The New Orleans Saints don't have a strong history of rookie quarterbacks. It's been pretty much just Archie Manning for over half a decade. After 2025, however, Tyler Shough has usurped Manning as the most decorated rookie quarterback in franchise history.
It's genuinely a surprise that it took too long because the numbers aren't that high in any categories. Timeline aside, that side of the record book belongs to Shough now.
After finishing the season with five victories, Shough has the most wins by a rookie quarterback. That's the most important record, as it tells you how successful the team was with him leading the way. How did he get to those wins, though? Shough did it by racking up the most passing and rushing touchdowns by a rookie quarterback, the most passing and rushing yards by a rookie quarterback and had the best completion percentage by a rookie quarterback in franchise history.
Tyler Shough’s rookie year was more than just record breaking for the Saints
A season ago, Spencer Rattler broke Manning’s record for most passing yards in a season by a rookie. It’s nice that he was able to land in the record books, though short lived. It didn’t actually mean anything though. That metric was so low that Rattler was able to break it in an unsuccessful rookie year in which he only played half the season. It didn’t cause anyone to walk away from 2024 with heightened expectations of Rattler due to that.
The latter part can be said about Shough as well. No one is walking around with heightened expectations for Shough due to the records he holds. That’s just the cherry on top of his season.
The true defining aspect of Shough’s rookie year was the belief he’s inspired and how quickly he did it. As a second round pick at quarterback, history tells you this wasn’t a surefire, franchise quarterback type of selection. That’s why most the media spent the beginning of the year still wondering if the Saints would pick another quarterback in the upcoming draft.
When Shough stepped on the field, that conversation quickly ended. It transformed into Shough securing his spot for 2026, and it soon became hard not to view him through the lens of a franchise quarterback. It’s a massive and expeditious turnaround for just 9 games.
There's a reason players like Demario Davis are talking about how this feeling of excitement hasn't been seen in years around the building, and Shough is the reason why. Shough's season isn't defined by the most passing yards or even rushing yards. They're just proof of his strong ball placement, elusiveness in the pocket and ability to create offense when things around him aren't going right. More than anything, it supports the belief that Shough can be the quarterback of the future.