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South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler fell to the New Orleans Saints in the fifth round of the 2024 NFL draft last week.
Why did he fall so far?
During an appearance on the “Pat McAfee Show” on Monday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter suggested that the Denver Broncos and Atlanta Falcons had the most interest in the quarterback. After the Broncos and Falcons picked other QBs in the first round, Rattler had to wait four more rounds to hear his name called.
“You know what I think it was with Spencer Rattler more than anything else? The two teams that liked him most in my mind, based on the people I spoke to, were the Denver Broncos and the Atlanta Falcons,” Schefter said, via Wes Mitchell of on3.com.
“I think they had a mid-second to early third-round grade on him. Spencer Rattler’s big problem there was that the Broncos went with Bo Nix at 12, and the Falcons went with Michael Penix at 8, and his two best options closed up immediately, which left him sitting on the board longer than a lot of people [expected].”
Whether or not the Broncos had serious interest in Rattler is a moot point because Denver ultimately decided on Nix. It will be an interesting conversation in a few years to see how their respective careers pan out after Nix went 12th overall and Rattler went 150th overall.