Saints’ Tyler Shough is the best rookie QB — too bad it won’t last

Cam Ward was the number one pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Shedeur Sanders was expected to be selected soon thereafter, but he ended up enduring one of the wildest draft day falls in NFL history. Even so, he is still an incredibly popular and hyped-up rookie quarterback, and he has been starting for the Cleveland Browns in recent weeks. Jaxson Dart was also a first-round selection at the quarterback position. Yet, many were surprised when it was Tyler Shough who was the third quarterback to hear his name called on draft day.

The New Orleans Saints made Shough the 40th overall selection. He didn’t begin the season as New Orleans’ starter, but since being handed the reins, he has been pretty impressive. Shough has arguably been the best rookie quarterback so far and has earned the right to be the Saints’ franchise signal caller going forward in the process. Despite Shough’s early success, his claim as QB1 from the 2025 NFL Draft class won’t last.

A look at Tyler Shough’s rookie season

Shough started his rookie season on the bench, learning behind second-year passer Spencer Rattler. Rattler actually performed better than many expected, but the Saints remained one of the worst teams in the NFL. So, they gave their rookie a shot. Shough made his first career start during New Orleans’ Week 9 matchup.

He has given the Saints newfound hope ever since then. The Louisville product is 4-3 as a starter, and he has the Saints on a three-game winning streak. Shough has 1,792 yards and seven touchdowns through the air in limited time this season. He is a threat with his legs, too, evidenced by his two rushing touchdowns.

Had Shough been the starter from day one, and if he put up similar numbers from the get-go that he has been as of recent, he’d actually be one of the better statistical producers in the entire NFL. Shough has solid arm strength and the ability to make big plays, and he has seemingly cut down on the erraticness and dumb decisions that plagued him in college.

This success has come despite the fact that Alvin Kamara has missed much of Shough’s starting stint with injuries. Defenses haven’t had to focus on the Saints’ running attack as much as normal, yet Shough is still finding success. Furthermore, the Saints traded one of Shough’s top receiving weapons, Rashid Shaheed, not long after he took over as the starter. With more help around him in the years to come, Shough could establish himself as a solid NFL quarterbacking option.

Cam Ward, Shedeur Sanders, and Jaxson Dart still have tons of potential

While Shough has found some success, especially as of late, first overall pick Ward has struggled mightily during his first season. Some are already prematurely giving him the bust label. Sanders and Dart have had their own struggles, too.

Sanders started the season as the third stringer and has been up and down since finally becoming the starter. Dart has had some electric moments, but his New York Giants are the worst team in the NFL, and he keeps getting hurt.

Ward has just 2,866 yards and 13 touchdowns despite being the Tennessee Titans’ day one starter. The eye test proves he doesn’t look like a bust, though. Time after time throughout the season, Ward has had some really impressive throws that ended up going incomplete because the Titans have arguably the worst receiving corps in the NFL. Drops and an inability to get open have been problems for the Titans’ pass catchers all season long.

If the Titans can get Ward some help, he still has the potential to be something special and live up to his pre-draft billing. Ward has particularly flashed recently. The former Miami Hurricane has seemingly turned a corner, as he has two touchdown passes in each of his last three games. He has two wins and only one interception during that stretch, too.

Sanders has played even fewer games than Shough has. He fell in the draft because of leadership concerns, but he does have a pretty high ceiling. Despite a poor offensive line in front of him and having more pressure from the media and fans than any other rookie NFL player, Sanders has produced some big plays for the Browns. His statistics aren’t great, and he still has to compete with fellow rookie quarterback Dillon Gabriel, but it appears that Sanders should have the edge over Gabriel to be the Browns’ top quarterback option going forward.

The Browns have had 42 different starting quarterbacks this century, and Sanders could very well be the one who ends the ever-rotating door at that position for the team. He has thrived under pressure since he was a teenager because of the name on the back of his jersey, and it would come as no surprise if he proved every team wrong for letting him fall to the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft.

Meanwhile, the Giants are just 2-13 and in the midst of a nine-game losing streak. Dart is also coming off his worst game of the season, as he had just seven completions for 33 yards in an epic Week 16 failure. However, everybody knew Dart was a raw prospect and that there would be growing pains during his rookie season.

The athletic quarterback has immense physical traits, and he has used them to display star talent at times this season. Dart has a cannon for an arm and an impressive ability to run the football. The latter of those two has gotten him in trouble at times this year, but the Giants have made it clear to Dart that he needs to do a better job of protecting himself.

Since becoming the Saints starter, Shough has outplayed each of the aforementioned rookies. But Ward, Sanders, and Dart all have paths to outplaying Shough for the duration of their respective careers. Ward was the consensus number one pick for a reason, Sanders thrives under pressure, and Dart is a physical specimen. Shough seems more likely to just be good, but not great, as he isn’t particularly elite at any one aspect of playing the quarterback position.

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