The New Orleans Saints made one of the biggest splashes of the offseason when they landed quarterback Derek Carr in free agency. After an ugly divorce with the Las Vegas Raiders, which included a benching and Carr exercising his no-trade clause this offseason, he was released and found his way to the Big Easy.
With Derek Carr now locked in as their starter, a lot of people believe the Saints are in a position to take home the NFC South title. His presence gives them the most steady quarterback situation in the division.
The Carolina Panthers are working in the No. 1 pick from the 2023 NFL Draft, Bryce Young, as their starter. The Atlanta Falcons are going with 2022 third-round pick Desmond Ridder, while the Tampa Bay Buccaneers saw Baker Mayfield win their quarterback competition.
While some of those players have immense upside, all three of them combined don’t have the body of work that Derek Carr has put together in nine seasons. Despite many people picking them to win the division, some analysts believe that the Saints are still flying under the radar.
One of those analyst is Peter King of NBC Sports. King recently made an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show and shared his opinion on Derek Carr and the Saints heading into the 2023 season.
Changing franchises is never easy, but the transition from the Raiders to the Saints was certainly eased by New Orleans head coach, Dennis Allen. He is someone that Derek Carr had worked with previously, as Allen was the head coach through Week 4 of his rookie season before getting fired.
That familiarity will certainly be beneficial. The Saints also have a strong supporting cast around Derek Carr offensively. Chris Olave is an emerging star at wide receiver and Juwan Johnson showed flashes of dominance in 2023. In the backfield, Jamaal Williams and Kendre Miller will hold things down until Alvin Kamara can return from suspension.
The pieces are in place for Derek Carr and the Saints to find plenty of success in 2023. His presence has already been felt in camp and competent quarterback play should help get New Orleans back on track.
