The New Orleans Saints might not have made the playoffs this season, but something far more important happened for this franchise. They seemingly have found their quarterback of the future in Tyler Shough, who has looked like an absolute rockstar in his last several starts.
Shough helped the Saints come from behind in their eight-point win over Tennessee, throwing for 333 yards, two touchdowns, and zero interceptions in the win. The week before also saw Shough light it up, as the second-round rookie threw for 308 yards, one touchdown, and no picks against the Jets.
With his second straight game of passing for at least 300 yards and no interceptions, Shough joined an elite group of quarterbacks who did the same thing during their rookie years. Joe Burrow and Dak Prescott each had back-to-back games of 300+ yards passing and zero picks during their rookie seasons (2016 for Prescott and 2020 for Burrow).
Considering the careers that Prescott and Burrow have had since their rookie seasons, that's a good indicator that the Saints have their franchise quarterback. Prescott has been on a tear throughout his pro career, and Burrow helped lead the Bengals of all teams to a Super Bowl appearance in just his second year in the league.
Saints future suddenly feels brighter thanks to Tyler Shough breakout
It's been a lot of fun watching Shough blossom under Kellen Moore, and even though the Saints will finish the 2025 season with a losing record, the future looks bright. Every team knows they have to have a reliable quarterback, or they're probably not going to be very good, something that Saints fans know all too well since Drew Brees rode off into the retirement sunset.
This has been even more fun to watch given the flack the Saints got for taking Shough in the draft. They got raked over the coals for selecting Shough in the second round over guys like Shedeur Sanders or not trading up forJaxson Dart. Now, however, they're proving to everyone why they had a high draft grade on the Louisville product, and Shough's proving why he deserved to go where he did in the draft.
Now, not only do the Saints have their guy moving forward, but they'll still finish with a high draft pick to further build the team. For the first time in a long time, Saints fans can be excited about what the future has in store, and Tyler Shough is a huge reason why.