Tyler Shough Fantasy Overview

2024 Summary

College Production

Shough had a long, injury-riddled college career. He spent three seasons at Oregon, three at Texas Tech, and one at Louisville.

His overall production doesn’t jump off the page. Shough completed 63.0% of his career passes and topped a 63.5% completion rate just once. He averaged a solid 8.2 yards per attempt for his career and registered a 59-to-23 TD:INT ratio.

Injuries limited Shough to just 30 appearances over his first six college seasons. He finally stayed healthy at Louisville last year, posting career highs with 3,195 passing yards and 23 TDs. Shough’s 87.7 Pro Football Focus passing grade ranked fifth among 128 qualifying QBs.

Shough ran for just 132 yards last year but averaged 42 rushing yards per game over the previous four seasons.

Film Review

Shough has prototypical size at 6’5, 219 pounds. He has an efficient release with plus arm strength and good timing.

Shough struggles when pressured, though. And his decision-making comes and goes.

Injury History

Shough broke his collarbone in both 2021 and 2022. Then he broke his left leg in 2023.

2025 Expectations

Projected Role & Competition

QB Derek Carr’s surprising retirement in May leaves New Orleans’ QB depth chart wide open. Shough will compete for the job with Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener.

Rattler was a fifth-round pick in 2024. He saw action in seven games last season, completing 57.0% of his passes at 5.8 yards per attempt. His 49.4 Pro Football Focus passing grade ranked 44th among 47 QBs with 100+ dropbacks.

Haener was a 2023 fourth-rounder. He didn’t see the field as a rookie but threw 39 passes across five appearances last year. He completed just 46.2% of those throws and matched Rattler with 5.8 yards per attempt.

Shough isn’t guaranteed the starting job. But it’ll be disappointing if he can’t beat out Rattler and Haener. The Round 2 draft capital helps his chances.

Supporting Cast

Chris Olave and Rashid Shaheed return as New Orleans’ top two WRs. They missed a combined 20 games last year but are healthy now.

Olave has averaged 65.8 yards per game through three NFL seasons, averaging over 2.0 yards per route in all three. Shaheed has improved his yards per game across each of his three NFL seasons, topping out at 58.2 last year. His 10.4 yards per target leads all 163 active WRs with 100+ career targets. This is one of the league’s more underrated WR duos.

The depth chart is shaky behind Olave and Shaheed, with an over-the-hill Brandin Cooks the likely No. 3 WR.

But the Saints have a serviceable TE in Juwan Johnson and one of the game’s best pass-catching RBs in Alvin Kamara.

Last year’s Saints ranked dead last in Pro Football Focus pass-blocking grade and 29th in ESPN’s pass block win rate. They spent the ninth overall pick of this spring’s draft on Texas’ Kelvin Banks, who’s penciled in as the starting LT. And they’ll look to get a better second season from 2024 first-round OT Taliese Fuaga.

This unit has the potential to take a step forward this season, but consider it a major question mark for now.

Coaching & Offensive Scheme

The Saints hired Kellen Moore as their new HC in February. He replaces Dennis Allen, who was fired in the middle of last season.

This is Moore’s first HC gig after a successful six-year run as an OC.

He ran Dallas’ offense from 2019 to 2022, leading the Cowboys to top-six finishes in points in three of four seasons. Two of those teams led the league in total yards.

Moore headed west to Los Angeles in 2023, taking over as Chargers OC. That team finished 21st in points and 18th in total yards, but QB Justin Herbert dealt with multiple injuries and missed the final four games of the season.

This past year, Moore helped the Eagles to a Super Bowl. The offense ranked seventh in points and eighth in total yards.

Moore has shown an ability to adapt his scheme and play calling to his personnel. His pass rates have ranged from 61.4% (2020 Cowboys) to 44.3% (2024 Eagles). Considering the Saints’ uncertainty at QB, expect Moore to lean toward the run this year.

Moore’s offenses have consistently been fast paced with high play volume. His first five teams ranked top four in seconds per play (last year’s Eagles ranked 24th). And all six have averaged at least 65 plays per game. For perspective, only four teams averaged 65+ plays per game last year.

It’s good news for Shough’s 2025 fantasy prospects. More plays mean more chances for fantasy points.