Saints considering Kyle Trask as a long-term replacement for Drew Brees

Kyle Trask 2021 NFL draft

Florida Gators quarterback Kyle Trask isn’t getting nearly the amount of fanfare he received during the early portion of the 2020 college football season, and his draft stock has fallen from first-round territory in September to a guy whose best-case-scenario feels like a late-third-round pick.

But that doesn’t mean he doesn’t project as a prospect with a starting gig in his future.

Take this update from ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, who says the New Orleans Saints view Trask as a potential replacement for Drew Brees.

New Orleans re-signed Jameis Winston to a one-year deal this offseason and Sean Payton’s best buddy Taysom Hill is still in the mix to be the club’s long-term starter, even at 31 years old.

Here’s NFL.com writer Lance Zierlein’s take on Trask’s skill set:

“Trask clearly has the arm strength, touch and placement to wear out one-on-one coverage if he has good protection and above-average players around him, but he’s not going to elevate an offense with his talent alone. He’s very good at finding his throwing platform and can deliver deep throws with outstanding touch. He needs to improve his eye work to create more opportunities by moving safeties around. Trask is clearly a skilled passer, but it’s hard to find evidence of him being able to play chess at this point against what NFL defenses are likely to show him.”

Trask isn’t going to wow draft analysts this time of year because let’s face it, he’s a boring prospect. He isn’t a good athlete and his arm, while checking the NFL’s minimum standards, isn’t a rifle.

But there’s something about Trask’s competitiveness that I really like, even if that means his pro ceiling is as a high-level backup with the ability to eventually work his way into a gig of his own.

The Saints would be a great landing spot for Trask because there’d be no pressure on him to be anything more than the third quarterback on the depth chart in 2021. All he’d have to do is learn how to be an NFL quarterback. It’s a luxury rarely offered to young players anymore.

There’s going to be a run on quarterbacks in the first round. We know this by now. Five should be selected within the first 15 picks, which means quarterback-needy teams could get desperate on Day 2 and draft players who’d otherwise be mid-Day-3 prospects a few rounds earlier.

Trask is hovering around that fourth-round grade at this point, so don’t be surprised if a team gets desperate enough to take him in the top 75 picks.

The Saints have one pick in the second round (No. 60) and two picks in the third round (No.s 98 and 105). If they have their heart set on Trask, they won’t be able to wait longer than pick 105 to land him.

Bryan Perez

Bryan is the founder of Pro Football Draft. His work has been featured on The Draft Network, NBC Sports and USA Today. Former CFL scout.

Follow him on Twitter: @BryanPerezNFL