Life without Drew Brees has been hard on the New Orleans Saints. They’ve wandered the desert from one quarterback to the next, constantly searching for an oasis — only to stumble into one mirage after another.
When Derek Carr put pen to paper on a four-year, $150 million contract this offseason, it looked like the Saints had finally found what they were looking for. But their offense has left a lot to be desired with Carr under center, and comparing his performance to the quarterbacks who preceded him doesn’t paint a flattering picture.
Some quarterbacks (like Trevor Siemian) have a much smaller sample size than others. Some were only in New Orleans for one season (like Andy Dalton) while we have multiple years of data to work with for others (Jameis Winston and Taysom Hill). So while it isn’t the cleanest comparison, we’re looking at per-game averages and per-dropback stats as opposed to volume metrics to try and account for the variance in sample sizes.
And because this is a blind test, we’ll hide each quarterback’s identity until the end. We’re effectively taking the names off the jerseys to see how they stack up by the numbers, removing biases and factors like contracts and play callers. Here’s what we found, with the top performer in each category highlighted in bold text:
| Cmp % | TD % | INT % | Sack % | Yards/gm | Success % | ANY/A | QB Rating | |
| Quarterback A | 57.4% | 5.9% | 1.6% | 4.6% | 192.3 | 41.1% | 5.96 | 88.4 |
| Quarterback B | 60.2% | 6.1% | 3.3% | 7.3% | 202.8 | 42.5% | 5.81 | 88.0 |
| Quarterback C | 66.7% | 4.8% | 2.4% | 6.2% | 205.1 | 48.9% | 6.54 | 95.2 |
| Quarterback D | 65.6% | 2.7% | 1.3% | 5.6% | 230.5 | 44.9% | 6.01 | 88.5 |
| Quarterback E | 65.1% | 3.1% | 2.7% | 8.9% | 211.8 | 43.6% | 6.31% | 87.1 |
Quarterback A
So Quarterback A (Trevor Siemian) did the best job avoiding negative plays like sacks and interceptions, and he threw touchdown passes at a respectable rate. But he was more along for the ride than steering the ship himself with the fewest passing yards per game in this group, and his accuracy was scattershot at best with the lowest completion percentage among his peers.
Siemian did have Sean Payton calling his plays, but his personnel left a lot to be desired. His leading receivers during his starts were Tre’Quan Smith, Marquez Callaway, Deonte Harty, and Kenny Stills with Ty Montgomery, Lil’Jordan Humphrey, and Kevin White rounding out the group.
Quarterback B
Next, we have Quarterback B (Jameis Winston), who has thrown more touchdowns than any of his competitors while remaining susceptible to sacks and interceptions, which have always been detractors to his game. Winston’s confidence has found him success nearly as often as it’s led to his undoing. Dennis Allen has cited Winston’s inconsistent performance as the driving factor to go in other directions at quarterback, but at least he does create big plays. If nothing else Winston’s turn at the wheel is always entertaining.
Quarterback C
On to Quarterback C (Andy Dalton), arguably the most effective passer the Saints have had after Brees hung up his cleats. Dalton leads the group in completion percentage and adjusted net yards per attempt (a metric that factors in touchdown passes, interceptions, and sacks relative to the number of pass attempts and yards gained) which means he’s connecting on a lot of passes and moving the offense while limiting setbacks like sacks and turnovers. His rates for negative plays fall right in the middle of the pack. Dalton was fine. He could have been a lot better. He also could have been much worse.
Quarterback D
Now we’re at Quarterback D (Derek Carr), whose disappointing first year on the team prompted this analysis. Let’s take a page from Mickey Loomis and focus on the positives: Carr doesn’t throw many interceptions, and he does pick up a lot of yards. The offense covers 80 yards quickly with him at quarterback. His problems lie in making meaningful plays in those final 20 yards; he’s got the worst touchdown rate in the group with fewer touchdown passes in 11 starts than Siemian had in 6 games (4 starts). Carr did take a lot of sacks early this season but he’s improved since the Saints shuffled the offensive line in their last five games. His overall numbers are pedestrian at best. He could be a lot worse, but the Saints expected him to be significantly better than this.
Quarterback E
And let’s bring it home with Quarterback E (Taysom Hill), who started nine games at quarterback from 2020 to 2021. Hill’s turn as the starter didn’t live up to the hype after Sean Payton spent years talking him up as the next Steve Young; the offense looked more like a facsimile of Drew Brees’ system without many plays designed to take advantage of Hill’s mobility. He threw nearly as many interceptions as touchdowns and took a ton of sacks, but he continued to attack teams vertically. And he went 7-2 as a starter. No other quarterback the Saints have started since Brees retired has led the team to more than six wins.
