He’s still known for being a consistent winner and a consistent passer, which obviously would fit the mold of Brees, a comparison Fromm has heard many times during his career in Athens, Ga.
Plus, Fromm and Brees share a common criticism: arm strength.
“I think I have the arm strength and the ability to make every single throw I need to in the professional football league,” Fromm said during his media session. “So, I’m going to go out and not try to prove anything. I’m going to go out there and be me and throw the ball around the best I can.”
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Here’s a good side-by-side analysis from The Athletic’s Dane Brugler following the quarterback workouts from Lucas Oil Stadium of Fromm and former Georgia teammate and rocket-armed Jacob Eason:
“With (Eason and Fromm) throwing back-to-back during drills, there was a noticeable difference (as expected) in ball speed from both passers with Eason’s power arm wowing everyone in attendance. But with that said, Fromm was consistently more accurate, with better timing and rhythm on short-to-intermediate throws while Eason was scatter-shot with his fastballs.
“Eason started to settle in on the deep throws, doing a real nice job on the go’s and corner routes. He has the arm to drive the football with ease, but he also showed touch on those passes, dropping the ball in the bucket. Talking to scouts this week, opinions are all over the place on Eason and Fromm, making them really tough to project. Fromm isn’t for everybody, but for a play-caller with roots in the west coast system that emphasizes timing, the former Georgia product will be a great fit in the second round.”
The Saints lack a second-round pick, and I’m not sure Loomis and Payton would pull the trigger on a trade to Round 2 for Fromm. And I’m not saying if Fromm falls to Round 3 that the Saints will run to the podium with his draft card.
5. I’m also assuming the Saints like Fromm’s philosophy of playing quarterback. Sounds like the mental makeup fits right up Payton’s alley. Here are some interesting comments from Fromm during his media session:
What is the most important attribute of a quarterback?
“Are they competitive? Do they have the ability to influence? I think the ability to influence others in the offense and the organization, really making everybody better, day-in and day-out, I think it’s a really important characteristic of quarterbacking, especially in the professional football league.”
How do you describe your ability to influence?
“That’s a great question. It can be whatever it needs to be. Whether if it’s vocal on the field or words of encouragement behind closed doors. The occasional time when I have to call you out. The way that I approach life day-in and day-out. I think it really gives me the ability to hit all of those. I was extremely blessed to have people along the way to help me, mentor me, and hopefully I’ll have a lot of opportunities here in the next couple of weeks.”
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If there’s a realistic option in the draft for a Saints-QB connection, Fromm seems like the guy New Orleans would ponder more than anyone else. That said, the Saints could easily pass on quarterback in this year’s draft altogether.
6. While it feels like many NFL teams will search heaven and earth for the next Mahomes or Watson or Lamar Jackson, it’s still pretty OK for a team hunting for the next Brees. And, despite popular belief, players are yearning to mimic Brees.
Ask Burrow.
“I always watched Drew Brees. I think he’s the best at what he does,” he said. “We had very similar offenses last year. So I watched a lot of his film in the offseason, and that was my idol growing up. I got to meet him. I met him after the national championship game and I saw him last week and we were just talking ball. And you know, I was trying to be all cool, like, ‘Yeah, I know what I’m talking about.’ But then on the inside, like I’m talking to Drew Brees about football, so it was really, really cool.”
And ask Tua Tagovailoa.
“I try to emulate my game after guys like Russell Wilson and Drew Brees. I text with them here and there,” he said. “For me, it’s not so much what those guys do on the field that strikes me. Everyone knows how good they are. But it’s who they are as a person off the field and what they do off the field and how they go about their business that way.”
(Photo of Fromm: Michael Hickey / Getty Images)
Larry Holder is a Senior Writer for The Athletic, focusing on the NFL. He was a Saints beat writer from 2006 to 2013, then became a Saints/NFL columnist starting in 2013. Before joining The Athletic in 2018, he worked for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, CBSSports.com and the Biloxi (Miss.) Sun Herald. Follow Larry on Twitter @LarryHolder
