Carolina Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan remains the favorite to win Offensive Rookie of the Year honors, but New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough is at least giving voters something to consider.
The Saints have won three consecutive games, with Shough throwing for 300-plus yards for the first time in his career in Sunday's 29-6 demolition of the New York Jets. His play, spearheading a team that looked lost in the wilderness early in the season, has given him a shot to earn OROY in the final two weeks.
"That's obviously a great achievement," Shough said Sunday when asked about postseason accolades, via The Times-Picayune. "But I think for us, that can be attained by finishing the season the right way with getting the victory next week and then the week after that. So that's all I'm focused on right now. And we'll go from there."
McMillan, who has 924 yards, 65 catches and seven touchdowns for the NFC South-leading Panthers, remains in front for OROY, but the fact that Shough is even in the conversation is a testament to the Saints' strong play down the stretch.
In seven starts, Shough has displayed arm talent, heady playmaking when things break down, and incremental improvement each week. It's enough to silence chatter in the Bayou that the Saints need to take another swing at the QB position in the offseason.
"I think that's awesome," coach Kellen Moore said of Shough having a chance to earn the award. "Tyler's played some really good football. Our team has played much better football as the season's progressed, so those things certainly don't go without the guys around him and everyone kind of stepping up and playing better.
"Tyler's brought a really positive spark to us, some consistency. … I love where he's at."
In Sunday's win, Shough went 32-of-49 passing for 308 yards with a TD and zero INTs. He became the first rookie QB in Saints history with 300-plus yards passing in a game. Shough now owns each of the top three passing yards games by a Saints rookie, per NFL Research.
Since Shough took over the starting gig in Week 9, the Saints are 4-3 and have shown post-Halloween life. The roster remains a work in progress, but getting stellar QB play is a massive step in the right direction for a franchise that hasn't had stability at the position since Drew Brees retired. We've seen rebuilding teams use positive stretch runs to propel themselves into future success – à la Dan Campbell's Detroit Lions.
The Saints are hoping a positive final two weeks for Shough will build that momentum, regardless of whether it leads to post-season hardware.
Past New Orleans AP Offensive Rookie of the Year winners include RB George Rogers (1981), RB Rueben Mayes (1986) and RB Alvin Kamara (2017).
