New Orleans Saints QB Depth Chart 2021: Starters and Backup players
New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season, leaving a hole in the team's roster. As a leader on and off the field, Drew Brees meant a lot to the Saints organization, so filling his spot won't be easy.
The New Orleans Saints used Taysom Hill as a quarterback option and had backup Jameis Winston start at quarterback due to injuries. There are currently four quarterbacks in the New Orleans Saints' depth chart who may end up seeing time under center at some time in the future.
New Orleans Saints QB Depth Chart
QB1: Taysom Hill
QB1: Jamies Winston
QB3: Trevor Siemian
QB4: Ian Book.
New Orleans Saints QB Depth Chart Analysis
Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston
Grouping Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston together as 'QB1' is actually a logical way of looking at the starting quarterback situation. When Drew Brees was quarterback, Hill played a significant role in the New Orleans Saints offense and should do so again.
Taysom Hill and Jameis Winston bring two different types of play to the offense. Winston has a big arm which, with his time as the starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, was good and bad. He can throw it downfield but sometimes rushes it and ends up leading the league in interceptions.
Meanwhile, Hill is a playmaker with the legs of a quarterback, running back and wide receiver. Hill has had 1,047 passing yards, 809 rushing yards and 336 receiving yards in three seasons with the New Orleans Saints.
Using Winston and Hill together in the same play and in the same series is definitely something that Sean Payton could do. Especially in the first season without Drew Brees, easing the offense into a two-quarterback style configuration might be the best route to go for the team.
Trevor Siemian
Trevor Siemian was drafted by the Denver Broncos in the 2015 NFL Draft and became the starting quarterback at the start of 2016. That season, he threw for 3,401 yards and 18 touchdowns. In 2017, he threw for 2,285 yards before suffering a shoulder injury that hindered his playing time.
In 2018, he was traded to the Minnesota Vikings but didn't play with the team; Siemian signed with the New York Jets in 2019 and then the Tennessee Titans in 2020. The New Orleans Saints signed Trevor Siemian off the Titans' practice squad in November 2020 and re-signed him for the 2021 season.
Trevor Siemian has shown with the Broncos that he does have the ability to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He will likely be third in the depth chart as a solid option behind Hill and Winston in case one of them can't play.
Ian Book
The New Orleans Saints seem to want Ian Book to sit back and learn during the 2021 season. Book was drafted in the fourth round of the 2021 NFL Draft out of Notre Dame, where he was a four-year starter.
He had three consecutive seasons of throwing for nearly 3,000 yards and led the Fighting Irish to a successful NFL season. Book can and will likely be an effective quarterback in the NFL in the future.