Tyrann Mathieu On Tyler Shough As New Orleans Saints’ Potential Franchise Quarterback: ‘He’s Showing Some Promise’

New Orleans native Tyrann Mathieu is very high on the New Orleans Saints’ new franchise quarterback, Tyler Shough.

The 26-year-old Shough is in his rookie season after the Saints selected him with a second-round draft pick. Shough is just two starts into his NFL career, but has shown some promise early on, leading New Orleans to a victory over a potential playoff team in the Carolina Panthers in just his second start.

The 40th overall pick in the 2025 NFL Draft threw for two touchdowns, zero picks and 282 passing yards with a 128.9 passer rating in the 17-7 win. Shough showed solid pocket presence and the ability to convert on big plays, with the young quarterback connecting on plays for 52 yards, 63 yards and 30 yards.

The latter two plays were for touchdowns and all of them happened on third-and-long conversions – situations where teams are typically doomed.

Mathieu – who played for the Saints during his final three seasons before retiring after last season – says Shough is “showing some promise.”

“He’s kind of showing some promise,” says Mathieu in a one-on-one interview of Shough as the Saints’ starting quarterback. “Especially with Tyler and the way he played two weeks ago against the Panthers. Him being a rookie going on the road in a division game and being able to win, I thought he did some good things in that game. I thought he took care of the football, I thought he pushed the ball down. I thought his pocket awareness was pretty good.”

The thing that Mathieu liked the most about Shough was the fact that he was able to get his No. 1 option, Chris Olave, involved in a major way in the passing game. Olave had his best performance of the season in Shough’s second start, posting five receptions for 104 yards (20.8 yards per reception) and one touchdown, including a 62-yard touchdown catch.

“The thing I love the most is that we finally got to see Chris Olave as a No. 1 receiver,” says Mathieu. “Chris Olave had a great day. I think them having that partnership, I think that’s very encouraging for the Saints to be able to see that. Because not only do we see possibly our quarterback of the future, now we’re answering the questions of whether or not Chris Olave is our long-term wide receiver (number) one.”

Shough, Olave and the Saints obviously have to carry over that momentum after sitting out during the bye week as they prepare to host the Atlanta Falcons in Shough’s first career home start. The Saints still have seven games remaining in the 2025 season to see whether or not Shough is the guy moving forward.

With that being said, his performance in the win over the Panthers on the road is a promising start. The fact that he’s also already able to get Olave, who posted back-to-back 1,000 yard seasons in 2022 and 2023, involved in the passing game makes Mathieu optimistic that Shough can be the franchise quarterback the Saints have been looking for since Drew Brees retired after the 2020 season.

“I think both of those guys for the most part, they were kind of able to answer those questions,” says Mathieu. “I’m hoping that they can keep that going. But yeah, it seems like they have some type of chemistry, and it works – they they were able to win that game.”

Mathieu was one of the most intimidating defensive backs during his 12-year NFL career. After capping off one of the more notable collegiate careers at LSU as a Heisman Trophy runner-up as an SEC-record 11 forced fumbles, Mathieu notched four All-Pro selections and three Pro Bowl appearances along with a Super Bowl ring during his time in the NFL.

Tyrann Mathieu Talks About Being An Analyst On MaddenCast Of Peacock’s Thanksgiving Game

The 33-year-old is now starting his post-football career as an analyst, this time on Peacock as they air the MaddenCast version of the Baltimore Ravens’ Thanksgiving matchup against the Cincinnati Bengals.

“It’s not your typical or or traditional broadcast,” Mathieu describes. “It’s definitely going to be kid friendly, and we’re going to link it to the game. We’re going to try to mimic that same thing in the studio with the video game. It should be fun, because this is all about trying to boost the players’ ratings. We want these players to shine. We want them to do well, and we want them to have a better Madden rating. We’re going to be critiquing them, but encouraging them at the same time.”

This year’s second iteration of the MaddenCast will also include other notable figures joining Mathieu for commentary such as Bengals great Chad Ochocinco, former NFL backup quarterback and Madden enthusiast Kurt Benkert along with host Kay Adams.

“I’ve known Chad a long time, obviously a huge fan of his,” says Mathieu of Ochocinco. “Especially post retirement, he was able to carve out a career for himself and still be relevant. I think that says a lot about him, his work ethic and his football knowledge. It’s gonna be fun. I think for me as an analyst, I’m more than comfortable with that because I’m a huge fan. of this game. I’m a huge fan of a lot of players that’s in this league.”

Mathieu says he’s “comfortable” critiquing guys and giving proper analysis of players now that he’s on the other side as an analyst.

“Being able to study those guys and critique those guys, you want to praise those guys,” says Mathieu of players. “You want to support those guys and encourage them. But every now and then, you got to tell people the hard truth. I’m a little comfortable with that. I’m just looking forward to the opportunity and just being around a good group of talented announcers and analysts and former players.”

The broadcast’s notable feature is that it’ll be a hi-sky camera angle located behind the quarterback – which is the traditional Madden angle – rather than the standard sideline view.

“It’s a different angle, so you’ll be able to really see the game from a different view,” says Mathieu. “You’ll really be able to kind of see how routes develops, how plays develop. Just that insight that you wouldn’t normally have, that option come Thursday during the MaddenCast.”