Executive suggests New Orleans bypass Shedeur Sanders to tank for Arch Manning

One NFL Executive suggested the Saints should bypass Shedeur Sanders to tank for Arch Manning.

When news broke that Derek Carr could potentially miss the entirety of the 2025 NFL season with a shoulder injury, it called the New Orleans Saints' immediate future into question.

Suddenly, any ideas new head coach Kellen Moore had for a Carr-led offense would almost certainly need to be scrapped and in their place, the team would need to settle on something new, be that signing a free agent like Aaron Rodgers, trading for a player with familiarity in a Moore offense, or drafting a top-tier talent like Shedeur Sanders to answer their quarterback situation long-term.

As a result, the Sanders-Saints connection has rapidly picked up steam over the past few weeks, but what if that suggestion is a bit too shortsighted? What if, regardless of who is on the board at pick No. 9, the Saints instead look to pick the highest-upside player available at the expense of their short-term success and instead take a shot at the quarterback class of 2026, which could be headlined by Texas' Arch Manning?

Well, that is the suggestion one NFL executive told Adam Schefter, who passed it along to fans on ESPN's NFL Live.

“I even had one football executive say that the best thing the Saints can do right now, and they would disagree with this, New Orleans, it was just a suggestion from another team, the best thing they could do is tank this year and see if they can entice Arch Manning to come out after next year to come back in and play quarterback for New Orleans,” Schefter declared. “Now we're getting way ahead of ourselves, but it's fun to speculate at this time of the year when we're going over scenarios like this.”

Whoa, talk about a hot take, but is it really? While some, like Mel Kiper Jr., believe Sanders is the best quarterback in this year's class, there isn't a passer who will be selected in the 2025 NFL Draft who is expected to be of the same caliber as Manning. Widely considered the best quarterback prospect since Caleb Williams coming out of USC, there will be teams who come off to a slow start this fall and will debate if fighting for a playoff spot is worth losing out on their quarterback of the next 15 years.

Will the Saints be one of them? Only time will tell, but if Sanders is still on the board at No. 9, it's safe to assume the Saints' draft room will be locked in some heated discussions before the pick is in.

Sheduer Sanders’ latest comments feel like a direct message to the Saints

The New Orleans Saints hold the ninth pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Will that be enough to land them Shedeur Sanders? The Colorado product was once thought to be a top two or three pick in the draft but has recently been sliding down the draft boards.

This is obviously good news for the Saints. That might still have to move up to ensure they land Sanders if that's the route they want to take but it doesn't appear that they'll have to make any crazy trades to move up to the second or third pick in the draft.

How does Sanders feel about his recent slide though? Is he going to be peeved if he isn't a top three pick and falls to the Saints at nine? Well, he recently answered that question (about sliding, not falling to the Saints) on Up & Adams last week.

"I don't care," Sanders said. "I went to an HBCU coming out of high school, and here I am now. The route -- I don't care what the route is. At the end of the day it doesn't matter to me. I just want the opportunity."

Shedeur Sanders gives perfect response to declining draft stock

This is a great quote for Saints fans who want the team to draft Sanders because it shows he's not going to be mad if he's not a top-three pick. He truly just wants the right team to take him and wants to show that he can be the right quarterback for their franchise. If he wants the opportunity, the Saints would likely be happy to give him one.

With the news of Derek Carr's shoulder potentially impacting his availability this year, the Saints taking Sanders makes even more sense now than it did before. Had they taken him before the Carr injury news came about, it'd have been as a "Oh he's going to take over at some point". Now he'd likely be the guy from Day 1.

sThe Saints have struggled to find a consistent starting quarterback since Drew Brees rode off into the retirement sunset following the 2020 season. From Trevor Siemian to Jameis Winston to Spencer Rattler to Derek Carr, the Saints have not been able to find a solution that has worked out for them. Hopefully if they land Sanders, the solution is solved for the next decade and a half.