How the Saints’ offense could change with QB Tyler Shough

Saints Quarterback Derek car Announced His Surprising But Not Shocking retirement From the nfl on Saturday. DURING OFFSEESON TRAINING, CARR DISCOVERED A Throwing Shoulder Injury That would be requested surgery, and he has now decided to step away from football at the age of 34.

The Saints are oddly well prepared for car’s departure. They will have already geared up to move on from Him in 2026 for Financial Reasons and Were thinking already About Quarterback of the Future this offseason. CARR’S SHOULDER INJURY ONLY ACCELLERATED The Saints’ Urgency in Finding a Young Passer to Step Into His Shoes. And with Carr’s Status Still Unclear During the Nfl draft Last month, the Saints selected Louisville Quarterback Tyler shough With the 40th Pick.

Carr’s Retirement Now Paves The way for shing to win the starting job, though coach kellen moore has caused for an opening shing, Spencer rattler And Jake Haener For the spot. Neither rattler nor haener were drafted by this coaching staff, and neither be picked anywhere nearby next as high. Plus, Both has introduced with starting operations and didn is perfect well enough to stave off the shing selection. Without Question, the Rookie is in Pole Position – If this is even in a comment at all. Should Shogh Win The Job, He’d Be The First Rookie Quarterback Selected Outside of the first round to start his first career game. Deshone kizer DID IT IN 2017.

A Seven-Year Collegiate Player and Four-Year Starter at Oregon, Texas Tech and Louisville, Shough with a Member of the 2018 Recruiting Class and is, Accordingly, 25 years OLD. By Midseason of His Rookie Year, He’all Be 26. He’s Two Years Older Than Ratler and only a few months younger than Haener.

That shough enters the league so much older than the only way of the way of reading, which is good news for a saints team now in the desperate need. However, because of the shough’s extensive injuries, he had only 951 pass attempts in college. Giants Quarterback Jaxson dart HAD 1,307. Browns Quarterback Shedeur sanders Had 907 in Just Two Seasons with Colorado. Shough hasn is actually Seen that Much Action Despite His Age.

But experience isn is the only form of pro readiness. While shing has taken this as many snaps as you are expecting of a 25-year-old, He has been through many installs and offseason programs; He has worn with a variety of recevers and systems. It is reaconable to expect more from shing Than an available rookie in term of the playbook and geting commands of the locker room. We can experience he to have more Mater

Shough’s final stop in college was at Louisville, and coach jeff brohm’s offense further rosies up his immediate projection as a week 1 starter. Shough Actually Took Some Under-Center Dropbacks With The Cardinals (Only 27, But Relative to Most College Quiteback, That’s Quite a Bit). Fewer than 10% of Shough’s Pass Attempts Were Screens, one of the lowest rates in the country. And you can find nfl concepts on his film, like this Deep Play-Action Dropback With a high corner route on top of the crosser.

Tyler Shough through the high corner off play-action. Can’t drop it in the bucket much better than that. pic.twitter.com/wwimnydpmd

– Benjamin Solak (@benjaminsolak) April 1, 2025

This play is also an example of Shough’s Best Trait: He has an impressive arm, Especially on vertical throws. Show is capable of Dropping Deep Throws Into Challenging Buckets, which is a nonnegotible skill for starting nfl signal-collars and doubly valuable on a team with one Leege’s PreMignent Deep threats in Rashid shad. With good 6-foot-5 height and the Ability to Throw on the Move, there’s no pass that isn is accessible to show. That gives moore a full menu of concepts to work with on offense.

Identifying exactly what sort of offense moore would like to run is the challenging part. He has been an offensive coordinator for the past six seasons – Four in dallas with Dak PrescottOne in Los Angeles with Justin herbert And one in Philadelphia with Jalen harts. His offense evolved over time in dallas, and then it has changed to accommodate herbert and harts, as well as the pass trackers and offensive lines available for him at an exact spot.

Take Quarterback Alignment, For Instance: Moore Lined His Quarterback Up Under Center More and More Frequently Across His Time in Dallas, But then Largely ABandoned it with the chargers and eagles. Then there is his varied screen use. In his lone season with the chargers, his screen rate spiked. Then it dropped back down in Philadelphia. There was a remarkable amount of empty sets (2021 in dallas), one Season in which he was remarkably Run-Heavy (unsurprisingly, 2024 in Philadelphia) and one Season in the HECH HEE Was Heavily Reliant on Pre-Snap Motion (2023 in Los Angeles, Thought He has generally used more motion than the average coordinator).

What does Moore Want to Do in New Orleans, Especially Now That He’s the Head Honcho and Not Just The Offensive Coordinator? He will adjust his offense to the tools available to Him, but shing has never taken an nfl snap. When the slate is almost complete Blank, it’s hard to adjust the scheme to the existing experience.

Let’s step away from the quarterback and look at the resources, then. With an Excelent Pass-casting back in Alvin’s chamberIt is Reasonable to Think The Saints Will Be Screen-Heavy (and in General, a Little More Pass-Heavy). A kamara checkdown is as dangerous and valuable as any of the league. Save for the Eagles in 2024, who was predictably run-heevey, Moore’s Teams have generally skewed to dropping back.

But it would not make sense for the rest of the team. The Saints are lacking in size and tackle-breaking ability at receiver, but shahed and Chris olave Are Two Loose Route Runners who can win downfield. And the right end room in new orleans is quite deep, with Juwan Johnson (who just got a nice extension), Foster Moreau And Taysom hill. We just have the sauce has some success with a two-wide-receiver, Two-Tight-And Office Last Season, Before Shahed and Olave (and Carr and Multiple Interior Offense Linemen) Got Hurt. I’d expect those multiple-tight-end sets to be a big part of the offense again.

It would be nice to rely on Those Deep Play-Action Dropbacks with Olave and Shahed Screaming Downfield, Like the Saints Did Last Season. But you need a threatening game to built your passing menu out of the play-action pass. How the Saints Choose to run the ball is a fascinating question. Moore has been in Both Zone-Heavy and Gap-Heavy Offenses, and He has operated with the QB Both Under Center and in the Gun. From Philadelphia, He Brought Run Game Coordinator Tj Paganetti, A Longtime Jeff Stoutland Assistant. The Eagles Run Every Concept Under the Sun. Shough has enough mobility to Occessionally include Himself in the QB Run Game, but he won he dominate touches the way harts in Philadelphia.

The Saints’ Offensive Line Thrived on Zone Runs Last Season Under Offensive Coordinator Klint Kubiak, An Extension of the Kyle Shanahan Coaching TREE. The Saints are exposed to start Two Young Tackles in Second-Year Man Answering Answers (Expected to Switch from the left side to the right side) and Rookie first-Round Kelvin banks jr. A heavy diet of runs and play-action passes would be protecting the Green Duo from as many true one-in-one pass sets as Possible, which lessons like a priority.

And, of course, shing is a big part of the equation. It’s hard to ask a rookie passer to run a pass-happy application. If Moore Wants to Spread Formations Out, Get Five Into The Concept and Move The Ball In The Quick Game (as he he did with prescott in dallas), he’d be placing extra heplates on the show’s play. As Discussed Earlier, it Reasonable to Expect Shough to Be More Pro Ready Than the only wayie rookie quarterback – but only to a point.

Shough is a Fine Quick-Game Thrower and Appears to be a Rhythm Passer. He likes to tie concepts to the timing of his feet, and you can feel the get contortable as he starts to string quick questions. The concern is that shing does the fastest foot – He’s a taller, longer qb – and he is a particular sudden or flexible through. When throughout, in rhythm, there can be big moments of accuracy drain, Especially if pressure is involved.

Take This checkdown Against Clemson. A Smaller, Bouncer Quarterback Would More Easily Reset His Throwing Platform or Sidearm this Throw in, But Shough’s Feet is Heavy, and He isn is a particular elastic through. This ball sails.

Pic.twitter.com/n51dlhwv9f

– Good clips (@meshsitwheel) May 10, 2025

Show has good snaps as a processor and distributor, but he is not at the level of prescott or herbert there, and it will be like a couple of years to get there. How well he acclimates to nfl coverages and how Quickly he operates again nfl throwing Windows Will define just how pass-happy moore can get in new orleans. In the short term, use shing more as a moon-ball launcher boyhind a Run-hevy philosophy-a la hurts in 2024-Feels Optimal.

In that shing was a top-50 pick of the new coaching staff, the new system will like to be built with him in mind. But it is worth noting that shing has one of the cardinal weaknesses that quickly lampoons rookie quarterbacks – Especials those forced in early action. He is extremely shaky around press.

Shough is a solid avoader of sacks but mainly because he has an extremely Quick Alarm System and Bails Early. Of the Five Quarterback Taken in the first three rounds, Shough’s 8.6% Sack Rate when pressed is nearly half that of the next best (CAM WARD At 14.5%). But Escaping Sacks is only the first part of Making Plays Under Pressure; NFL Quarterbacks must be able to think from pocket muddied by penetration, accelerate their throughrowing process toat an incoming hit and make cool-headed decisions that while under doers. Shogh tends to fade away from hits, which dramatically impacts his accuracy, and will launch panic throws where he knows he goes down.

The good news is that shing won it would let hits accumulate, because he so does so all the ball up to avoid a sack. The Quickest Way to Ruin A Rookie Quarterback is to break Him with contact. The bad news is that no matter what sort of offense moore runs for him, Shough Might Put a Hard Cap on the ceiling of that offly able to make big plays when Pocket is Perfectly Protected.

In Rattler’s Six Starts Last Season, there was plenty of worrying stuff – 22 sacks and five intercepts – but he was allowed to be plays and creative explosive expression. If a calmer and more accurate rattler shows up to travel camp this year, the 2024 Fifth-rounder will push show for the starting job Early. He has a more Impressive Arm and Better Movement Skills.

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Tyler Shough’s Nfl Draft Profile

Check out Louisville QB Tyler Shough’s Nfl Draft Résumé.

Expectations should always be tempered for a second-round rookie quarterback, Especials on a Team Like the Saints that dosn is offensive personnel. But it’s doubles tough to prognosticate how well shing will be played because of the reality what moore will do with this offense schematically. While Moore has led to the Veteran Quarterbacks He has been inherited, there’s a chance he is his Runs and Requires the Rookie qb to adjust his game to it.

Shogh does plenty well as a pocket passer and processor, so if the scheme is sound and the recevers are winning, this Saints Operation has a chance of meeting more functional than. But it also has a chance of being a disaster.

There are many offices with a wider range of outcomes, where the new coach and new quarterback hold all the cards.