Saints rookie Tyler Shough explains why he's rooting for Jets QB Justin Fields

USA Today

26-06-2025

We learned a lot about Tyler Shough in his sit-down interview on the St. Brown Podcast with Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and his brother, former New Orleans Saints wideout Equanimeous St. Brown. For one thing, Shough is ready to stand ten toes down in defense of New Orleans' food scene; for another, he knows Marques Colston by sight, and how to say his name right. That's something some fans never figured out.
But we learned some more meaningful things about Shough, too, especially about his personal maturity and the tough journey he's taken to the NFL. A series of injuries delayed his college career and forced him to watch as other quarterbacks he had outplayed turned pro ahead of him. And the lesson he took from that experience was to use it as motivation, not as an anchor weighing him down.
"I think the biggest thing from that, is just like, high school kids, college kids watching, don't compare yourselves to others. Do it from a competitive standpoint but don't let it shut you down," Shough began. There's a fine line between using someone else's accomplishments to set your own goals and growing envious, jealous, or bitter over their success.
And Shough used a great example of how those feelings can be fuel for positivity, so long as he keeps perspective that everyone's path is different: "I always thought I was better than the guys in my class coming out at the Opening. That's innate, my innate belief, and you see guys like Trevor Lawrence -- three-year career, win a national championship, and I'm like, 'Man that would have been sick.' And year after year you see guys get drafted like, 'Man I'm better than this dude, I'm better than this dude.' But you kind of have to go through your own circumstance and opportunity to grow as a person and a player because if I would have had three-years, four-years career who knows? I may be entitled or I may be out of the league at this point."
Shough competed alongside eleven other high-profile quarterback recruits at the 2017 Nike Opening, and while he learned quickly that he wasn't he biggest fish in that pond, he did come away from the event with a better grasp of his skills compared to his peers. Of those dozen quarterbacks who shared the field back in 2017, five didn't make it to the NFL. Two of them entered the league as first round picks in 2021 (Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields), with Matt Corral joining them a year later as a third rounder. But the remaining three passers were picked in Rounds 5 or 6 in the 2023 and 2024 drafts. It wasn't until the Saints picked Shough in 2025's second round that the book shut on the Opening's 2017 quarterback class.
Some of those guys are still around -- Trevor Lawrence remains the Jacksonville Jaguars' franchise quarterback, while Tanner McKee is hanging on with the Philadelphia Eagles (despite speculation he could join Shough and his former coach Kellen Moore in New Orleans), who also added Dorian Thompson-Robinson this offseason. Devin Leary re-signed with the Baltimore Ravens earlier this year. Justin Fields is getting a fresh start on the New York Jets. And Fields is someone who Shough is watching closely.
"But Justin's a great example, as far as like, I think he's gonna do really well for the reasons I hope I'm gonna do really well," Shough began. "He came in the league, obviously had a great college career. It was, like, pretty picturesque. No. 2 overall pick, kind of had Chicago obviously up and down, maybe, as you could call it. Goes to Steelers and had a weird situation, and I'm sure he's thinking to himself, 'Man, this sucks,' you know? But now he's in a new situation, fresh start, where I think he can just go out there and ball. That's, to me, where I felt like I had those doubts."
He clapped his hands for emphasis: "And now, here we go."