Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

The New Orleans Saints traded back into the seventh round of the NFL draft, picking Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens at No. 240.

Stevens, a 6-foot-5, 235-pound senior transferred to Mississippi State from Penn State for the 2019 season and led the Bulldogs to a 6-7 record.

To draft Stevens, the Saints dealt their 2021 sixth-round pick to the Houston Texans.

As a fifth-year senior at Mississippi State, Stevens played in nine games and completed 60.2% of his passes for 1,155 yards with 11 touchdowns and five interceptions.

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Stevens, who has been compared to Saints quarterback Taysom Hill on occasion, added 381 yards rushing with four ground scores for the Bulldogs in 2019.

While a backup at Penn State, he completed 58.5% of his passes for 304 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He added 76 rushes for 506 yards in three years for the Nittany Lions with eight rushing touchdowns and 14 receptions for 62 yards with two receiving scores.

Stevens is the first quarterback drafted by the Saints since 2015 when they picked Garrett Grayson. The last Mississippi State Bulldog the Saints drafted was defensive end Herman Carroll in the fifth round of the 1994 draft.

The Saints ended up drafting four players in the 2020 NFL draft, picking center/guard Cesar Ruiz from Michigan in the first round at No. 24, linebacker Zack Baun from Wisconsin in the third round at No. 74 and tight end Adam Trautman from Dayton in third round at No. 105.

The Stevens trade marked the 20th time the Saints traded up in the last 14 years.

NOLA

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

I really really like this pick. I think we may have actually found our QB of the future in the 7th round. A few years under Payton and I think he's going to blossom into something great.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

That's what I thought about garret Grayson lol

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Yea, I know any QB you draft, especially if it's in the 7th round is like a shot in the dark. Something about this dude though I really like. He has incredibly high upside for a 7th round pick. If he reaches his potential, I really think he has franchise QB potential. Now whether he does that is another question. entirely. He ran a 4.49 40. He also isn't a horrible passer(I think Payton and Brees will help him out quite a bit.). In a few years we may look back at this and realize it was the best pick of the draft.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

I highly doubt that. I'd say the odds are just as strong of winning the lottery as this guy ever becoming anything more than camp fodder. Don't know why he's compared to Taysom, he doesn't possess nearly the same level of athleticism as Taysom. And despite that elite athleticism, Taysom will never be a starter either. So yeah, this guy might stick around for a camp or two, then he'll have to get a real job like the rest of us.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Tommy has a decent arm. Played injured at MSU. Some accuracy concerns.

Long term project.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Yes... but was it worthy of a trade back into the 7th just so some other team couldn't sign him as an UDFA?

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

3 seasons, max.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

I like the pick. Good developmental QB. If Hill is the future QB, which means the offense will be structured around him, you're going to need a backup with similar skills. I don't see him stepping into the "slash" role as some have suggested though.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Something just occurred to me. What if Payton sees him not as a QB, but as a Julian Edelman type receiver? Several QB's have made the transition to WR successfully because of their knowledge of the routes and the reading of defenses, especially if they are smart. Don't forget that Edelman was also a 7th round pick.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Good practice squad player. QB, WR. He's not beating out Winston though. As bad as Winston is at times he does have some solid patches.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Edelman was a quick possession receiver and isn’t 6’4" and 235.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

My grandson just reminded me that Winston had Lasik surgery in the off season, that it could help his interception numbers. I asked him if it would improve his ****ty outlook.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

The only comparison I was making was the fact that Edelman, and several others, had transitioned from QB to WR in the NFL. Anquan Boldin did the same. Several different body types have done it.

By the way, I just read a quote from Stevens that he is willing to make that transition to WR.

"Stevens made it known that he wants to be a QB, but is willing to transition to receiver if it keeps him in the league."

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

I wonder if trading up to get some of these players on draft day gives us and them an extra boost in confidence, setting a tone that we really believe in them and really think they are a cut above the rest, and it's not just idle talk? Kind of Payton's way to speak excellence into existence?

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Trust me when I say this but Tommy Stevens is a project.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

But not a QB project.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

I just had a feeling that we would trade back in for a late round QB. We did.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

No. We traded back in for a late round WR and that is why we signed Winston as the backup QB. Stevens has already let it be known that he is slotted to be a receiver and although he wants to play QB he is completely okay with transitioning to WR if it means he gets to remain in the league.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

He's a damn good scout at like 3 positions, maybe 4. It's a fine move. Go look at his Penn State highlights. Lots of crazy RB, WR trick plays. He can mimick teams like SF & the Ravens. It's where the NFL is heading. Not wildcat but misdirection. Really have to have a player like that. Train how you fight sorta thing.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Good to know Guido. I know he's athletically talented and Sean requested film of him running routes. So it makes sense.

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Payton apparently plans to start using Stevens in much the same role as Taysom had been playing ... special teams, receiver, wildcat, etc. ... right away.

Did the Saints find their next Taysom Hill? Sean Payton previews the plan for Tommy Stevens

Does Stevens' role sound familiar? That's how the Saints have used Hill over the past few seasons, although Stevens enters the Saints offense with a lot more experience as a hybrid player.

"We always talk about what's the vision, let's describe the vision," Payton said. "(He) Comes in, he's (a) developmental quarterback. We feel like he's a guy that can play in the kicking game. We feel like he's a guy that can play some F, can help both in the passing game and the running game develop behind a guy, like Taysom Hill who's in that role currently and then once the athlete gets here, once the player gets here, we begin working with those skill sets and try to develop those as quickly as possible."

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

I'm wondering who we stole him from...:twisted:
Quote from Jeff Ireland:
“And then Tommy Stevens. He’s an interesting athlete. We felt like we might be able to get him in the free agency process, but we ended up finding out that we couldn’t. There’s an in-division rival that felt like they had him signed, sealed and delivered. Agent wasn’t really talking to us, so we just decided we’d just go take him from them. I’ll let Sean tell you the whole story, but there’s a little bit of competitive juices flying between me and Sean about, ‘We want this player. We’re not going to let anybody take him from us. We’re going to take him from them.’

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

Thinking Carolina and their new OC Joe Brady. He worked with Taysom Hill his first year with the Saints, right?

Re: Saints trade back into 7th round, draft Mississippi State QB Tommy Stevens
 

My hunch was right. It was the Panthers that were going to sign Stevens to a UDFA deal.

Saints made a spite trade to draft a fourth quarterback

The Saints have already invested heavily in the first Taysom Hill this offseason.

But they also spent a 2021 draft pick on a guy who they think could become the next one, and managed to jam a division rival in the process.

Via Jeff Duncan of TheAthletic.com, the Saints made the aggressive move to trade their sixth-rounder next year for the 240th overall pick, so they could take Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens.

The short version of the story is that before the end of the draft, Stevens had effectively agreed to join the Panthers as an undrafted free agent, based largely on a tie to offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Brady was a grad assistant at Penn State when Stevens was recruited there.

The Saints were interested in a similar deal, and negotiated with Stevens’ agent during the draft, but then the agent stopped taking their calls, leaving the Saints to assume they were sticking with their agreement with the Panthers. Since the Saints had traded all their third-day picks to move up to take tight end Adam Trautman in the third, they had no ammunition, so they made a deal with the Texans for the pick needed to acquire Stevens.

“It became my project,” Payton said.

Payton texted Brady “Not so fast,” and Brady apparently replied with a good-natured profanity to Saints coordinator Pete Carmichael, acknowledging that his old boss had beaten him to the punch. Stevens eventually talked to Payton and said he felt stuck because he had given his word to the Panthers.

“I said, honestly, I was having some fun,” Payton said. “You had given your word and I respect that. But we weren’t going to lose you. You were going to become a Saint.”

Of course, all of Payton’s gamesmanship may turn out to be for naught. With so much invested in Drew Brees and Hill, and former No. 1 overall pick Jameis Winston signing on the cheap, the Saints may or may not have room for another project at the position. And by drafting him, they’re on the hook for about $80,000 in signing bonus (they offered to guarantee more in salary before drafting him). If they cut him, the Panthers can always claim Stevens off waivers for free, as roster spots should be easier to come by in Charlotte than New Orleans this year.

But for today, Payton got his man. And bragging rights over one of his old assistants. Even if it is a bit of a weird flex.