Tyler Shough’s excitement over potential Saints draft target could end up backfiring on him and New Orleans
The New Orleans Saints would probably love to draft a particular WR prospect in this year’s class. Is Tyler Shough actually making that more difficult by being too positive about him?
Wide receiver is still a clear need for the New Orleans Saints offense under Kellen Moore. Chris Olave had his best season as a pro in 2025, but they could still use a clear-cut WR2 option behind him.
May the best fit actually be someone that quarterback Tyler Shough is already very familiar with? That is a possibility given value and needs along the entire Saints roster.
Tyler Shough is not keeping Louisville WR Chris Bell a secret for the Saints
The Saints young quarterback has not kept a low profile when it comes to his former teammate in Louisville wide receiver Chris Bell. Bell was often mocked as a first-round pick early in the college football season. A season-ending injury has now pushed him closer to the early day two range in this class.
Even with that, Shough has not stopped giving hints to nearly everyone that he would love to play with Bell again after they were teammates at Louisville.
Chris Bell’s own push to land in New Orleans
Bell has not shied away from praising the Saints and discussing them as a landing spot during the draft, either. In fact, he’s only further facilitated the idea of it when asked.
“Man it would be great, man. I’ve been talking to Tyler Shough since this process started,” Bell told Arye Pulli for Saints on SI. “He said he’s been telling the Saints about me, he hope they get me. He said they need somebody like me so it would be great to reunite with Tyler Shough.” — USA TODAY
“Player comps are a difficult thing in this space. They are meant to give fans a semblance of what the player is on the field. Sometimes, they are way off base, but comparing Bell to Brown makes all the sense. They play the game in the same way, have similar frames and skill sets. Bell is likely to fall around the 50th pick, just like Brown was (51st overall) when the Tennessee Titans selected him. If you want to utilize a player who is a carbon copy of Brown from a playstyle standpoint, Bell is your guy.” — Tyler Forness, A to Z Sports
New Orleans will have plenty of teams between the end of the first round into the middle of the second round who have Bell on their radar. It could be a case where they are forced to move up for him if he is truly their guy.
No matter what – neither the Saints QB or the young WR prospect are doing them any favors when it comes to having him fall to them at the 42nd overall pick.
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