Saints brushing off concerns about unproven QBs in Kellen Moore’s first year in charge

METAIRIE, La. (AP) - New Orleans Saints first-year coach Kellen Moore’s own experience tells him that NFL teams can win without an accomplished quarterback.

Moore was playing for Dallas when the Cowboys selected Dak Prescott in the fourth round of the 2016 draft.

Prescott won the starting job as a rookie and went 13-3, passing for 23 touchdowns while throwing just four interceptions.

And Moore doesn’t hesitate to mention that when asked about the fact that the four QBs on the Saints roster right now have a combined seven NFL starts - and no wins - among them.

"It's all about opportunities,” Moore said.

Prescott "hopped in there and played great and certainly there's a lot of other quarterbacks through the history of this game who've done it in a similar fashion," Moore continued. “So, we feel like we've got some young guys who are ready to roll."

Rookie quarterback Tyler Shough became the second draft choice of the Moore era when the Saints selected him early in the second round last month. That made Shough the highest QB picked by the Saints since they took Archie Manning second overall in 1971.

"A lot of things you can't control," Shough said Thursday after the Saints wrapped up their third voluntary offseason practice. "But you can control your preparation, your attitude, your effort - and that's one thing I'm going to do."

For now, Shough is a front-runner to be New Orleans’ starter in Week 1, along with second-year pro Spencer Rattler, a 2024 fifth-rounder, who started six games - all losses - as a rookie last season while Derek Carr - who unexpectedly retired this month - was injured.

Shough, who turns 26 on Sept. 28, spent seven seasons with three college programs before turning pro, and his relative maturity has been evident to Moore.

"He's a really, really prepared quarterback," Moore said. "He can handle NFL volume. He's handled the playbook tremendously."

Rattler said he didn’t envision entering his second NFL season as the most experienced QB on New Orleans’ roster, but was grateful for the opportunities he was given last season, even as the Saints struggled to a 5-12 record.

"It helps a lot just with the speed of everything, understanding what you're going to see week in and week out,” Rattler said.

"You can't put too much pressure on yourself,” Rattler added. “It's Year 2 - a great opportunity ahead of me.”

Jake Haener, a 2023 fourth-round pick out of Fresno State, made his lone start last season and aims to be in the mix after he returns from a recent oblique injury that could sideline him for several weeks.

"I'm not dumb. Everybody's probably counting me as the least likely factor to have any success,” Haener said. "So I'm worried about what I can control at all times and nothing else. … I’ve always been the underdog."

New Orleans also signed undrafted rookie Hunter Dekkers after offering the former Iowa State lefty a rookie camp tryout.

"He has some tremendous ability," Moore said.

While it’s unusual for an NFL team to open a season without any QBs who’ve won an NFL game, it’s not rare.

That was the case when Green Bay went with rookies Jordan Love and Sean Clifford in 2023. Same with Cincinnati in 2020, Joe Burrow’s rookie season. Both clubs were playoff bound within two seasons.

On the flip side, the New York Jets have largely struggled since opening 2021 with Zach Wilson and Mike White as their active QBs.

"There's been lots of quarterback rooms around the league over the years where they've got a young group and they've got to develop them," Saints general manager Mickey Loomis said. “I wouldn't say it's ideal, but that's the hand we've been dealt."

Loomis and Moore wouldn’t rule out adding a veteran QB under the right circumstances, but haven’t listed that as a priority.

Loomis also dismissed the notion that Saints veterans might question the club’s urgency to win if they don’t pick up a more proven QB.

"I haven't heard that," Loomis said, but added he was confident that Moore, offensive coordinator Doug Nussmeier and QBs coach Scott Tolzien - all former NFL QBs themselves - would have whoever wins the job well prepared.

Moore "understands the position," Loomis emphasized. “He understands what he needs to ask from these guys at this stage of their career."

Veteran tight end Foster Moreau said experienced players know better than to make too many assumptions about unproven teammates at any position.

"These are the cards that we were dealt," Moreau said. “We're going to see what our cards are really worth. So, I'm excited to figure it out."