Saints predicted to ditch Tyler Shough after 1 season for top quarterback prospect

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The New Orleans Saints had to watch Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener start games and lead them to a 5-12 record last season that put them in the bottom of the NFC South.

With that, New Orleans made an concerted effort to address their quarterback room this offseason, taking Tyler Shough in the second round (No. 40 overall) of the 2025 NFL draft.

Shough, 25, began his collegiate career at Oregon, where he spent three seasons and completed 64.8% of his passes for 1,703 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions.

In 2021, Shough transferred to Texas Tech, and over three years, he completed 62.4% of his passes for 2,922 yards, 20 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.

He moved again last year, this time to Louisville, and he completed 62.7% of his passes for 3,195 yards, 23 touchdowns and six interceptions in his final collegiate season.

While he could take over for Carr in 2025 or 2026, CBS Sports' Josh Edwards is already predicting that New Orleans will move on from the idea of Shough being a starter next year when they draft Arch Manning with the first-overall pick.

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Manning, 21, is the son of Cooper Manning and nephew of Peyton and Eli Manning. He's also the grandson of former quarterback Archie Manning, who he's named after.

The youngest Manning has spent the last two seasons at Texas, but he's spent most of his time as Quinn Ewers backup. In 12 games with the Longhorns, he's completed 66.3% of his passes for 969 yards, nine touchdowns and two interceptions while rushing for another four scores.

Manning would have to have a great season as a redshirt Sophomore if he's to be the top pick in the 2026 NFL draft, a class that looks to have a few strong options at quarterback.

If the Saints secure the first pick, they'll surely go quarterback and turn away from the Shough plan no matter who the consensus top guy is, but if it's Manning, the story is much cooler than if it's someone else.