The New Orleans Saints had the opportunity to pair either Colorado's Shedeur Sanders or Alabama's Jalen Milroe with new head coach Kellen Moore in the 2025 NFL Draft, but Mickey Loomis instead chose to go for an unusual route by selecting Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough at No. 40 overall.
Shough's meteoric rise helped him leapfrog both Sanders and Milroe in the eyes of Loomis and New Orleans. However, many of the players who will strap it up alongside Shough in the near future appear to be less than thrilled with this selection.
Saints defensive tackle Khalen Saunders, who is always willing to let his thoughts on his current team fly, posted a GIF of LeBron James walking out of a press conference and informed his followers that he was retreating to the safe haven of Fortnite for the remainder of the evening.
While there is a ton of promise that Shough could lean on throughout his tenure with the Saints, the fact that teammates are openly questioning the pick is, through no fault of Shough himself, a sign that this move is not going to be well received in the New Orleans locker room.
Khalen Saunders is in disbelief after Saints draft Tyler Shough
Shough does have a very strong arm, the measurables that teams want to see, and a skill at fitting the ball into some very tight windows. However, the red flags surrounding a rookie who was in the same recruiting class as fifth-year veterans Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields are extremely bright.
Shough has lost his starting job in the past and only played more than seven games in a season once (this past year) due to some serious injuries. Shough will be 26 as a rookie and 30 when seeking a second contract, which might not be too appealing for a young Saints team.
Shough has the bones to be a very good starting quarterback in this league, but picking him ahead of players like Sanders or Milroe is a mistake that could eventually come back to haunt the Saints if Shough proves to be a poor fit for Moore's new-look offense.