Saints’ Kellen Moore Reveals Exactly Why Tyler Shough Stood Out

The New Orleans Saints have their quarterback to build around and it seems like each time someone from the franchise talks about him, it only confirms that fact even more.

Saints head coach Kellen Moore spoke about Tyler Shough from the 2026 National Football League Scouting Combine and opened up about what he saw at last year's combine and the whole process leading up to the draft in general.

"I think the most attractive thing and I think credit to Tyler, was just his willingness to just do everything through this whole process," Moore said. "He jumped into the Senior Bowl. He competed down there and had a phenomenal week. I wasn't there for that at that time. Then he came here and did everything at the combine. We had coaches go work him out. He came down to New Orleans to spend a little bit of time with us. Through the whole process, we just kept having these interactions with him. He's real. He's authentic. He's a phenomenal person and phenomenal player. We're fortunate it worked out."

.@Saints head coach Kellen Moore talks about what he loved about Tyler Shough during the pre-draft process.

2026 NFL Combine on NFL Network
Stream on @NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/rgKviVgnnx
— NFL Network (@nflnetwork) February 27, 2026

There has been praise coming in all offseason for the young quarterback, not just from Moore. For example, back in January, Saints longtime star Cameron Jordan made the case for Shough.

Tyler Shough has a bright future

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough (6) looks down field during the third quarter against the Tennessee Titans at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, Tenn., Sunday, Dec. 28, 2025. | Andrew Nelles / The Tennessean / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

"What did you see from my young quarterback? I mean, you saw the way that he turned it on," Jordan said when asked what he saw from Shough. "Had you asked me this in training camp, I would've said that he needed some time to cook. And we did. He took over the last nine games and went 5-4, or whatever that ratio was. But in those games, you saw something that could excite you. Something that could excite a fanbase. You saw him be able to be elusive. Be able to turn corners. He's faster than he looks, you know.

"We had Spencer Rattler, you know he's shifty. Then you had Tyler. I was like, 'He may be more of a pocket passer.' No. 6'5'', built like [Dan Orlovsky]. You understand that he had arm talent. He could read the right reads and then he just progressed. Every game he got even better. You were, 'Dang he's going to slow down.' And he got even better. Then, he showed us in the Atlanta Falcons game, he threw an interception and I was like 'Dang, he might get rattled.' No, no, no. The next drive, drived on down. Don't worry, I'll score it myself."

The hype is loud around Shough and Saints fans got to see why in the second half of the 2025 season. So far, Shough has done everything right. Moore talked about the Senior Bowl and the combine and the lead-up to the draft and everything, but that's not all. Shough was a second-round pick and sat for the first half of the season. There was never any complaining or anything of that nature publicly. Instead, Shough worked behind the scenes and clearly improved from training camp to when he got the starting nod.

There's a lot to like about Shough and the future is bright.