The 2026 New Orleans Saints may still have plenty left to sort out, but one thing around the building already feels settled: Tyler Shough is the guy.
He’s only got nine NFL starts on his resume, and there’s still plenty he has to prove as a pro. Even so, the message coming from coaches, front office voices and veteran teammates is the same one anyone watching can see for themselves. Shough has stepped into the role of leader, and the Saints are following.
“The biggest jump you can see right now is his leadership,” safety Justin Reid said. “His command of the huddle, his command of the offense, his confidence to stand up in front of the whole team and break down a huddle. … And that’s the thing you need out of your general on the field.”
That growth has been part of the optimism surrounding New Orleans as it heads into 2026. Shough’s finish to the 2025 season helped fuel that belief, and it may have even helped the Saints land some of their higher-profile free agents this offseason.
But what’s really turning heads now is how much ownership he’s taken over the team.
That showed up this summer when Shough paid to fly a group of pass catchers to southern California for extra work during the gap between minicamp and training camp. The idea came out of a conversation with imminent Hall-of-Famer Drew Brees.
“That was one of the biggest takeaways I got from Drew; this is where the magic happens,” Shough said. “There are 31 other teams doing training camp, doing the same thing that we are. How do we spend that time as much as we can to get better?”
It was on display again Wednesday morning when New Orleans opened training camp with a short practice. Shough looked like an extension of coach Kellen Moore on the field, and between sessions he was off to the side with rookie Jordyn Tyson, talking through how he wanted a particular play handled.
That summer work in Southern California was about more than timing routes or learning which throws a receiver prefers. It was about building real connection, the kind that makes communication cleaner when the game gets messy.
“We’re all going to make mistakes,” Shough said. “I’m going to throw an interception, guys are going to drop a ball, we’re going to have a missed route or a missed block, and we’ve got to be able to talk through it.
“If you know each other and have that respect and friendship and brotherhood, we can lean on each other when times are tough.”
The respect is obvious inside the locker room, too. Alvin Kamara, entering his 10th season, said it as plainly as anyone.
“I always tell people the years (in the league) don’t matter,” Kamara said. “It’s who respects who, and the team respects Tyler. He’s one of those leaders.”
Kamara also pointed to the “synergy” between Shough and Moore, and he noted that Moore is giving Shough room to speak up when the team is together.
“He’s gotten comfortable standing up in front of everybody, talking, demanding what he wants,” Kamara said.
None of that changes the fact that Shough still has to keep producing on Sundays if he wants his voice to carry the same weight it does now. But the Saints have seen enough in the small daily moments to believe they’re watching something real take shape.
“One thing about Tyler that I think we discovered pretty quickly is that he’s very intentional, he’s very mature, and he likes to have a plan for things,” general manager Mickey Loomis said. “He’s not afraid to ask questions, not afraid to get assistance, not afraid to dive in with the intention of, ‘Hey, I’ve got to be better.’
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