Tyler Shough Fantasy Football Outlook For 2026: THE Late-Round QB Target?
Fantasy

Tyler Shough Fantasy Football Outlook For 2026: THE Late-Round QB Target?

Is Tyler Shough the cream of the crop when it comes to 2026 late-round QB options in fantasy football?

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Tyler Shough shocked the fantasy football world in the second half of last season as he solidified himself as (potentially) the Saints quarterback of the future. Ian Hartitz dives into what we should expect in 2026 as part of his New Orleans Saints fantasy football team preview.

NO_saints-logo.svgIs Tyler Shough the best late-round QB fantasy pick of 2026?

Well, the soon-to-be 27-year-old signal-caller certainly made a solid case for this honor across his initial nine career starts. Overall, Shough ripped off four top-12 finishes during his final eight games of the season, and as a whole, he worked as the QB12 in fantasy points per game (17.2) after taking over under center in Week 9.

The man has a big arm, can throw with touch, and has enough athleticism to make plays on the run and out of structure. That's a solid set of skillz to build around!

That said, the aforementioned lackluster second-half schedule certainly played a role in Shough's success. His performances with 250-plus passing yards came against the Panthers (24th in EPA allowed per dropback), Jets (32nd), Titans (29th) and Falcons (13th). It was also surprising to see him find so much success as a rusher (45-186-3)—he had just 132 yards (excluding sacks) and one touchdown in 12 games during his final season at Louisville.

Look, the path to success is clear: Shough builds off his promising late-season stretch with an extra year of familiarity inside an offense with a potentially VERY improved supporting cast. That profile is certainly deserving of late-round consideration, although he is going side-by-side with guys who have proven capable of supplying a legit full-season top-five fantasy finish (Kyler Murray, Jordan Love, Baker Mayfield) and Konami-code dual-threat options (Kyler, Malik Willis).

Ultimately, Shough is ranked as high as QB19 and as low as QB21 by the Fantasy Life rankers. It's tough to simply point to him as THE late-round answer at the position, considering the aforementioned additional options, but hey, they are collectively a BIG reason why I feel so good about waiting at QB in re-draft land this season! Don't be afraid to scoop up Shough plus one of the other guys and have them compete for your fantasy squad's starting job.

Also note: I was one of the dummies who didn't really think Spencer Rattler was the main problem in New Orleans last season. He put some good throws on tape! The 2024 fifth-round pick understandably got replaced by Shough eventually, but that's increasingly looking like less of a big deal than it seemed at the time. All this to say: I've certainly seen worse bench stashes in deep superflex dynasty leagues.

Players Mentioned in this Article

  1. Tyler Shough
    TylerShough
    QBNONO
    PPG
    14.5
    Proj
    273.1
  2. Spencer Rattler
    SpencerRattlerQ
    QBNONO
    PPG
    11.1
    Proj
    14.0
  3. Zach Wilson
    ZachWilson
    QBNONO
    PPG
    0.4
  4. Kyler Murray
    KylerMurray
    QBMINMIN
    PPG
    16.2
    Proj
    289.5

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