Sean Payton: Sam Darnold could be the only QB from the 2018 draft still playing in 5 years

The 2018 NFL Draft is loaded with quarterbacks with first-round talent. Five quarterbacks — Josh Allen, Sam Darnold, Josh Rosen, Baker Mayfield and Lamar Jackson — are pretty much locks to go within the first 32 picks of the draft.

That doesn’t mean any of them are sure things, though. At least not according to Saints coach Sean Payton, who told the MMQB’s Peter King that he does not envy the QB-needy teams picking at the top of the first round.

“I don’t see [Andrew] Luck in this draft, and I don’t see Carson Wentz, who I liked a lot coming into the draft,” Saints coach Sean Payton said Saturday. He’s in the market for a passer. “I’d feel a little bit uneasy if I were at the top of this draft and I decided I had to have a quarterback. The pressure to get a quarterback is so great in this league, I get that. But we can’t create ’em. I wouldn’t be surprised if only one of these guys is left standing in four or five years, and if so, I’d guess it would be Sam Darnold.”

That’s a rather pessimistic look at this year’s crop of quarterback prospects. With Drew Brees rapidly approaching the end of his brilliant career, the Saints could be in the market for a passer later this month. Just don’t expect them to use a first-round pick on one.

Or maybe that’s what Payton wants other NFL teams to think.

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