Tyler Shough took a long and winding road through college football, but once he found his way to Jeff Brohm and finally got healthy, everything clicked. Now, after starting just one full season across a seven-year collegiate career, Justin Herbert’s former backup at Oregon appears poised to become his contemporary as an NFL starting quarterback.
Perhaps shockingly, as Shedeur Sanders tumbled down draft boards, the New Orleans Saints drafted Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft as a contingency plan against Derek Carr’s shoulder injury. Since Shough arrived in the NFL, the injury has forced Carr to retire, and the 25-year-old rookie has had to chance to impress Kellen Moore, his new head coach, at Saints’ OTAs, and he’s taking full advantage.
Former Louisville quarterback rising fast in three-man QB battle in New Orleans
According to reports out of New Orleans, Shough has been impressive during Saints 7-on-7 drills, and he seems to be inching ahead in a three-way quarterback competition that is likely to run all the way through training camp and the preseason. With Week 1 just under 100 days away, Moore and his coaching staff don’t need to decide between Shough, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener just yet, but if they did, the former Louisville Cardinal would likely get the nod.
Nola.com reporter Luke Johnson detailed some of Shough’s “wow moments” during OTAs in a recent report.
"“The rookie can absolutely spin it”"Luke Johnson
Shough ended the impressive 7-on-7 session with back-to-back incompletions, the latter of which was an interception over the middle of the field, and Johnson added a significant caveat to his praise of the not-so-young, rookie QB:
“There was little question about Shough’s arm coming out of Louisville, and the real test is going to come when he has to read defenses and navigate pressure — the latter being a relative weakness of his in college. But it is good to see the skill play out on an NFL field.”
Johnson’s critique of Shough under pressure at Louisville rings true statistically. He completed just 42.3% of his passes when pressured last season for 6.9 yards per attempt with six touchdowns to four interceptions. Shough rarely ever took sacks, but that was rooted in his propensity to throw the ball away when hurried rather than any elite escapability.
Unlike a typical first-round QB, Shough doesn’t simply inherit the starting job based on draft-day investment. It’s much easier for a coaching staff to keep a second-rounder sidelined, but not if Shough continues to impress in his ongoing battle with Rattler and Haener.