KANSAS CITY - Quarterback Jake Haener was drafted to the New Orleans Saints in the fourth round of the 2023 NFL Draft on Saturday, being selected as the 127th overall pick. Haener joins former Bulldog quarterback Derek Carr with the franchise.
Haener is the 110th NFL Draft pick in Fresno State history. He is the first Bulldog quarterback to be drafted since Carr in the 2014 draft. Haener becomes the ninth quarterback in Fresno State history to be drafted.
The Saints got their third Bulldog pick all-time, and first since drafting Tyeler Davison in 2015. Lorenzo Neal (1993) is the only other Bulldog to be drafted to the Saints.
Selected as the 127 overall pick, Haener is the highest Bulldog to be selected in the NFL Draft since Mykal Walker (LB) was the 119th overall in 2020. Haener is the highest offensive player to be selected since Carr was the 36th overall pick in 2014.
A look at Haener
The first team All-Mountain West quarterback overcame adversity in 2022, starting all 10 games played, missing four due to injury suffered in Week 3. He finished the 2022 season with 2,896 yards passing, completing 252-of-350 pass attempts. He threw 20 touchdowns to just three interceptions on the year. Haener had six 300-yard passing performances in 10 games played. He was a two-time Mountain West Offensive Player of the Week selection, and was named the Offensive MVP of the Mountain West Championship Game. Haener participated in the Reese's Senior Bowl, and had a big week in Mobile. He was named the National Team's Practice Quarterback of the Week by his peers and was named the MVP of the Game, helping the National Team to a 27-10 win in the All-Star game. Haener was the first Fresno State quarterback to receive an invitation to the NFL Scouting Combine since Carr in 2014.
Haener holds the program record for best career pass completion percentage (.681). He has career numbers in the Top 5 in numerous Fresno State statistical categories: most 300-yard passing games (18 - 2nd all-time), most 400-yard passing games (3 - 3rd all-time), consecutive passes without an interception (214 - 3rd all-time), passing yards (9,013 - 4th all-time), passing completions (731 - 4th all-time), passing attempts (1,072 - 4th all-time), and most touchdown passes (67 - 5th all-time).