Tyler Shough showed enough during his rookie season to give the New Orleans Saints a reason to believe he could be their quarterback of the future. Now, he's entering the kind of season that could determine whether that belief sticks. Shough took over as the Saints' starter midway through last season and had some genuinely solid moments.
His accuracy on short and intermediate throws stood out, and his 69.2% completion rate as a starter was the best ever by a rookie. That's a good place to start. The problem is that the Saints need more from Shough if they're going to turn into a legitimate playoff contender.
New Orleans showed some promise down the stretch last season, but moving from an entertaining team to a serious postseason threat will require the quarterback to raise his level. More sports: 49ers Have a Budding Star Flying Under the Radar The biggest concern is what happened when Shough got downfield. He completed just 26% of his throws traveling at least 20 yards downfield, which was the worst mark in the NFL.
He also had the second-worst pressure-to-sack ratio in the league. Missing on big plays is one thing. Taking too many negative plays on top of it makes the margin for error even smaller.
That's why CBS Sports' Zachary Pereles has Shough in the hot seat heading into the 2026 season. The Saints have also made moves to give their young quarterback more help. Shough will have more talent around him as he tries to take the next step.
Now, the pressure is on him to make something happen with it. Sports news: Giants’ Malachi Fields Could Get a Bigger Workload Shough has already shown that he can be accurate and strong. What he needs to prove in 2026 is that he can consistently make the bigger throws while avoiding the negative plays that stalled the Saints' offense.
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