New Orleans Saints

Former Green Bay Packers quarterback Brett Favre said Wednesday he's been in contact with Aaron Rodgers amid rumors the Packers' current signal-caller is seeking a trade before the 2021 season.

"I said, 'Hey, am I going to see you playing for the Saints this year?' Just joking," Favre said on ESPN's Wilde & Tausch about a text message he sent to Rodgers.

Favre said the three-time NFL MVP responded: "Hey buddy, I don't believe that's going to happen. ... Thanks for checking on me. I'll touch base with you after this is all over."

ESPN's Adam Schefter reported last week that Rodgers has "told some within the organization that he does not want to return to the team" and noted the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers checked on his availability before their acquisitions of Matthew Stafford and Trey Lance, respectively.

Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst provided a blunt reply when asked about the rumors following the first round of the 2021 NFL draft Thursday.

"We're not going to trade Aaron Rodgers," Gutekunst told reporters.

In addition, the Packers are "upset" teams, including the Niners and Denver Broncos, may have reached out to Rodgers to "gauge whether he'd be interested in playing for them," but they haven't filed formal tampering allegations with the NFL, per ESPN's Rob Demovsky.

The 37-year-old nine-time Pro Bowl selection is under contract through 2023 as part of a four-year, $134 million deal.

While that limits the quarterback's leverage in any attempt to push for a trade in the short term, Schefter noted Rodgers is also interested in becoming the full-time Jeopardy! host after serving as one of the fill-in replacements during the latest season following the death of Alex Trebek in November.

Favre played for the Packers for 16 seasons from 1992 through 2007. Rodgers, a 2005 first-round pick, has also completed 16 years with the storied franchise.

ESPN's Matt Pomeroy highlighted the statistical oddity, which also involved Bart Starr:

No Packers QB has played 17 seasons with the team

Aaron Rodgers has played 16 seasons
Brett Favre played 16 seasons
Bart Starr played 16 seasons pic.twitter.com/YGvdS1NorK

— Matt Pomeroy (@MattPomPom) April 29, 2021

For now, it appears Rodgers and the Packers could be heading toward an extended staredown, which could thrust Jordan Love into the spotlight as the team's starting quarterback.

HEIGHT: 6'0 3/8"

WEIGHT: 208

     

POSITIVES:

—Length and physicality.

—Block destruction, uses hands well to disengage.

—Willing tackler who throws body around.

—Very good speed in the open field.

—Shows awareness and vision in zone.

     

NEGATIVES:

—High pad level in backpedal. Can affect breaks and change of direction.

—Hips aren't as fluid as you may want.

—Struggles with lateral movement, can lose angles and miss tackles.

—Needs to get hands on or have space to open and run.

     

2020 STATISTICS:

23 TKL, 1 INT, 1 TD, 4 PBU

     

NOTES:

Opted out in November and had ankle surgery.

     

OVERALL:

Williams is a physical cornerback with very good length at 6’2. He has shown the ability to match his play speed with the 4.4 forty he ran at his pro day. He can struggle with his pad level and hip fluidity, which causes him to be slower out of his breaks. Williams shows good explosiveness and straight-line speed. As he runs well, he does a good job matching receivers' speed downfield and using his ball skills to play through the receiver. He uses his length well to match up against bigger receivers. His physicality and aggressive play style stand out, but his inconsistent tackling may be a concern. Williams has the skills to fit both man and zone schemes. He will have to continue to develop his skills while adding depth to a room.

     

GRADE: 6.7/10 (Career Backup/Rotational Player—Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 214/300

POSITION RANK: CB26

PRO COMPARISON: Johnthan Banks

     

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

HEIGHT: 5'10 5/8"

WEIGHT: 182 lbs

      

POSITIVES

—Smooth backpedal with quick feet. Able to get out of breaks.

—Good in run support. Elusive and physical in block destruction when needed.

—Plays with a high motor. Routinely finishes the play around the ball.

—Doesn’t panic with the ball in the air.

—Catches ball w/ hands.

      

NEGATIVES

—Open field tackling can be an issue. Takes poor angles to the ball-carrier.

—Does below average job tackling. Can melt off or give poor effort on too many tackles.

      

2020 STATISTICS

10 Games: 36 Tackles, 2 INT, 2 PBU, 1 TD, 1 FR, 1 FF

       

NOTES

—28 starts for Vols defense.

OVERALL

Thompson is a cover first cornerback with the ability to align in multiple positions in the defensive backfield. He shows very good football intelligence and instincts when it comes to playing routes in front of him. His read-and-react ability works great. He is hesitant at times when it comes to tackling. On top of taking poor angles at times,

Thompson repetitively makes business decisions and avoids high collisions; with the attempts to ankle bite. Thompson has the ability to play in both man and zone schemes. Though he only has average length and size, he is able to compete and hold his own against bigger receivers. His ball skills are what separate Thompson; with the ability to pluck the ball out of the air.

      

GRADE: 6.9/10 (Career Backup/Rotational Player—Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 184/300

POSITION RANK: CB24

PRO COMPARISON: Kyle Fuller

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

HEIGHT: 6'6⅛"

WEIGHT: 310

    

POSITIVES

—Above-average play strength with a physical, rugged playing style.

—Strong hands, core strength and lockout to press, strain and displace shaded defenders on inside-zone concepts.

—Solid initial quickness and burst to close space on defenders with his jump set and on the backside of zone to cut them off.

—Does a nice job lining up his target on double-teams to locate the hip and knock the defender over for his guard to overtake.

—Consistently drives his feet and fights to rework his pads and hands onto a block after losing initial leverage.

—Showed noticeable improvement in his pass-protection footwork after a rough game against Georgia in Week 6. 

     

NEGATIVES

—Adequate range in pass protection that will require help to remedy; prone to opening his hips early, heel-click and struggle to protect his edge against rushers with a legit get-off.

—Takes an extra kick, drifts off his spot and creates a soft inside shoulder when rushers set up their moves using hesitations and stutters.

—Needs to sharpen and tighten up his hand placement; too often is high and off target.

      

2020 STATISTICS

—Started all 11 games at left tackle.

—Didn't miss an assignment and led the team in knockdowns with 56.

—Team captain.

     

NOTES

—49 career game appearances with 30 starts, all at left tackle.

—Missed the 2018 season with a torn ACL.

—Former 5-star and top recruit from the state of Kentucky.

—Prolific all-around high school athlete; 2016 state discus title winner and an undefeated state champion wrestler as a senior, won the 2015 state shot put title and named the 2014 Gatorade Kentucky Boys Track and Field Athlete of the Year.

—Heavily involved in the community and was named a captain of the 2019 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team for his impact off the field.

—Graduated with his degree in animal sciences in 2019 and married his longtime girlfriend in 2020.

     

OVERALL

Young is a two-and-a-half-year starter at left tackle for the Wildcats' multiple-run scheme. He has a distinguished background as a former 5-star tackle with a state championship in wrestling, discus and the shot put. Young has a sturdy, well-rounded build with good play strength and solid athletic ability.

He excels in pass protection when he can get his hands on rushers quickly and use his girth and sticky hands to grind rushers to a halt. As a run-blocker, Young is stout at the point of attack to create stalemates, has the leg drive to displace defenders on angle blocks and boasts solid initial quickness to cut off the backside on zone runs.

Young gets into trouble against quality speed-rushers off the edge that win with get-off and can set up their moves, causing him to open his hips early, heel-click in an attempt to protect his edge and drift/overset against hesitations and stutters. This will likely keep Young at right tackle if he can have persistent schemed help on obvious passing downs or force a move inside.

Young has the functional strength, physicality, body control and athletic ability to provide quality depth while he learns a new position (he was exclusively a left tackle in college) with spot-starter potential within his first few seasons.

     

GRADE: 7.0/10 (Early Round 5)

OVERALL RANK: 163/300

POSITION RANK: OT15

PRO COMPARISON: David Edwards 

     

Written by B/R NFL Scout Brandon Thorn

The New Orleans Saints added to their quarterback room Saturday by selecting Notre Dame's Ian Book with the No. 133 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL draft.

Following the selection of Book, here is a look at the Saints' current offensive depth chart:

QB: Taysom Hill, Jameis Winston, Trevor Siemian, Ian Book

RB: Alvin Kamara, Latavius Murray, Dwayne Washington, Ty Montgomery, Tony Jones Jr. 

FB: Alex Armah

WR 1: Michael Thomas, Marquez Callaway, Juwan Johnson

WR 2: Tre'Quan Smith, Deonte Harris, Lil'Jordan Humphrey

TE: Nick Vannett, Adam Trautman, Garrett Griffin, Ethan Wolf

LT: Terron Armstead, James Hurst, Ethan Greenidge

LG: Andrus Peat, Derrick Kelly II

C: Erik McCoy, Will Clapp, Christian Montano

RG: Cesar Ruiz, Calvin Throckmorton

RT: Ryan Ramczyk, Ethan Greenidge

For the first time since 2005, the Saints are set to enter a season without future Hall of Famer Drew Brees as their starting quarterback.

Brees announced his retirement this offseason after 15 seasons with the Saints and 20 NFL seasons overall.

New Orleans re-signed Jameis Winston in free agency, brought back veteran Trevor Siemian on a reserve-futures contract and retained Taysom Hill from last year's roster as well.

When Brees missed time with a rib injury last season, Hill started over Winston. It appears both Hill and Winston will be given every opportunity to win the starting job entering the 2021 campaign.

Book is a developmental prospect who will hope to make the roster as the No. 3 quarterback in 2021, and he may have ended up in the best possible landing spot.

One of the biggest knocks against the 6'0" Book is his size, but Brees faced similar criticism during his career and developed into one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history.

The 23-year-old Book set the Notre Dame record for wins as a starting quarterback with 30 during his college career and twice led the Fighting Irish to the College Football Playoff.

In 45 career appearances, Book completed 63.8 percent of his passes for 8,948 yards, 72 touchdowns and 20 interceptions while also rushing for 1,517 yards and 17 scores.

Book has some shortcomings in his game in terms of arm strength and even accuracy at times, but he possesses the types of intangibles that Saints head coach Sean Payton will undoubtedly love to work with.

HEIGHT: 6'0"

WEIGHT: 211

    

POSITIVES

— Adequate athlete with good footwork. Able to make throws consistently on the move and ad-lib when operating out of the pocket.

— Can deliver throws down the field when operating on schedule.

— Plays with toughness with the ball in his hands. Willing runner.

— Consistently able to change arm slot to deliver his throws.

     

NEGATIVES

— Lacks real NFL arm strength to consistently make the throws needed every week.

— Below-average height and size for the position.

— Can become completely unraveled under pressure. Drifts backward in the pocket so he can see things down the field.

— Will be slow with his ability to progress. 

       

2020 STATISTICS

12 G, 228-of-353 (64.6%), 2,830 YDS, 15 TD, 3 INT

116 ATT, 485 YDS, 9 TD

      

OVERALL

Ian Book is an undersized QB who plays with toughness and wins with accuracy and timing. Book is an adequate athlete who is able to consistently deliver throws from outside the pocket and change his arm slot to throw the ball however he needs.

He is a competitive player who is very willing to tuck the ball and run if needed, but his lack of size constantly shows up in his play. While you appreciate his ability to make plays off-schedule, pressure can completely unravel him and will lead to some fluttered throws and bad sacks as he drifts back in the pocket.

Overall, Book has enough accuracy and athleticism to be worth a look as a practice squad or even backup QB, but his lack of size and feel in the pocket puts a hard cap on his upside.

       

GRADE: 6.4/10 (Round 7)

OVERALL RANK: 256/300

POSITION RANK: QB12

PRO COMPARISON: John Wolford

     

Written by B/R NFL Scout Nate Tice

HEIGHT: 6'1"

WEIGHT: 198

              

POSITIVES

—Willing to "get in the trash" and support the run.

—Does a good job blitzing.

—Disruptive player both in the run and pass.

—Likes to get hands on receivers

—Shows good speed when he opens up and runs.

—Able to stay calm and work through the reception point.

               

NEGATIVES

—Struggles to get out of breaks at the top of routes.

—Needs to improve strength. Gets pushed around and has trouble disengaging from blocks.

—Gambles too often and at wrong times.

               

2019 STATISTICS

—9 Games: 33 tackles, 4 INT, 10 PBU

               

NOTES

—Opted out of 2020 season.

—Ran unofficial 4.42 at pro day.

               

OVERALL

Adebo is a feisty player with very good length for the cornerback spot. He is a willing tackler who does a good job supporting the run, though he can struggle redirecting to the ball in the open field. At Stanford he was used well in the blitz game, coming off the edge often from his cornerback spot, though can come in wild, missing tackles. In the pass game, he does a nice job getting his head around to find the ball with ball hawk tendencies. 

Adebo does well playing with low pad level but struggles with sharp breaks and double moves. He plays a high-risk, high-reward style. He will need to have a better understanding of when to jump routes at the next level. After a stellar sophomore season, Adebo had similar production in 2019. After opting out in 2020, he comes with a lot of upside in which a team could look to develop.

               

GRADE: 7.1/10 (Future Role Player/Spot Starter) Round 4

OVERALL RANK: 149/300

POSITION RANK: CB18

PRO COMPARISON: Dee Milliner

               

Written by B/R NFL Scout Cory Giddings

HEIGHT: 6'2 7/8"

WEIGHT: 238

               

POSITIVES

—A very fluid athlete when moving sideline-to-sideline, adjusting angles or having to change direction.

—Quality play-recognition.

—Has solid extension on blocks on the edge when stacking and shedding.

—Should be filed under a "high effort" player.

—Runs his feet through tackles to limit knockback and yardage gained after contact.

—Above-average player in coverage.

                

NEGATIVES

—Overly physical, relative to other linebacker prospects.

—Foot speed on film does not match pro-day times.

—Getting off of blocks can be an issue for him.

—Film exists of slot receivers blocking him on the edge as an apexed player.

                

2020 STATISTICS

54 TKL, 2.5 TFL, 1 SK, 1 PBU, 2 FF

                

NOTES

—Spent time as a defensive back as a prep in Indiana.

—Father played for the New York Jets for a short amount of time as a tight end.

—Brother played tight end at Harvard before medically retiring.

                 

OVERALL

Pete Werner has great movement skills laterally, but his vertical acceleration on film does not match his recorded 4.59-second 40-yard dash from Ohio State's pro day. If he can tap into that athleticism and improve his level of violence, he has the potential to be a starting linebacker in the NFL. On paper, he has the upside of a Fred Warner type of 4-3 outside linebacker, but he has not reached his final form yet.

                

GRADE: 7.51/10 (Round 3)

OVERALL RANK: 86/300

POSITION RANK: LB7

PRO COMPARISON: Fred Warner 

                

Written by B/R NFL Scout Justis Mosqueda

The New Orleans Saints no longer have Trey Hendrickson, so they added a defensive end in Thursday's NFL draft.

New Orleans selected Houston pass-rusher Payton Turner with the No. 28 overall pick.

Here is a look at how he will fit into his new team's depth chart:

LDE: Cameron Jordan, Carl Granderson, Christian Ringo

DT: David Onyemata, Ryan Glasgow, Jalen Dalton

NT: Shy Tuttle, Malcolm Roach

RDE: Marcus Davenport, Payton Turner*, Tanoh Kpassagnon, Noah Spence, Marcus Willoughby

OLB: Zack Baun, Kaden Elliss, Chase Hansen

MLB: Demario Davis, Wynton McManis

OLB: Andrew Dowell

CB: Patrick Robinson, Grant Haley

CB: Marshon Lattimore,  Keith Washington Jr. 

FS: Marcus Williams, P.J. Williams

SS: Malcolm Jenkins, Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, J.T. Gray       

Depth chart info provided by Ourlads and Over the Cap.

   

This was something of a surprising pick, as Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio reported there were some teams around the league that gave Turner a fourth-round grade.

The Saints instead took him with a first-round pick after he helped anchor Houston's defense with 25 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, five sacks and one forced fumble during the 2020 campaign. He posted 3.5 sacks during the 2019 season.

Turner has always been somewhat overlooked. He was a 2-star recruit per 247Sports' composite rankings before he played at Houston instead of a Power Five school.

All he did was play his way into the first round of the NFL draft. He'll have the opportunity to contribute right away after Hendrickson joined the Cincinnati Bengals this offseason. Hendrickson finished with a career-best 13.5 sacks in 2020, so there is production to be had when lining up across Cameron Jordan.

Turner can take advantage of the double teams Jordan draws and tally some sacks during his rookie campaign.

If he does, he can help the Saints win the NFC South for the fifth straight season.