Where you land matters. While the New Orleans Saints are not expected to do much this NFL season, they may have found the perfect quarterback to lead them for this season. That would be former Louisville, Texas Tech and Oregon quarterback Tyler Shough. He spent an absurdly long time in the college game, as illustrated by his birth year starting with the No. 1. He may be older, but who cares?
Shough is physically impressive and he throws a really good-looking deep ball. Having played for Jeff Brohm last season at Louisville was huge in his development. It is why the Saints opted to make him a second-round pick when most other teams thought he would be a day-three pick in most realistic estimations. In a way, I think we may have overlooked his maturity and what that means to be a leader.
Shough appeared on The St. Brown Podcast to reflect on his football journey for him up to this point.
"I think for me and what I've been through: I've been carted off the field, I've been booed, I've been an MVP, I've been a starter, I've been a backup to Herbert — I'm like, throw some s**t at me, you're not going to faze me if we start off 0-2 or I f*****g suck."
Shough seems like a player who can handle adversity and the ramifications of not playing great ball.
"It's going to be fine. That's what I was excited about, that opportunity, or any opportunity, and I think, going into it, I've got to continue to get to know the guys; like I said earlier, I'm still a rookie. I may be older, but I have to earn the respect of everybody and do my job."
This nugget right here is a perfect example of Shough's self-awareness and his ability to relate well.
"I think it's just, you know, you look back, what are you willing to sacrifice at that position? If you would have told me as a 20-year-old, you're going to get drafted, but you are going to have to wait four or five years and you're going to break your bones three times and think about not playing football again and you're going to be depressed and you're gonna have all these emotions, but if you just stay at it then I would have done it and I did."
It has become readily apparent to me that Shough knows what he is signing up for by joining the NFL.
"At that time, you're wondering why is this happening and what's going on and a lot of unknowns. That's literally the NFL, that's the game of football."
Here is the episode of The St. Brown Podcast where Shough talked about being a 25-year-old rookie.
What are reasonable expectations for Shough and the Saints ahead of a trying year for the franchise?
Why Tyler Shough may be the ideal quarterback for New Orleans Saints
Here is how I see it shaking out for Shough in year one with the Saints. Since he was drafted by the current regime, he will be empowered to make a difference right away. Yes, general manager Mickey Loomis may have drafted Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener the two previous springs, but keep in mind that this is Kellen Moore's first year as head coach with Doug Nussmeier coming aboard as well.
Even though Nussmeier's son Garrett is the star quarterback for the nearby LSU Tigers, I think it serves the Saints to see if Shough has NFL staying power. They are not going to feed him to the wolves in a literal sense, but it could be a baptism by fire. We saw the Carolina Panthers do this with Jimmy Clausen some 15 years ago. Davis Mills kind of went through this with the Houston Texans.
Carolina's problems devoured Clausen, while the issues at hand in Houston earned Mills a great deal of respect from his teammates and colleagues across the NFL. Could Shough be better than Mills was as the Texans' starter a few years ago? Potentially, but I do not know if Shough will be good enough to hold off the allure of the Saints drafting the hometown guy in Doug's son next spring.
I am rooting for the guy because mental toughness is a trait that seems to be going out of style a bit.