Here’s a new name for New Orleans Saints fans who are getting amped up for the 2023 NFL draft. Stanford quarterback Tanner McKee was linked to the Saints in the second round in a new mock draft from Luke Easterling over at Draft Wire, as the fifth of sixth passers going inside the top two rounds. What’s history?
McKee, who will turn 23 on April 27 (the first day of the 2023 draft, incidentally), started the last two years at Stanford and threw for 5,336 yards while completing 473 of his 748 attempts (a completion percentage of 63.2%) and scoring 28 touchdown passes while throwing 15 interceptions. That’s a gnarly ratio given he only played 22 games.
Pro Football Focus has gassed up McKee as one of the most accurate passers coming out of college this spring, but he misses some throws on tape and he doesn’t bring much mobility inside or out of the pocket. He’s also taken 65 sacks and fumbled 9 times. That’s more combined turnovers (interceptions plus fumbles) than games played at the college level. Yikes. It shouldn’t surprise anyone if the NFL makes McKee a second round pick given their history with guys like Drew Lock, DeShone Kizer, and Christian Hackenberg. Saints fans should just be hoping for more of a sure thing if their team is looking for a quarterback at No. 40 overall.
But McKee wasn’t New Orleans’ only pick in this mock draft. Easterling has the Saints getting the 29th overall pick from the Denver Broncos in a trade for Sean Payton, which they spent on Florida Gators offensive lineman O’Cyrus Torrence. Torrence, who turned 23 on Jan. 20, hails from Hammond, La. and transferred to Florida from Louisiana after the Gators hired his coach Billy Napier. After starting his college career at left guard, he’s spent the last three seasons at right guard and is one of the highest-rated interior linemen in the draft class. If the Saints move on from Andrus Peat this offseason, it would make sense to draft his replacement. Few teams spend as many early-round picks on linemen as New Orleans.
