At 3-10, the New Orleans Saints are likely keeping a very close watch on bowl game season and the College Football Playoffs, as they will almost certainly have a top-5 draft pick locked up by the time the 2026 NFL playoffs roll around.
Considering the Saints' uncertain future, it makes sense that some fans have wondered if New Orleans could be in play for a quarterback at the top of the draft, especially since their current rookie QB, Tyler Shough, just turned 26 back in September, even after a huge Week 14 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Could the Saints ultimately draft a quarterback in 2026? Sure, but not necessarily because of Shough's age, as, in Kellen Moore's opinion, if Philip Rivers can play at 44, the Louisville product will be okay at 26.
“Phillip Rivers is still playing at 44, so I think Tyler is going to be OK,” Moore declared via Katherine Terrell.
One of the more tenured quarterbacks in college football history, appearing in 42 games with 32 starts between his time at Oregon, Texas Tech, and Louisville, Shough was still deemed a prospect worthy of a top-50 pick, with the Saints opting to select him over Shedeur Sanders at pick 40.
Though the sample size hasn't been huge, as Spencer Rattler got some play early in the season, Shough has still done some encouraging things at the NFL level, going 2-3 as a starter while completing 65.2 percent of his passes for 1,212 yards, five touchdowns, and five interceptions. If he wins enough games to knock New Orleans out of the top-5, who knows, maybe the Saints will have to select a blue-chip prospect and give him a full run in 2026 to sink or swim either way.
