Breaking down the quarterbacks the Saints are set to face in 2023

The New Orleans Saints have quite the opportunity in front of them. Given they will play one of the weaker schedules in the NFL this season that also usually means weaker or questionable quarterback play. The Saints will play 3 Pro Bowl quarterbacks from last season (Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins and Trevor Lawrence). They will play 3 or potentially 4 rookie quarterbacks this season (Young, Levis, Stroud, Richardson) and share the division with Baker Mayfield, Andy Dalton (at the moment) and Desmond Ridder. We will dive more in depth into the schedule as a whole to give you a better idea on who the Saints will face this season.

The NFC South

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Atlanta: Desmond Ridder

Carolina: Andy Dalton/ Bryce Young

Tampa Bay: Baker Mayfield

The NFC South will certainly look different heading into this season compared to last season. 3 teams will be welcoming in new starters as Baker Mayfield, Derek Carr, and Andy Dalton or Bryce Young will make their debuts with their new teams as Desmond Ridder is the only starter returning with the same team from last season. Baker Mayfield is looking forward to a bounce back season after struggling with the Panthers and ending the season on a somewhat positive note with the Los Angeles Rams. Andy Dalton who played with the Saints last year could face his old team on Monday Night Football in a week 2 showdown. The Saints have the best quarterback in the division with Derek Carr, but that could change if Bryce Young comes in and lights it up. The Falcons seemed pretty content on sticking with Desmond Ridder after he showed some flashes and former Longhorn Bijan Robinson should only help the second-year quarterback contender to grow.

The Rookies

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Tennessee: Wil Levis

Indianapolis: Anthony Richardson

Carolina: Bryce Young

Houston: CJ Stroud

Now this is where things get interesting. The Saints could hypothetically open the first two weeks of the season with Levis and young, but both rookies could be on the bench at least for the first half of the season for veterans Andy Dalton and Ryan Tannehill. The Saints will almost certainly face CJ Stroud and Anthony Richardson as both rookies do not have a veteran in the way of the job. If the Saints were to play all 4 this season it would be the most the team has played since 2011 when they played Cam Newton, Blaine Gabbert, Jake Locker, and Christian Ponder.

Seasoned Veterans

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Minnesota Vikings: Kirk Cousins

Detroit Lions: Jared Goff

Jacksonville Jaguars: Trevor Lawrence

Chicago Bears: Justin Fields

New York Giants: Daniel Jones

New England Patriots: Mac Jones

Tennessee Titans: Ryan Tannehill

This is where most of the problems the Saints will face as far as quarterbacks are concerned. We know what Kirk Cousins can do with these weapons in Minnesota as we saw when the Vikings took down the Saints last season in London. Jared Goff has quickly shown why he is a franchise quarterback and the Lions have proved they have faith in the former 1st overall pick. Speaking of top overall picks, Trevor Lawerance showed why coaching matters and looked immediately like the franchise quarterback we saw at Clemson. Paring him with former Eagles coach Doug Pederson might have been one of those franchise saving moves when we look back at the Jaguars. Justin Fields should continue his trajectory as the Bears revamped the offensive line and added DJ Moore to help bolster the wide receiver core. Mac Jones played the Saints his rookie year and will get another chance at playing them with his new offensive coordinator Bill O’Brian who should come in and fix the mess that Matt Patricia left last season, and now we could see that growth that we have been waiting for since his rookie season. Daniel Jones looked much more comfortable with Brian Daboll. He made good reads and played smart football despite the lack of weapons so the Giants should continue to be a threat in the NFC. Lastly, Ryan Tannehill could or could not be the starter when the season comes to an end. It looks more than likely the Saints will face Tannehill once again and it will be interesting to see what kind of offense the Titans will run in 2023.

The Unknown

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Green Bay: Jordan Love

Jordan Love is going to be one interesting story to watch during the season. After sitting behind Rodgers for most of his career Jordan Love will finally get his opportunity to shine after Aaron Rodgers was officially traded to the New York Jets in the offseason. The Packers gave Love an extension and showed that at least this year, he is their franchise quarterback. In limited moments last season, you saw both good and not so good moments. This will be a big moment for Love in his career and facing off against what should be a very good Saints defense will be a great test for him in Week 3.

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