Saints QB Tyler Shough's mindset after NFL Draft selection

The New Orleans Saints made an eye-opening selection of Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and the new quarterback opened up on his approach as he joins the organization.

“The benefit of, you know, my career is that I've seen a lot of the stuff that can go on and I'm ready for it, and my job is to be ready and make the team better any way I can,” Tyler Shough said, via SiriusXM. “I don't know about the specifics of the situation, but I'm fired up to get in the room with those guys and just learn and grow and do everything I can to get better myself and yeah, my job is to get ready and just bust my butt and I can't wait for it. Just because I've only really good things about them, and I know like you said, this whole journey has only made me mentally razor-focused and ready to go, so I feel like I am ready to go at any moment's time, but I know I have a lot to learn and grow and get better at.”

Shough joins the Saints at a time when Derek Carr is dealing with uncertainty due to the status of his injury. Still, the Saints needed a long-term answer at quarterback, and they hope Shough can fill that need.

It was not the usual route to the NFL for Shough, as he spent three years at Oregon, three more at Texas Tech and one more at Louisville. At one point, he was Justin Herbert's backup at Oregon, and injuries plagued him over the course of his career. However, his last year at Louisville was his best, and some believe his arm talent is very good. The Saints decided to pull the trigger despite the injury history and Shough being 25 years old.

It will be interesting to see if Shough can earn the starting job in the 2025 season given the amount of experience he has had in college.