Pressure is building for Spencer Rattler. The New Orleans Saints still haven’t won a game going into Week 5, and the second-year quarterback’s fans have run out of excuses. At some point the coaching staff is going to feel comfortable trusting Tyler Shough to lead the offense and try to win a game. If the offense keeps underperforming with Rattler and losing games, it may reach a point where they just feel comfortable enough to make a change. But where does Rattler rank among other quarterbacks around the league?
FOX Sports’ Ben Arthur put Rattler at No. 27, moving him up two spots from last week. That’s the same change we saw from Cody Benjamin at CBS Sports, who explained the boost from No. 29 to 27: “The Saints keep losing, and Rattler is kind of just along for the ride. He’s not necessarily transcending the mess, but he’s also not entirely deflated by it, which is a credit to his persistence. Rookie Tyler Shough may still get a chance soon.”
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The Ringer’s Steven Ruiz has been more optimistic. Rattler rose to No. 24 last week, and Ruiz kept him there despite another loss. There’s some arguing over whether Shough or Michael Penix Jr. is the second-best quarterback in the NFC South, but each of these writers agrees that it’s Baker Mayfield far out in front with Bryce Young bringing up the rear. How about the crop of second-year quarterbacks? Here’s how Rattler compares to his peers, though a couple of them were not listed due to injuries:
Caleb Williams: 17, 16, 19 (average: 17)
Jayden Daniels: N/A due to injury, 11, 11 (average: N/A)
Drake Maye: 13, 13, 14 (average: 13)
Michael Penix: 22, 18, 30 (average: 23)
J.J. McCarthy: N/A due to injury, N/A due to injury, 33 (average: N/A)
Bo Nix: 16, 15, 27 (average: 19)
Spencer Rattler: 27, 27, 24 (average: 26)
What’s frustrating is that each of those guys have done enough to win at least one game this season. Atlanta is treading water at .500. Tampa Bay has an early lead on their fifth consecutive division title at 3-1, which would break a record the Saints set with four NFC South championships from 2017 to 2020. Much of their success can be attributed to quarterback play. They found their guy in free agency and built around him.
And that’s the story with Rattler. He’s developed into a respectable game manager, cutting down on the sacks, turnovers, and negative plays, but he isn’t elevating the talent around him. He hasn’t been able to make the most of proven deep threats like Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed. Other teams have worse offensive lines and less-reliable running games, but they still find ways to put points on the board. Fair or not, his record is 0-10. If the Saints had a stronger team around him, maybe he could find more success. But as Benjamin said, right now he’s just along for the ride. That was the case with Joe Flacco and Russell Wilson, too. If Rattler can’t step up soon, he’ll be benched for a rookie just like those guys.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: QB power rankings: Where does Spencer Rattler fall going into Week 5?