It's still early in the offseason, but the idea of Tyler Shough throwing deep to Rashid Shaheed is already looking like a deadly weapon for the New Orleans Saints offense in 2025. The mixture of Shaheed's skillset and Shough's arm strength and willingness to throw deep set the stage for a lethal aerial connection.
We saw that last year. Derek Carr had his faults, but connecting with Shaheed down the field was something we saw often. The offense was frequently too boom-or-bust. That needs to be corrected, but the Shaheed bomb should remain a part of the arsenal
Tyler Shough arm strength stole the show at Thursday's OTAs
WVUE FOX 8's Sean Fazende acknowledged "Shough looks very comfortable with vertical routes & out-breaking patterns," at Thursday's session of organized team activities. Both vertical and out-breaking routes are times where a quarterback can showcase their arm talent. If a quarterback favors or is very comfortable with these routes, they more than likely have a strong arm.
Thursday was the second day media was able to come out for practice, and Shough flashed each time. It was said Rattler had the overall better first day, but Shough had the "highlight throw of the day." Any guesses what that throw was? A deep ball to Shaheed that would have been a touchdown in live action.
The next time media was able to watch Shough, he threw two deep touchdowns to Bub Means and Donovan Peoples-Jones. The ball to Means in particular was just beautiful. Shots down the field are always captivating. Shough will have to do more than that to earn the starting role or have a quality rookie year, of course, but these pass are eye grabbing.
Rashid Shaheed's efficiency down the field
The last two throws weren't to Shaheed, but he will be the Saints' most frequent target down the field. Over his career, he's scored 13 touchdowns, 10 of which through the air. All but one of his 10 receiving touchdowns was longer than 30 yards. Five of his receiving touchdowns were over fifty yards.
At the time his season was ended, Shaheed had the most receptions of over 50 air yards since 2023. Shough clearly doesn't plan on slowing down that streak. The pair has connected once during OTAs. Fans weren't able to see it then, but I expect they'll get real familiar with the sight when the season rolls around.
