Spencer Rattler | South Carolina 6’0 211 lbs. September 28, 2000 (23)
Spencer Rattler was drafted by the New Orleans Saints, becoming the 7th quarterback and 150th overall player in the 2024 NFL Draft.
COLLEGE PRODUCTION
Spencer Rattler spent three seasons at Oklahoma before transferring to South Carolina.
At Oklahoma, the former #1 overall recruit started as a sophomore. He posted a fairly impressive first season with over 3,000 passing yards and a 28:7 touchdown to interception ratio. Unfortunately, Rattler struggled to start his junior campaign despite opening the season as the favorite to be selected first overall in the NFL Draft. This led to him being benched mid-season for none other than Caleb Williams, an eventual first overall pick himself.
At South Carolina, Rattler’s career saw somewhat of a renaissance, notching 2 more 3,000 yard seasons and a total 37:20 TD:INT ratio. These numbers are definitely more pedestrian in comparison to the top prospects of this class, but aren’t something to just scoff at either.
Rattler didn’t add any notable production on the ground in college, but he did rush for 16 TDs over his collegiate career despite never topping 200 yards in any given season.
FILM
Here’s an excerpt of my breakdown of Spencer Rattler from the DFF Declassified Rookie Draft Survival Guide:
Rattler immediately jumps off the screen when you watch him. He admittedly has an almost intoxicating combination of traits, the crown jewel of those being his arm strength. Rattler’s arm is undeniable, and he shows flashes of truly elite arm talent on tape here and there. He’s also got some good wiggle to him and can move around effectively, and has filled into his relatively small frame nicely over the course of his collegiate career. Rattler has the ability to make magic out of structure and flashes high-level ball placement on extremely high-difficulty throws at times. Not only that, but his footwork is solid, albeit not perfect.
Where Rattler’s profile starts to unravel itself, especially earlier in his career, begins with his poise and consistency. This was a big reason for Rattler’s dramatic downward spiral out of Oklahoma, and was definitely was not aided by the eventual arrival of this year’s QB1. Rattler struggles under pressure and his mechanics occasionally get haywire when the pocket collapses. This will be the biggest area of improvement needed for Rattler to find success in the league. If he’s able to keep himself consistent down to down, his high-end traits will get a chance to shine.
ATHLETIC TESTING
At the combine, Spencer Rattler measured 6’0” and 211 lbs, which is a pretty solid build, despite a less-than-ideal height.
He checked in with a forgettable 40-yard dash time of 4.95. His three-cone time was poor at 7.21. Rattler’s 4.37 20 yard shuttle is respectable. His vertical jump of 32” also supports limited athletic explosivness.. This led to an overall relative size-adjusted athletic score of 2.58 out of 10 which is far below average for the top prospects in this draft class.
DRAFT ANALYSIS
Spencer Rattler was selected with the 150th-overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft by the New Orleans Saints.
This is pretty poor draft capital, in all honesty, and doesn’t indicate any guarantee that Rattler ever starts in the NFL. The Saints have almost nothing invested in him, so if he really ends up just not being that good, which apparently most of the league seems to think will happen, he could easily end up being a total zero sum in fantasy.
That being said, the New Orleans Saints are a pretty solid landing spot with a realistic win condition for Rattler to take the starting job. The Saints have outs in Derek Carr’s contract following the completion of the 2024 season, so we could realistically see them roll the dice on Rattler maybe at some point this season and potentially end up with him getting a Sam Howell-esque bid at a starting job for a season. If this does end up happening, he’d get to throw to Chris Olave, Alvin Kamara, Rashid Shaheed, and whoever else the Saints are able to add in the near future, which could provide for some real fantasy relevance.
FANTASY INSIGHTS
I have Spencer Rattler ranked as the #7 QB in this class for projected future dynasty value. Obviously it’s a huge projection to say he’ll ever even get to start in the NFL, but I do think there is a world in which it happens, and think ruling it out as a possibility completely would be a huge mistake given the potential upside if Rattler is able to crack the starting lineup at any point. Sam Howell was able to turn into late 2024 1st round rookie value by starting for one season before returning to backup status. Rattler could do the same as his fellow former top prospect-turned 5th round draft pick.
Spencer Rattler should go off the board in rookie drafts in the late third-early fourth round of rookie drafts. He’s in the mid-30s of my overall prospect rankings, so I’d be targeting him as soon as the 3.06-3.07 if I’m especially quarterback needy.
Thank you for tuning in to DFF’s 2024 NFL Draft Coverage! Stay tuned as we break down every fantasy-relevant pick during the draft. Please consider becoming our yearly DFF subscription so we can deliver top-notch analysis and fantasy breakdowns. Only $1.67 per month ($19.99 per year) gets you our Dynasty Rookie Draft Guide, access to the DFF Discord for free personalized dynasty team advice, hundreds of dynasty articles and so much more…
I hope you enjoyed this article! Check out my Twitter/X @bwinknfl for more of my draft takes. #DFFArmy #FantasyFootball #AlwaysBeBuilding #NFL #NFLDraft #NFLTransactions #NFLTrades #AlwaysBeScouting #PlantYourFlag
