At 3-10, the New Orleans Saints find themselves in a familiar - and frankly, uncomfortable - position: staring down a top-five pick in the upcoming 2026 NFL Draft. With the playoffs a distant dream, attention in the Big Easy is already shifting toward bowl season and the College Football Playoff, where some of the top quarterback prospects in the country will be on full display.
Naturally, that’s sparked some chatter among fans about whether the Saints might be in the market for a quarterback come draft day. And while that’s a valid question, it’s not necessarily a reflection of dissatisfaction with rookie Tyler Shough - at least not yet.
Shough, who turned 26 in September, isn’t your typical rookie. He’s one of the more seasoned quarterbacks to enter the league in recent years, with 42 college games and 32 starts under his belt, spread across stints at Oregon, Texas Tech, and Louisville. That experience helped make him a top-50 pick in last year’s draft, with the Saints selecting him at No. 40 overall - notably passing on Shedeur Sanders in the process.
Despite a rocky start to the season, where Spencer Rattler also saw some action under center, Shough has shown flashes that suggest he might be more than just a stopgap. In five starts, he’s gone 2-3 while completing 65.2% of his passes for 1,212 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. It’s not a world-beating stat line, but it’s enough to keep the conversation open - and that’s really the point here.
Offensive coordinator Kellen Moore certainly doesn’t seem too concerned about Shough’s age. “Philip Rivers is still playing at 44, so I think Tyler is going to be OK,” Moore said, referencing the longevity of quarterbacks in today’s game. And he’s not wrong - the modern NFL has shown that with the right system and support, quarterbacks can play well into their late 30s and even 40s.
But this isn’t just about age - it’s about upside. The Saints are in a rare position to land a potential franchise-changing talent at the top of the draft.
If they fall in love with a quarterback prospect, it’s hard to pass that up, regardless of who’s already in the building. That said, if Shough continues to play well down the stretch and - here’s the kicker - wins enough games to bump New Orleans out of the top-five, the calculus might change entirely.
In that scenario, the Saints could find themselves in a different kind of dilemma: stick with Shough and build around him, or trade up for a shot at a quarterback they believe can take the franchise to the next level. Either way, this final stretch of the season could be pivotal - not just for Shough, but for the direction of the entire Saints organization heading into 2026.
So while the draft talk is heating up, the Saints still have five more games to play. And for Tyler Shough, every snap is a chance to prove that New Orleans doesn’t need to look elsewhere - because their quarterback of the future might already be in the huddle.