Saints coach Sean Payton suggested after the 2020 NFL Draft that he anticipates Stevens handling a versatile role in the vein of Taysom Hill, Jeff Duncan of The Athletic reports. "We know the [Hill] role. We invented the role. There's no way I was going to lose this kid," Payton said of the seventh-round pick from Mississippi State.
During their draft prep, the Saints identified the 6-foot-5, 237-pound quarterback as a priority signing in the likely event he went undrafted. However, with Payton receiving word from Stevens' agent that the signal-caller was committed to signing with Carolina as a UDFA, the Saints traded back into the draft to ensure they got their guy. Stevens' underwhelming passing efficiency between stops at Penn State and Mississippi State (59.9 percent completion rate, 7.2 yards per attempt) was the primary reason why most outlets projected him to go undrafted, but his combination of size and athleticism was too tempting for New Orleans to pass up. Like Hill, Stevens will likely be listed as a quarterback on the roster, but expect the Saints to experiment with the 23-year-old out of the backfield, at receiver and potentially on special teams during training camp and the preseason.