Saints bashed for making one of the 'worst value picks' in 2025 NFL draft

When the New Orleans Saints were on the clock with the No. 9 overall pick in the 2025 NFL draft, there were no shortage of people who expected them to take Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders.

Instead, the Saints opted to take offensive tackle Kelvin Banks, who was once thought to be a mid-to-late-round pick before surging late in the process.

Then in the second round, the quarterback-needy Saints had another crack at taking Sanders but instead opted to go with Louisville's Tyler Shough, who was widely expected to be a third-round pick, at best. On top of that, Sanders was routinely ranked ahead of Shough in pre-draft rankings.

One of the several analysts who did not view the Shough pick favorably afterwards was Dan Treacy of The Sporting News, who named Shough one of the worst value picks in the 2025 NFL draft.

Tyler Shough has impressive size and looked impressive at Louisville when healthy, but his injury history and the mere fact he had seven years of practice under his belt at the collegiate level make it less than certain he will be able to turn those flashes of college success into sustained NFL productivity.

The Saints don't have a quarterback of the future on their roster, and the No. 40 pick likely wasn't the spot to bet on a quarterback with the red flags of Shough becoming that player.

The concerns over Shough are no doubt legitimate. Not only is he an old prospect (26 in September), he has also battled injuries during his career. Those two factors alone make it easy to see why he wasn't highly rated.

Shough has some tools to work with. He can put some mustered on the ball with ease in the short-to-intermediate areas and has better mobility than many give him credit for. On the flip side, he is not good at going through progressions and needs a lot of work on his mechanics. His downfield passes leave a lot to be desired, also.

With so many question marks surrounding him, we would have been much more comfortable with the Saints taking Shough in Round 3 or later. Making him a second-round pick will only hurt more if he doesn't pan out.