Position preview: Could Hendon Hooker and the Saints be a match? Only if the price is right

The NFL draft is fast approaching, and the New Orleans Saints are currently armed with eight picks.

After fortifying some of their major weaknesses in free agency, New Orleans should be in a position where it doesn’t have to force a pick at a specific position when its turn comes around. Still, some positions could use more help than others.

With that in mind, let’s take a position-by-position look before the draft’s arrival to see who could make sense for the Saints in 2023.

Quarterback

Need: Low

The lowdown: A few months ago, this position seemed like it would be high on the priority list for the Saints. Then the team not only signed Derek Carr to a massive free agent contract, but it also agreed to a re-worked deal with last year’s opening-day starter, Jameis Winston, to return as Carr’s backup. So, the Saints are set. They have enviable depth right now, and they have their starter locked in for the foreseeable future.That said, would it be a terrible idea to use some of the team’s draft capital on a quarterback?

Potential fits: Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker, Fresno State QB Jake Haener, UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Purdue QB Aidan O’Connell

The best-case scenario: The closer we get to the draft, the less likely this feels like an outcome, but the ideal way for this to shake out would be for Hooker to fall somewhere near the back end of the second round into a position where the Saints could trade up to get him.

The Tennessee quarterback is one of the draft’s more polarizing prospects. Hooker has a lot of traits the Saints look for — he’s big (6-3, 217), athletic (25 career rushing touchdowns), was highly productive at the highest level of college football and he was a team captain. But he’s also old for a draft prospect (25), played in an offense that doesn’t translate well to the NFL and is coming off a serious knee injury.

It’s possible Hooker could be off the board before the Saints turn comes around in the first round. And even if he’s available at 29, it would be a surprise to see the Saints use their best draft chip on a quarterback considering the investment the team has already made into the position this offseason.