Rookie Saints QB Tyler Shough already hard at work with his new teammates
Foster Moreau, wearing a knee brace, also spotted at the workout

Spencer Rattler isn’t the only New Orleans Saints quarterback putting in work this offseason. Rookie draft pick Tyler Shough was spotted at Tulane’s Yulman Stadium on Saturday getting to know some of his new teammates. Second-year wide receiver Bub Means was there catching passes from Rattler, and so were veteran tight ends Juwan Johnson and Foster Moreau (who was wearing a knee brace after his Week 18 injury). Former Tulane Green Wave wide receiver Dontae Fleming, who signed with the Minnesota Vikings as an undrafted rookie, was also in attendance.

Each of these guys could play big roles in 2025. Johnson (who once played with Shough in college at Oregon) just signed a lucrative three-year contract extension, and figures to see an uptick in targets. Kellen Moore’s offense is known for funneling a lot of passes to the tight ends and his late-night sales pitch convinced Johnson to stay in New Orleans as a free agent. Means is both the tallest and heaviest receiver on the roster so he may be expected to fight for contested catches and move the chains. Moreau has been an effective blocker and pass-catcher for the Saints, and he’s one of the few guys offensively who plays with real attitude. They need tone-setters like him. Moore’s reluctance to roster a fullback may open up new doors for Moreau, too.

All that aside, it’s really encouraging to see Shough asserting himself and getting to work so soon. Like other first-year pros, he won’t report to the Saints practice facility for rookie minicamp until next weekend, but he isn’t wasting any time. Developing this chemistry with his receivers and learning what routes they like and where he can place the ball is critical. This is how that bond starts to materialize.

Sure, we shouldn’t make too much of it. It’s one throwing session with guys in sweatpants. But we’ll take the positivity where we can find it these days. That Shough is taking the initiative to huddle up with his new teammates and sling the ball around on a Saturday morning, rather than sit on the couch at home? That’s good. It lines up with what his Louisville teammate Quincy Riley said about Shough after the Saints drafted both of them. You can’t really measure leadership as a tangible quality, but actions like this are proof it does exist.

Saints’ Tyler Shough compared to Legend Drew Brees as both Have Odd Fact In Common

The New Orleans Saints have a shiny, new quarterback in the form of former Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough.

He was taken with the No. 40 overall pick in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft. This was the highest the Saints have taken a quarterback since Archie Manning in 1971. The pick has gotten a lot of love, and even a stamp of approval from Manning himself.

Shough has done everything right so far since his selection. He’s shared multiple messages to Saints fans and also has an odd thing in common with Saints legend Drew Brees.

The Times-Picayune and NOLA.com’s Rashad Milligan shared that Shough and Brees actually both had their first meal after joining the Saints at the same restaurant in New Orleans: Drago’s Seafood.

“Shough ate at Drago’s Seafood with owner Tommy Cvitanovich, as reported by WDSU’s Fletcher Mackel,” Milligan shared. “‘He’s smart and polite,’ Mackel was told, ‘but we were most impressed by how respectful and humble he is.’ Cvitanovich then sang Shough’s praises. ‘I can tell you first hand, already, he gets it, when you talk about New Orleans and hospitality and friendship and love,” Cvitanovich said. “He’s got it. He loves this city, he’s ready to make a splash in not only football, but jump all into the culture. He wants to be a New Orleanian.’

“Brees’ first dinner in New Orleans was also at Drago’s in 2006. ‘Now, (Shough’s) first dinner is in our restaurant,” Cvitanovich said. “And if you’re asking me if I’m superstitious? D— sure, I’m a Saints fan, and I hope I’m superstitious and it works.””

This kid is doing everything right so far.

Saints new arrival Tyler Shough sends warning message to Spencer Rattler’s QB1 hopes

For New Orleans Saints fans who wanted to bury their heads under a rock when the team selected seventh-year senior quarterback Tyler Shough out of Louisville, there is a ray of hope.

In theory, Shough did not get selected that high for no reason. And, the Saints weren’t the only ones projecting Shough to be a Day 2 pick. So, was it really that much of a surprise?

Besides, New Orleans was already in a bind at quarterback in light of the Derek Carr injury situation. It was either Spencer Rattler or Jake Haener, if not Carr, and neither one of those necessarily inspired much confidence.

By that same sentiment, it already appears as though Shough has the inside track on the starting job.

An NFL executive just put Spencer Rattler’s future with the Saints in doubt

For fans wanting to give Rattler a chance at the starting gig after limited opportunity as a rookie, don’t hold your breath.

According to a report viaThe Athletic, one NFL executive would be shocked if Shough didn’t take over the starting job in the midst of Carr’s injury.

As if a second-round billing, for Shough, wasn’t already enough to throw Rattler’s future in doubt, that opinion is pretty damning.

Rattler was once a first-round type of prospect before he fell hard, and it wasn’t even completely due to character questions. As he showed during a short period of time as a rookie, Rattler has plenty to improve upon.

In Shough, the Saints are in fact getting a fairly pro-ready quarterback. Injury concerns are real after he saw three-straight collegiate seasons come to an early end. But, his lone year with Louisville put a healthy campaign on display and showed NFL scouts everything they needed to see.

Clearly, the Saints weren’t going to miss this opportunity, especially with the roster in such a financial bind. This team needs an answer at quarterback, and Mickey Loomis took his shot.

Should Shough not end up working out, you can bet fans will look back on this second-round pick as a huge swing and miss. But, at least Loomis opted to take a big swing rather than banking on Rattler or Haener.

Will Shough end up the Saints’ starter for Week 1? Only time will tell, but right now, it’s looking promising.

Former Saints Pro Bowler Thomas Morstead supports Tyler Shough wearing his jersey number

This is cool to see. Noted good guy and longtime New Orleans Saints punter Thomas Morstead responded to news of rookie quarterback Tyler Shough planning to pick up his old jersey by urging him to do so. Morstead has continued punting around the NFL since the Saints cut him back in 2021, and the No. 6 jersey he wore proudly for so many years has changed hands several times — going from safety Marcus Maye to linebacker Willie Gay Jr., and now, maybe, Shough.

“I hope it is as good to you as it was to me,” Morstead wrote on social media. A fifth-round draft pick by the Saints back in 2009, Morstead won the Super Bowl his rookie year with New Orleans and later earned a Pro Bowl nod in 2012. He spent the first 12 years of his career in black and gold, wearing that No. 6 in 190 regular season games and 14 playoff games. That kind of longevity is rare, and it would be a massive success if Shough can match it.

When will Morstead return to New Orleans? He’s going to be competing for his job at New York Jets training camp this summer with Austin McNamara, a second-year punter, and if he wins that battle he’ll visit the Caesars Superdome when the Jets come to town in the fall. So maybe one former No. 6 can catch up with the newest guy to wear that number for the Saints.

The Saints have built one of the NFL’s lightest, shortest wide receiver corp

If the New Orleans Saints don’t have the smallest group of wide receivers in the NFL, they have to be close. Both of their leading receivers, Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed, are listed at about 6-foot-flat and 190 pounds, a far cry from the likes of Michael Thomas (who played at 6-foot-3, 212 pounds) and Marques Colston (6-foot-4, 225 pounds). Marquez Valdes-Scantling, who left in free agency, towered over them at 6-foot-4 and 206 pounds.

By design or not, all of the receivers the Saints have brought in this offseason share the same athletic profile. Brandin Cooks may not run a 4.3 anymore but he still weighs in at 5-foot-10 and 190 pounds. Undrafted rookies Moochie Dixon and Chris Tyree both clocked impressive times in the 40-yard dash, but neither of them added much to the receiving corps in terms of diversity of body types. Just look at the list from the official team website, ordered from lightest to heaviest:

Rashid Shaheed (6-foot-0, 180 pounds)
Mason Tipton (5-foot-11, 187 pounds)
Chris Olave (6-foot-0, 187 pounds)
Moochie Dixon (6-foot-0, 187 pounds)
Brandin Cooks (5-foot-10, 190 pounds)
Chris Tyree (5-foot-10, 192 pounds)
Dante Pettis (6-foot-1, 195 pounds)
Cedrick Wilson Jr. (6-foot-2, 197 pounds)
Kevin Austin (6-foot-2, 200 pounds)
Bub Means (6-foot-2, 215 pounds)
That could be a problem. It’s become a cliche but many coaches describe the ideal receiving corps as a basketball team — having a mix of different athletes, some taller, some lighter, some faster and others, well, not so much fast as quick. Missing those archetypes is going to ask guys to take on responsibilities they aren’t built for. Chris Olave is tied for 26th in first down conversions by a wide receiver (with Brandon Aiyuk) since he entered the league, but it’s not an accident that he’s suffered so many concussions while absorbing so many big hits on physical plays at the first down marker.

We’ll see if more moves are coming. The Saints can sign veteran free agents now without impacting the compensatory draft picks formula for 2026; for example, if they targeted Keenan Allen (the 6-foot-2, 211-pounder who had a career year with Kellen Moore calling pllays in 2023), signing him wouldn’t wipe out the fourth-round draft pick they’re projected to get next year after losing Paulson Adebo in free agency. That wasn’t the case before the draft. Or maybe he envisions a big role for 2024 fifth-round pick Bub Means, the tallest and heaviest receiver on the roster right now. At the same time, getting smaller and faster at wideout might have been Moore’s plan all along. We’ll find out soon enough.