Saints' Kellen Moore Praises Shedeur Sanders, Explains Decision to Draft Tyler Shough

The New Orleans Saints weighed whether to take Shedeur Sanders before opting instead for Tyler Shough in the 2025 NFL draft.

"He was right in those conversations," head coach Kellen Moore told reporters of Sanders. "These are really tough decisions. He's a really good player. What he accomplished at Colorado and when you watch the film, it's really, really good. I think really highly of him. Ultimately, as you go through it, you've got to make a decision. We felt like Tyler was the one for us."

The status of Derek Carr remains unclear as he deals with a shoulder injury, and that uncertainty led many to think the Saints would invest a valuable pick on a quarterback.

To that end, Sanders was a popular choice for New Orleans, only for the team to use a second-rounder on Shough.

The former Louisville QB rose on draft boards despite the fact he'll turn 26 in September and only had one full season as a starter in college thanks to injuries.

Moore said the Saints "saw it as a positive" that Shough overcame so much before excelling on the field in 2024. New Orleans wasn't dissuaded by his age, either.

"Quarterbacks aren't maturing and peaking necessarily until their early 30s," Moore told reporters. "A lot of these guys. They're continuing to build. They've got a long career, if they have success. You've seen that a lot throughout this league."

Considering Sanders ultimately fell to the fifth round, where he was picked by the Cleveland Browns, the Saints may not come to regret passing on the former Colorado signal-caller. The opinions of NFL teams diverged sharply with how draft experts graded his skill set, and that has moved the bar on what kind of career he's now expected to have.

But New Orleans made a relatively big bet on Shough, and how he develops will help to set the tone for Moore's tenure.