The New Orleans Saints’ season came to a close on Sunday with a record of 6-11.
In normal circumstances, the end of a season like that would be cause for discontent, change, and perhaps even panic.
After all, it is the third worst season the franchise has endured since 1999. That includes the 2005 season that was largely disrupted by Hurricane Katrina. The only other season worse than this one since the turn of the century was… well… last season, when New Orleans went 5-12 and fired Dennis Allen mid-season.
However, the end of the 2025 season felt different for the Saints. It all started back on October 26th, as New Orleans was being blown out by Tampa. With the score at 17-3 and the offense struggling to do anything, Kellen Moore decided to turn to the rookie at quarterback.
While Shough did not lead a heroic comeback, he apparently showed Moore enough to earn the start in the following game. He made his starting debut on the road against the Los Angeles Rams.
While that game went against New Orleans, the following week marked Shough’s arrival. He threw for nearly 300 yards and two touchdowns in a 17-7 win over Carolina. Two losses would follow, but then he and the entire team caught fire.
The Saints rattled off four straight wins with Shough leading the charge. The signal-caller was 65% or better in completion percentage in all of those games. Additionally, he scored six total touchdowns and turned the ball over just once. All of a sudden, Shough was in the Offensive Rookie of the Year conversation, and the mood around the fanbase changed drastically.
For Saints fans, the relationship with the quarterback position has been a delicate one for quite some time now. Those things happen when an all-time great comes through the facility for the better part of two decades. From 2006-2020, Drew Brees put together a Hall-of-Fame career, highlighted by his precision, preparation, and elite processing skills.
When his career came to a close, the drop off at the position was going to be sharp. There was no way around it. Through the next five seasons, Jameis Winston, Taysom Hill, Trevor Siemian, Ian Book, Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, Spencer Rattler, and Jake Haener would all start games for New Orleans.
Even a player like Carr, who was arguably above league-average, had to be compared, whether it be consciously or sub-consciously, to Brees. This quickly led the relationship between Saints fans and the Saints’ quarterback to be a rocky one. Throw in Carr’s apparent less than endearing attitude, and things got contentious in a hurry.
Enter Shough, roughly five years removed from Brees’ departure. They say time heals all wounds, and in this case I think time also did the job of further separating the Saints from their long-time franchise leader. Being the 10th quarterback to take a snap since Brees departed is no doubt a good thing in this case for Tyler. He has a real chance to create his own legacy within the organization, and seems far enough removed from the shadow of Brees’ successes as well.
Of course, the play of the quarterback is just one aspect of the Saints’ resurgence. The team played well enough around him down the stretch to contribute to the winning streak, and Shough’s fellow rookie in Moore at the coaching position got better as the year went on as well.
The Saints’ 2017 draft class famously extended the championship window for the Brees-led teams in the late 2010s into 2020. There is a chance that the 2025 class can be the pillar for the resurgence of Saints football in the mid-to-late 2020s.
Let’s evaluate.
-First round pick Kelvin Banks Jr solidified the left tackle spot, starting and pass-protecting at a high level. While penalties and run blocking can be cleaned up, this absolutely seems like a hit with the first pick.
-Shough at No. 40 in the second round speaks for itself. If he continues on the trajectory he started his career on, he will ultimately have been an absolute steal in the second round.
-Vernon Broughton gets an incomplete after a season-ending injury early in the season, but did show good signs in the preseason as an interior defensive lineman. The real pick of this round, however, is Jonas Sanker, who stepped into a big role at safety and showed signs of being an impact player all season long.
-Fourth round picks Danny Stutsman and Quincy Riley both flashed defensively, with Riley playing tons of snaps in the second half of the season. If it weren’t for Demario Davis and his ironman abilities, Stutsman would have likely seen a ton of action as well.
-Late-round selections Devin Neal, Moliki Matavao, and Fadil Diggs are all extra credit, but Neal especially could have a future on the roster.
It appears to be the type of draft class that a team can build around. Of course, the follow up needs to contribute as well. But, the Saints may have the most difficult part of their rebuilding process figured out. They may have the coach AND the quarterback.
The offseason is setting up to be the most optimism-filled stretch in quite some time for fans of the black and gold.
Dawson Eiserloh is the host of “The LohDown with D-Loh” which is broadcast weekdays (1-3 PM) on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles — Southwest Louisiana’s Sports Station