The Saints are in a weird position. They are almost out of cap hell, thanks in no small part to Derek Carr “retiring” instead of taking $30 million to ride the IR. They’re a franchise stuck in neutral, in an eddy, inside a whirlpool. The Saints are going nowhere fast, and their fantasy football-relevant draft picks also reflect that. Let’s look at a too-high drafted quarterback, a too-low drafted running back, and a too-blocked tight end to matter for fantasy football in 2025.

Round 2, Pick 40: Tyler Shough, Quarterback, Louisville (6’5″, 210 lbs)

TALENT

Whether slinging touchdowns or handing out Werther’s Originals, Tyler Shough’s tape jumped out for me, especially after watching many of this class’s dregs struggle to do anything of note. Then, I saw that he was a freshman at Oregon in 2018. This man was teammates with Justin Herbert for two years, and is two months older than Brock Purdy.

That said… Shough can sling it. He is highly refined, as one should be after receiving seven years of coaching at the college level. He exhibits a nice touch on deep balls and has a good push downfield on his passes. Shough can make all the throws while in the pocket and is exceptional at both off-platform throws and setting his hips when trying to throw on the run. Shough also keeps his eyes downfield while facing pressure, something you want in a quarterback.

Unfortunately, he leaves pockets too early and gets impatient on slower-developing routes, frequently bouncing footballs off of not-yet-ready receivers. While Shough is a gunslinger, he doesn’t do well deep in plays and tends to fire off balls under pressure. I’m impressed by your talent, but you would be too if you were seven years older than some of your opponents. The biggest downside, however, is that age: he’s likely a finished product at this point.

NFL Comparison: Big Brock Purdy
Pre-Draft Grade: 5^th round

2025 OPPORTUNITY

Depth Chart:
QB1      Tyler Shough
QB2      Spencer Rattler
QB3      Jake Haener

With Derek Carr’s retirement, Shough is the best quarterback in that room. That’s not saying much when your competition is Spencer Rattler & Jake Haener. The three likely rotate throughout the season, with Shough getting the first crack at the starting lineup. Shough has viable weapons that could elevate his floor, including Alvin Kamara, Chris Olave, and Juwan Johnson. Unfortunately, everything behind them is a mess. Kendre Miller and Devin Neal will do it for RB2 responsibilities, but neither is a plus pass catcher. Chris Olave’s receiver room compadres are also in trouble. Speedster Rashid Shaheed is coming off an injury, Brandin Cooks’ best seasons are behind him, and it’s likely the best seasons for Mason Tipton, Dante Pettis, and Bub Means never arise. None of the tight ends (Johnson included, to be honest) are difference-makers, either.

2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK

While Shough will be the starter to begin the season, I am not interested in him in 1QB leagues. In 2QB and Superflex leagues, he is a decent QB3 to spot start, if your quarterbacks have early Bye weeks. However, QB is so deep this season that I have very little interest in Shough as anything more than a depth piece in 2025.

Round 6, Pick 184: Devin Neal, Running Back, Kansas (5’11”, 213 lbs)

TALENT

Devin Neal is a very shifty running back, but his hip tightness means his shiftiness devolves into dancing in the backfield. He is patient, but his cuts are as proficient as you would like them to be in taking advantage of that shiftiness. He is a good runner who adjusts the angles of tacklers well to turn them into easily shed arm tackles. Unfortunately, he goes down at the first solid contact that he receives. He has good enough hands and is faster than he is quick. He will have some strange stretch where he has an inexplicable 20+ touch workload that will thrust him into fantasy relevance, but he is best suited as a depth piece or a 1B in the league.

NFL Comparison: Elijah Mitchell
Pre-Draft Grade: 5^th Round

2025 OPPORTUNITY

Kendre Miller’s RB2 role is in jeopardy, as he can’t stay healthy, and Neal is the type of back who can wrest that job from him. However, the role behind Alvin Kamara isn’t very fruitful. In 2024, he finished seventh in snap share, sixth in opportunity share, and second in weighted opportunity share, en route to finishing as RB5 in fantasy points per game. Some want to point to an opportunity opening up in the backfield as Kamara ages, but the Saints could have drafted a much better running back in this class if they planned on sunsetting Kamara.

Depth Chart:
RB1      Alvin Kamara
RB2      Kendre Miller
RB3      Devin Neal
RB4      Clyde Edwards-Helaire

2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK

You can take a flyer on Neal in deeper leagues if you want to. He’s a good player, but stuck behind one of the best to do it. I’m drafting him in the fourth in dynasty leagues but ignoring him entirely in redraft leagues.

Round 7, Pick 248: Moliki Matavao, Tight End, UCLA (6’6″, 260 lbs)

TALENT

Matavao is a versatile tight end. He is a powerful runner with the ball in his hands, who displays above-average athleticism and a nose for extra yards with the ball. Unfortunately, he is just an adequate blocker. UCLA lined him up all over the formation, and he rewarded them with smooth catches and good quickness off the line. He doesn’t have good topline speed, but he is quick enough to make it work as an underneath target, who can pop a big one if need be.

NFL Comparison: Kyle Rudolph
Pre-Draft Grade: 7^th Round

2025 OPPORTUNITY

Depth Chart:
TE1       Juwan Johnson
TE2       Foster Moreau
TE3       Moliki Matavao

Rookie tight ends rarely matter, and we are yet to see a day-three tight end pop off in their rookie season.

2025 FANTASY FOOTBALL OUTLOOK

Injuries to Johnson and Moreeau could clear the deck for a streaming appeal. Otherwise, I’m out.