Sportsnaut
After four consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs, it was time for the New Orleans Saints to make offseason changes. Not only do they have a brand new coaching staff led by first-year head coach Kellen Moore, but they also have a new quarterback, but we don’t know who the starter will be yet.
That’s because the Saints are one of just three teams with an active starting quarterback competition. But who?
Many have assumed that Moore’s hand-picked quarterback, rookie second-round pick Tyler Shough, is the leading candidate to win the job. But he’s just a rookie, competing with a second and third-year pro.
Early on, according to New Orleans Football’s Nick Underhill, Shough is getting outplayed in training camp. Specifically, 2024 fifth-round pick Spencer Rattler is outperforming Shough and Jake Haener early on.
Per Nick Underhill, Spencer Rattler is "clearly, clearly, clearly, clearly, clearly" QB1 at this point 😲🤯⚜️
Do you agree? pic.twitter.com/27rgF5pUO3
— Saints Lead (@SaintsLeadSM) August 5, 2025
The Saints also have undrafted rookie Hunter Dekkers on the roster, presumably as a camp arm who could latch onto the practice squad. Still, while Shough may be behind the 8-ball early on, he still has plenty of time to catch up to the competition before the regular season kicks off in September.
However, Rattler having the early leg up on the competition makes sense considering his extended stretch of playing time last season as a rookie, when he made six starts. While the Saints lost all six of Rattler’s starts, he still had a chance to begin building chemistry with the Saints’ pass-catchers in live-action. Who knows? Maybe the Saints’ QB picture will look much different by the end of the preseason once the others have had a better chance to show what they can do when the bullets start flying.
Related: 1 Bold Prediction for New Orleans Saints’ First Preseason Game
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