Breaking: Tyler Shough snubbed for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough fell short for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year accolades. The official announcement came during the NFL Honors ceremony on Thursday evening. Despite a late-season push, Shough lost out on the award to Carolina Panthers wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan.

Shough was drafted by the Saints with the eighth choice in the second round and the 40th overall selection. He was the second highest drafted quarterback in Saints franchise history, with Archie Manning going second overall in 1971. NFL rookie honors came down to Shough, McMillan, Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson, Buccaneers wideout Emeka Egbuka, and Giants quarterback Jaxon Dart. McMillan (8th), Egbuka (19th), and Dart (25th) were first round picks and Henderson went two choices before Shough at 38th overall.

McMillan played all 17 games for Carolina. He led the Panthers in receiving, catching 70 passes for 1,014 yards and 7 touchdowns on 122 targets. McMillan had two games of over 100 yards receiving and five others of at least 70 yards. He had at least three receptions in 13 contests and five or more catches seven times.

By contrast, Shough didn't get his first significant action until Week 8, when replacing a benched Spencer Rattler in the second half of a loss to Tampa Bay. He'd take over as the starter the following week and help steer New Orleans to a 5-4 record down the stretch, the most victories ever for a Saints rookie quarterback. In those nine starts, Shough completed over 69% of his passes for an average of 250 passing yards per game with 10 touchdowns and 6 interceptions with another 3 rushing scores.

Call us bitter, but Tetairoa McMillan had a strong year, but Tyler Shough was more deserving of this award. Over the last six regular season games, McMillan was held to one reception twice and two catches two more times, with his production taking a significant dip. Behind Shough, the Saints had a rise of six more points, 66 more passing yards, and 55 more total yards per game with a much higher third down conversion rate.

Remember that in Shough's nine starts, he was without Alvin Kamara for seven games, Rashid Shaheed for eight, and Devaughn Vele for three. For the most part down the stretch, Shough was winning games with practice squad players at running back and wide receiver.

New Orleans defeated Carolina in both meetings in 2025. Shough was the starting quarterback in both of those wins, completing 72.8% of his throws for an average of 277 passing yards with 3 touchdowns and no interceptions. McMillan had a combined 7 receptions for 85 yards on 12 targets with no touchdowns.

This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Breaking: Tyler Shough snubbed for NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year