Saints Struck Gold With Team's Next Franchise Quarterback

Tyler Shough looks to be the answer at quarterback in New Orleans...

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) in action against the Atlanta Falcons in the third quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

The New Orleans Saints came into the season with one of the worst rosters in football and one of the worst quarterback rooms in the sport, too.

They took a risk on Tyler Shough in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but opted to start Spencer Rattler to begin the season.

Rattler played decently for the first few weeks, but the Saints struggled to compete. After about half the season, head coach Kellen Moore made the decision to start Shough for the remainder of the campaign.

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Shough quickly burst onto the scene and helped the Saints win a lot of games down the stretch.

Bleacher Report's Brent Sobleski recently graded the Saints quarterback play as a "B" on the season and shared a lot of praise for Shough going forward.

Tyler Shough already emerging as a franchise quarterback for the Saints

Jan 4, 2026; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) celebrates after a touchdown against the Atlanta Falcons in the second quarter at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images | Brett Davis-Imagn Images

"The New Orleans Saints exceeded expectations in nearly every single way during the 2025 campaign, with rookie quarterback Tyler Shough being the primary reason why," Sobleski wrote. "The Saints were consensus favorites to be the NFL's worst team this past season. Instead, the squad improved to 6-11 after finishing 5-12 a year earlier. The movement may not seem like much, but New Orleans' roster looked terrible on paper. Either the team was old or unproven through the majority of its lineup.

"Kellen Moore's squad won four straight games before dropping its Week 18 contest against the Atlanta Falcons. During the winning streak, Shough completed 71.1 percent of his passes for 1,057 yards and a four-to-one touchdown-to-interception ratio."

Shough looked incredible down the stretch. His production on the field and in the box score was impressive, but it was the young signal caller's ability to help the team win games that stood out the most.

Shough was productive without much help on offense. His wide receiver core was one of the worst units in the league after trading Rashid Shaheed at the trade deadline. The running back room was greatly crushed with injuries.

Still, the young quarterback shined bright. The Saints have already found their franchise quarterback.

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