2025 NFL combine: Who is Tyler Shough? Meet the 25-year-old QB generating buzz during the pre-draft process
If your favorite NFL team needs a quarterback, you're in trouble.
The best options via free agency aren't great. A lot of older guys (Aaron Rodgers, Kirk Cousins, Russell Wilson, Jameis Winston, probably Matthew Stafford, maybe Derek Carr), and some younger guys (Sam Darnold if the Vikings let him go, Justin Fields, Daniel Jones).
There's always the draft, but without even one perfect, polished prospect, there's trepidation in just how many quarterbacks can be instant contributors.
Cam Ward and Shedeur Sanders headline the list of quarterback prospects, but the race for a third guy has been ongoing since January.
And with the NFL Scouting Combine upon us, the quarterback gaining the most buzz has been Louisville's Tyler Shough.
Who is Tyler Shough?Tyler Shough (pronounced "shuck") was a four-star prospect out of Hamilton high school in Chandler, Arizona, according to 247 Sports ... in 2018. That was the same recruiting class as Trevor Lawrence and Justin Fields. Recruited from some big-time programs including Cal, Arizona State and Alabama (Brian Daboll was one of those who recruited him for the Tide), Shough chose Oregon even though he knew he'd sit behind Justin Herbert for at least a couple of seasons.
By his sophomore year in 2020, Shough started every game but didn't finish his last two, ending his Covid-shortened season with a bowl-game loss against Iowa State. With a chance to start for the Texas Tech Red Raiders in 2021, and to be a little closer to home, Shough moved South and started every game he was healthy for over three seasons. Not that there were a lot of them; injuries piled up, but it kept extending his eligibility. After three years he transferred one more time to Louisville and finished his career with career-highs.
Despite seven years of eligibility, Shough only topped 1,600 passing yards and 14 touchdowns once -- in 2024 with Louisville. Obviously his injuries played a part since he sparsely played in 2021 and 2023. His per-pass averages slid as he played at Texas Tech and then perked up at Louisville, but his average air yards per pass attempt was generally near 9.0, his touchdown rate was at least 5.9% in all but one season, and his interception rate improved to just 1.5% at Louisville. Shough also saw his sack rate decline last year.
Those stats might sound good, but by comparison to others in the class, they're not.
In 12 games this past season, Shough completed 62.7% of his 389 passes for 3,195 yards (8.2 yards per attempt) with 23 touchdowns and six interceptions. Of these numbers, the only one that ranked in the top 15 among Power-4 conference qualifiers was his interceptions (seventh-fewest). His total yardage (16th), yards per attempt (17th) and touchdowns (20th) were top 20.
Compared to other well-known quarterback prospects, including a few guys competing to be the third quarterback off the board, Shough's stats don't look so hot.
2024 statistics (top QB prospects)
| Player | Team | G | Comp% | Yds | Yd/Att | TD | Int | OffTgt% | Sack% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 13 | 74.0% | 4134 | 8.7 | 37 | 10 | 8.2% | 7.7% |
| Will Howard | Ohio State | 16 | 73.0% | 4010 | 9.5 | 35 | 10 | 9.0% | 3.6% |
| Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | 13 | 69.3% | 4279 | 10.8 | 29 | 6 | 10.3% | 6.6% |
| Cam Ward | Miami | 13 | 67.2% | 4313 | 9.5 | 39 | 7 | 13.9% | 4.8% |
| Kyle McCord | Syracuse | 13 | 66.0% | 4779 | 8.1 | 34 | 12 | 10.0% | 4.7% |
| Quinn Ewers | Texas | 14 | 65.8% | 3472 | 7.8 | 31 | 12 | 11.7% | 6.9% |
| Jalen Milroe | Alabama | 13 | 64.3% | 2844 | 8.9 | 16 | 11 | 16.0% | 6.7% |
| Tyler Shough | Louisville | 12 | 62.7% | 3195 | 8.2 | 23 | 6 | 11.8% | 3.5% |
He was a little bit better in the red zone, including 14 touchdowns on 45 attempts, making for a 31.1% TD rate that ranked second-best among the top-8 quarterback prospects last season. But that wasn't enough to make him unbeatable near the end zone, especially when compared to his peers.
2024 red zone statistics (top QB prospects)
| Player | Team | Comp% | Yds | Yd/Att | TD | TD% | Int | OffTgt% | Sack% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | 73.5% | 244 | 5.0 | 9 | 18.4% | 0 | 4.1% | 2.0% |
| Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 71.4% | 295 | 4.7 | 18 | 28.6% | 3 | 6.3% | 6.0% |
| Will Howard | Ohio State | 66.0% | 277 | 5.5 | 19 | 38.0% | 2 | 16.0% | 3.8% |
| Kyle McCord | Syracuse | 58.4% | 394 | 4.4 | 23 | 25.8% | 1 | 12.4% | 5.3% |
| Quinn Ewers | Teas | 58.0% | 261 | 3.8 | 18 | 26.1% | 1 | 15.9% | 5.5% |
| Tyler Shough | Louisville | 57.8% | 180 | 4.0 | 14 | 31.1% | 1 | 13.3% | 4.3% |
| Cam Ward | Miami | 56.5% | 328 | 4.8 | 21 | 30.4% | 1 | 11.6% | 2.8% |
| Jalen Milroe | Alabama | 48.3% | 101 | 3.5 | 4 | 13.8% | 3 | 17.2% | 3.3% |
And just to be thorough, Shough was arguably the worst among his top-8 peers on throws of 20-plus Air Yards, ranking last or next-to-last on deep tosses in completion rate, total yards, touchdowns, interception rate and yards per attempt.
2024 deep-passing statistics (top QB prospects)
| Player | Team | G | Comp% | Yds | Yd/Att | TD | TD% | Int | OffTgt% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Will Howard | Ohio State | 15 | 57.4% | 930 | 19.8 | 8 | 17.0% | 2 | 14.9% |
| Kyle McCord | Syracuse | 13 | 52.6% | 1273 | 16.3 | 9 | 11.5% | 3 | 19.2% |
| Shedeur Sanders | Colorado | 13 | 45.3% | 1184 | 15.8 | 14 | 18.7% | 1 | 24.0% |
| Cam Ward | Miami | 13 | 45.3% | 1148 | 15.3 | 14 | 18.7% | 0 | 36.0% |
| Jaxson Dart | Ole Miss | 13 | 42.0% | 1517 | 17.2 | 17 | 19.3% | 4 | 23.9% |
| Jalen Milroe | Alabama | 13 | 39.3% | 892 | 15.9 | 10 | 17.9% | 3 | 32.1% |
| Quinn Ewers | Texas | 14 | 38.2% | 637 | 11.6 | 9 | 16.4% | 2 | 32.7% |
| Tyler Shough | Louisville | 12 | 36.7% | 859 | 14.3 | 7 | 11.7% | 3 | 30.0% |
Shough's appeal to NFL coaches is definitely in his details. No one will argue he's a finished product, but he might have fewer questions than the other non-Round 1 quarterback prospects in this class.
He's 6-foot-5 and 224 pounds, has clean footwork, has good enough arm strength with good velocity, is unafraid of tight-window and low-percentage throws and can maneuver in and out of a pocket. Some consider him a gunslinger, which is a double-edged sword because that can lead to mishaps as well as touchdowns.
He's got work to do as an anticipatory thrower and was inconsistent throwing with pressure in his face, both of which are fairly concerning given he's been in the college game for seven years. And his arm strength won't help him win any Pro Bowl Games contests for longest throws.
What his body saysThree separate injuries, each at Texas Tech, are considerable red flags for Shough. All three involved him running -- he broke his left collarbone in 2021 on a dive into the end zone, re-injured the shoulder and missed six games in 2022 when his left shoulder got driven into the ground on a run, and then fractured his left fibula in 2023 when he -- you guessed it -- ran the ball on a scramble play. To his credit, he tried to stay in the game all three times but eventually relented.
NFL teams might not care as much about this. After all, last year Michael Penix Jr. tore his ACL twice while in college and was still a top-10 pick. But what they might realize is that Shough is best suited to stay in the pocket and not take on any designed runs. Louisville did exactly that last year and he survived the season.
The other issue is Shough's age. Born Sept. 28, 1999, Shough will turn 26 years old during his rookie season. Every other top-8 prospect is at least two years younger, and every 2024 rookie quarterback is at least roughly one year younger.
What his combine saysShough will have the chance to have his body evaluated by team doctors and his passing game evaluated by scouts. If there are any negatives to either one of those, the hype surrounding Shough will stop and he'll be a Day 3 pick as a backup quarterback.
But if Shough shines at the workouts and has a clean bill of health, desperate teams might consider him as an alternative to start at some point in the next two seasons, even with his flaws. Coaches tend to gravitate toward players' strengths and assume they can improve their weaknesses. That could very well be the case if a team decides Shough's injury risk and age aren't big deals.
A reminder: The Titans, Browns, Giants, Raiders, Jets and Steelers stand out as teams ready to make a change at quarterback, and the Saints, Seahawks and Dolphins might want a younger talent to groom for a takeover in 2026.
To these nine teams, Shough would be a low-cost, Day 2 option. In this climate of available quarterbacks, that might look awfully enticing.
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