Tyler Shough, who spent his college football career at Oregon, Texas Tech, and Louisville, isn’t predicted to be the Saints’ franchise quarterback after New Orleans took him with the No. 40 pick in the 2025 NFL draft.
In fact, he may have been taken to do the opposite.
Yahoo Sports’ Andy Behrens predicted Shough helping the Saints land Arch Manning in the 2026 draft via a tank-centric effort under center.
“Tyler Shough is absolutely the type of QB who can help the Saints land Arch Manning in 2026. Great pick,” Behrens wrote.
Manning is likely to spend two years in Austin before declaring for the 2027 draft. The NFL is less interested in inexperienced QBs these days.
Shough, even at the age of 26 with experience starting at multiple Power 4 programs, is not what teams are looking for, though. Transferring isn’t an issue, but multiple transfers from a quarterback show impatience and a potential leadership void. Shough is already behind on accuracy and arm strength.
Not having intangibles to make up for it is a bad look for a second-round selection. Especially when Jake Haener and Spencer Rattler are your only two options given Derek Carr’s likely season-ending injury.
New Orleans passing on Shedeur Sanders for Shough may not prove to be a franchise-altering mistake, but if nothing else, making the opposite decision would’ve been more popular with a fanbase that’s had little to celebrate since Drew Brees’ retirement.