The New Orleans Saints scheduled a visit with Houston Cougars quarterback prospect Clayton Tune after his audition at the Senior Bowl earlier this offseason, reports KPRC2 Houston’s Aaron Wilson, who adds that a couple of other teams showing interest include the Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys, and Houston Texans. Tune, 24, projects to be picked in the middling rounds of the 2023 NFL draft — as high as round three, maybe as low as round six. Teams are using the weeks ahead to nail down his grade and relative value within the draft class.
He completed 67.4% of his throws for 4,069 yards and 40 touchdown passes (against 10 interceptions) last season, having also gained 544 rushing yards and 5 touchdown runs. He put together a very impressive athletic profile after weighing in at 6-foot-2 1/2 and 220 pounds, timing the 40-yard dash in 4.64 seconds and posting a pro shuttle time of 4.25 seconds. He also logged a 37 1/2-inch vertical jump and a 10-foot-2 broad jump. It made for a rare Relative Athletic Score of 9.8.
Right now the Saints have just three quarterbacks under contract for 2023, between the newly-signed starter (Derek Carr), the veteran backup (Jameis Winston), and a holdover from last year’s practice squad (Jake Luton). It would make sense to invest in a developmental prospect like Tune who can back up Carr once Winston leaves in free agency next offseason. The Saints also scheduled a throwing session with Incarnate Word quarterback Lindsey Scott Jr., so at least some rookie passers are on their radar.
