ESPN's Adam Schefter explains real reason Spencer Rattler was drafted later than expected

It seemed everyone had an opinion over the weekend on why South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler was taken later in the NFL Draft than most expected.

As has been well-documented at this point, some reporters even pointed to teams telling them they were turned off by Rattler’s appearance in the Netflix documentary QB1 when he was in high school and was the No. 1 quarterback prospect in the country — those reports coming despite pretty much everyone at South Carolina, both on- and off-the-record, reporting what a model student-athlete Rattler was during his two years in Columbia.

But according to the informed opinion of ESPN’s Adam Schefter — the network’s top NFL insider and a guest on the Pat McAfee Show Monday — Rattler’s teenage years had nothing to do with his fall to the fifth round.

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“You know what I think it was with Spencer Rattler more than anything else?” Schefter said. “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. 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 think.”

Rattler, who had a strong performance at the Senior Bowl and was thought to be a Day 2 pick, was ultimately selected in the fifth round by the New Orleans Saints with the No. 150 overall pick in the draft.

“I think that had as much to do with it as anything else,” Schefter continued. “You can talk about all the other factors, but there were some people on some teams, and I know this because I asked them before, ‘How high you think Spencer Rattler’s gonna go?’ ‘Ahh, mid-second, early third.’ Look, the problem was two potential landing spots closed up really quick, and that caused him, in my mind, to slide further than a lot of people thought he would.”

Despite the draft slide, Rattler actually ends up in a situation that could ultimately be advantageous to him as he joins a Saints quarterback room that has an older returning starter and no clear, young replacement waiting behind him.

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“There’s certainly an opportunity for him to make a mark in New Orleans,” Schefter said on Saturday during ESPN’s draft coverage. “Derek Carr is the starting quarterback, their backup quarterbacks are Jake Haener and Nathan Peterman, and so Spencer Rattler will go into New Orleans and have the chance to compete for a backup job. If he’s as good as he thinks, he’s going to get an opportunity there to make a mark in New Orleans.”

Rattler finished his career in Columbia with 6,212 yards passing, 37 touchdowns and 20 interceptions.

As a recruit, Rattler was a five-star prospect and one of the most sought after players in the country coming out of Pinnacle High School in Phoenix. He ranked as the No. 1 quarterback in the 2019 cycle according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

As the No. 150 pick, the former South Carolina QB is projected to sign a four-year, $4,356,255 deal, according to Spotrac.

McAfee finished the segment with Schefter with some words of encouragement for Rattler.

“It doesn’t matter how you get in the room, though,” McAfee said, referring to the fact that regardless of where he’s drafted, Rattler is still an NFL player with a chance to prove himself. “Remember that Spence. It doesn’t matter how you get in.”

On3’s Nick Kosko contributed to this story.

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