The New Orleans Saints are the very definition of treading water. They leveraged the future to get Drew Brees and Sean Payton as many bites at the apple as possible. They failed to return to the NFC Championship Game for the last twelve years of Sean Payton’s tenure, but they still tried to make a go of it. Unfortunately, they still think they have a chance to make noise, so they are still overleveraging themselves and over-extending on marginal talent (Derek Carr has a $51MM cap hit in 2025, and a $50MM dead cap, for example). Luckily, they can always count on the draft to get them an influx of cheap talent. They added two fantasy football-eligible players in the 2024 NFL Draft. Let’s take a look at Spencer Rattler and Bub Means!
FULL 2024 NEW ORLEANS SAINTS DRAFT RESULTS
| Round | Pick | Player | Pos | College |
| 1 | 14 | Taliese Fuaga | OT | Oregon St |
| 2 | 41 | Kool-Aid McKinstry | CB | Alabama |
| 5 | 150 | Spencer Rattler | QB | South Carolina |
| 5 | 170 | Bub Means | WR | Pitt |
| 5 | 175 | Jaylan Ford | LB | Texas |
| 6 | 199 | Khristian Boyd | DT | Northern Iowa |
| 7 | 239 | Josiah Ezirim | OT | Eastern Kentucky |
Round 5, Pick 150 Overall: Spencer Rattler, Quarterback, South Carolina (6’1” 216 lbs)
Talent:
Spencer Rattler has been around forever and will be 24 when the NFL season opens up. He’s an old man by quarterbacking standards, and his hot brash young persona that he used to kick down the doors on the NCAA is sort of… gone. He has no flash, no razzle-dazzle, nothing that would make you think he’s the same guy we’ve heard about for years. I can scout him in four words: big arm, tiny brain.
If you watch Rattler, two things stand out: his arm talent, and his complete inability to get through his progressions. The man’s never looked off a safety and intently stares down receivers. More than once, I saw him look at the receiver he was going to stare down… before the snap ever happened! He’s going to get eaten alive in the NFL, since every Tom, Dick, and Harry has a big arm there. His processing is a mess, his pocket presence is non-existent, and he thinks he’s much faster than he is (he’s a Joe Burrow/Ryan Tannehill runner). His big arm can only get him so far.
Also for fun, watch him against UNC when he stares down a receiver, almost gets sacked, nearly falls down, scrambles, and chucks the ball at a receiver all without breaking eye contact with that receiver. He doesn’t have the pocket presence to make his arm matter in the NFL.
NFL Comparison: Nick Mullens
2024 Opportunity:
The Saints have Derek Carr installed as their starting quarterback for at least the next two seasons, and he’s a tough S.O.B. Carr missed two games in the last six seasons, meaning Rattler will find himself firmly, rightfully, screwed to the bench this season.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
There’s no reason to think that Spencer Rattler will do anything outside of a potential spot start if Derek Carr decides to take a game off for no real reason.
TALENT:
2024 OPPORTUNITY:
2024 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK:
Round 5, Pick 170 Overall: Bub Means, Wide Receiver, Pitt (6’1” 212 lbs)
Talent:
Bub Means is a vertical x receiver who doesn’t do much outside of nine routes. He fails to gain separation on these routes, despite his 4.43 speed. But, if you can get the ball in his hands underneath, he has enough wiggle and burst to make teams fret. Getting the ball underneath to him is the hard part as he isn’t a particularly adept route runner, with sloppy feet and a complete lack of suddenness. He also has an allergy to coming back to the football. He’s your typical nine route guy, nothing flashy, nothing to write home about.
2024 Opportunity:
The Saints have a quarterback in Carr who can unload one to let Means win you some DFS weeks, but his spot in the pecking order leaves a lot to be desired. He sits behind Chris Olave, A.T. Perry, Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, Juwan Johnson and even Taysom Hill. He’s going to be an extremely useful piece for the Saints, but his profile doesn’t lend itself to consistent fantasy football production. Think D.J. Chark or Darnell Mooney with a bunch of guys in front of him.
2024 Fantasy Football Outlook:
There’s not much of a reason to worry about Means, unless there are some injury issues ahead of him in the depth chart.
