After initially trading their fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh-round picks to move up and select Dayton tight end Adam Trautman, the New Orleans Saints made a move to get back into day three of the 2020 NFL Draft to pick Mississippi State quarterback Tommy Stevens.
Saints coach Sean Payton said the team was hoping to land the eventual seventh-round pick as an undrafted free agent but, as Saturday went on, felt that wasn’t going to happen.
“(We) felt like he was leaning towards another team,” Payton said. “We were late enough in that draft where we had a real clear vision we didn’t want to lose out on the prospect. So it was easy for us to pick up a seventh-round pick and secure that he was coming here.”
The vision the Saints have for Stevens is a role much like Saints do-it-all quarterback Taysom Hill’s, and Payton said that vision was much clearer after Hill’s performance the past three seasons.
“He’s athletic enough to play in the kicking game. He’s certainly someone that we feel like catches the ball exceptionally well and he’s someone that I think is in a developmental role more as a quarterback,” Payton said.
Stevens said he’s heard the comparisons to Hill “quite a bit” and called it an honor.
“I love the way that Taysom plays and if I can do similar things that he's done for the Saints organization, I'll be very happy,” Stevens said. “I’m going to do whatever I’m asked to do.”
He did just that during his college career at Penn State and Mississippi State.
“There were certain game plans that had me lining up at a running back, h-back. I did some tight end stuff. Sometimes I went out wide and lined up as a receiver. I would line up in the backfield and motion in and end up being the quarterback,” he said. “There were a lot of different things that I did. It could be beneficial for me in the future.”
Stevens said that unique role came about because he was “really bored” at the start of his redshirt freshman season.
“I went to our quarterback's coach, Coach (Joe) Moorhead, and was like, hey, coach is there anything I can do? I really want to do something, can I run down on kickoff? Can I be a gunner on punt, can I just do something?” Stevens recalled. “He immediately put the running down on kickoff to bed. He was like, yeah, you're not going to do that, but we've got some things that we're going to be able to use you and kind of create some pain for other defenses and that's what we did.”
Throughout his college career he rushed for 887 yards and 12 touchdowns.
“My dad and my uncle have always taught me that… for as long as I've been playing football, they taught me to play as many positions as possible,” he said. “I do label myself as a quarterback first. I think that that's my primary position, but I'm definitely a guy that can do multiple things I feel like.”
Regardless of how the Saints use him, Stevens said he was excited to be apart of the franchise and looking forward to getting to work with Drew Brees and Hill.
“It's unbelievable,” he said. “I’m at a loss for words. I couldn't be more thankful for Coach Payton (and) his staff. I'm just incredibly blessed, incredibly thankful for people I have in my life and the Saints for giving me this opportunity.”
