Jeff Brohm isn’t shocked by Tyler Shough’s fast rise in New Orleans. From Louisville’s perspective, the Saints quarterback is doing exactly what he showed he could do with the Cardinals: work, improve and make the most of his chances.
Brohm said Monday that Shough’s success has been built on the kind of approach that stood out during his lone season at Louisville.
“Really happy for him,” said Brohm, when asked about Shough’s impressive start at his weekly press conference Monday. “When we had him here (at Louisville), he was a great worker.
He wanted to make a difference. He was hungry.
He wanted to stay healthy, prove that. He did a great job for us.”
Shough has opened his NFL career by steering the Saints through two late-game rallies. New Orleans came up just short in the opener, dropping a 31-30 overtime game to the Lions after nearly pulling off the upset. A week later, Shough delivered two fourth-quarter touchdown drives to knock off the Ravens 24-17 on Sunday.
That gives him three fourth-quarter comebacks in 11 career starts.
The numbers have matched the moment. Shough leads the NFL with 662 passing yards and 62 completions, and he’s completing 68.9 percent of his throws with a 95.7 passer efficiency rating.
Brohm pointed to the physical tools that helped Shough get there.
“He's a big, strong quarterback who can see the field.” Brohm said.
“He can make all the throws. He's got enough athleticism to escape and make plays.
He's on a good young team with a good young head coach, and they're finding ways to get wins. (The victory against the Ravens) is a big win for him.”
Shough’s season at Louisville was productive, too. He threw for 3,195 yards and 23 touchdowns while helping the Cardinals go 9-3. The Saints then took him with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft.
Brohm also said the timing of Shough’s opportunity in New Orleans helped set the stage for this start.
“I think he went to a great spot where they were investing in him,” Brohm said of the Saints. “But at the same time, he didn't have to start at the very beginning (of his rookie season), which I thought was a good thing.
And then their team struggled, and he got a chance to go in there. And everybody loves the backup quarterback.
So he got to go in there, and they all loved him. And he did great things, and he kind of took it and ran with it, which is great.”
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Heldmans new number in Kansas City is 49, a reminder that the Saints are already watching a player they brought in to help chase quarterbacks continue his development somewhere else. For a New Orleans defense that is still sorting out who can consistently pressure the passer, moves like this tend to linger in the background, because even fringe additions matter when a team is trying to build enough edge depth to survive the long season. [Read more 🡒]