ESPN Ranks Tyler Shough Highly in Redraft of 2025 Class

The New Orleans Saints nailed the 2025 NFL draft. The haul is still receiving rave reviews in various ways.

The Saints, of course, drafted what looks to be a franchise quarterback in the second round. That said, were we to give each team a redo in the draft, it appears the experts think Saints quarterback Tyler Shough probably wouldn't have made it to the second round again.

ESPN published a redraft of the 2025 class. Their selections confirmed the notion that Shough was a second-round steal.

The do-over yielded the same No. 1 pick. The analysts had Cam Ward staying at No. 1 over Shough, despite a strong showing from the New Orleans quarterback. ESPN analyst Turron Davenport explained why.

"Ward showed tremendous signs of improvement after Tennessee's Week 10 bye. Only one of his seven interceptions came in the final eight games, and he threw 10 of his 15 touchdown passes in that stretch. It's clear Ward has the potential to be the franchise quarterback the Titans have desperately needed."

ESPN ranked Shough at the No. 2 pick to the Cleveland Browns in place of 2025 draft selection, Travis Hunter. Daniel Oyefusi gave his justification for why the Saints quarterback proved to be one of the top players in the draft.

"The Browns find themselves in a similar spot after failing to hit on either quarterback -- Dillon Gabriel and Shedeur Sanders -- they drafted. Shough's sample size (nine starts) is still small, and there's no knowing how he would have performed with Cleveland's supporting cast. But he impressed in less-than-ideal circumstances in New Orleans."

Quarterback redrafts were the theme of this particular article. ESPN had New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart going No. 3 to the same team, only the Giants selecting him first, not second. Jordan Raanan wrote why the team would take Dart at that spot instead.

"No time to wait for a quarterback. Ward and Shough were already off the board, which could be looked at as a fortuitous twist for the Giants. Dart led all rookie quarterbacks with 24 total touchdowns in only 12 starts. He also had the highest QBR at 57.6. Carter would have been a good pick again, but New York needed a quarterback in this scenario."

Whether or not the Saints will continue to fare so well in the draft is still to be seen, but if 2025 was any indication, the franchise is in good hands with its current scouting department. The team will look to put the finishing touches on a playoff contending team this offseason.