Sports
MLB Power Rankings: Braves with a big drop; How about that NL West?
By Grant Brisbee, Chad Jennings and Levi Weaver
Every week, we ask a selected group of our baseball writers — local and national — to rank the teams from first to worst. Here are the collective results.
Two surprising weekends can make a big difference in football, but small samples mean less in baseball. Keep that in mind as you browse our Power Rankings a week and a half into the season.
Some of our opinions have changed, but perhaps not as much as each team’s record would suggest. The one-win Atlanta Braves are still far ahead of the middle-of-the-pack Miami Marlins, and the red-hot San Francisco Giants have our attention, but we’re not anointing them a top-five team just yet. (And before you blame our biases, note that the soulless algorithm at FanGraphs seems to agree.)
We do want to have our opinions changed, though. We want to believe in Cinderella and predict Goliath’s defeat, and so we offer this week’s Power Rankings with a “difference-maker” on each team: one player who’s having an outsized impact on either present performance or our future expectations.
Record: 9-3
Last Power Ranking: 1
Early difference-maker: Yoshinobu Yamamoto
If the Dodgers can turn Michael Conforto into an All-Star again, it won’t matter if Jon Garland comes out of retirement and makes every start for them for the rest of the season. They’ll hit their way to 160 wins. But assuming they’ll need some reliable starting pitching at some point, Yamamoto has been their best source of that so far. Now-injured Blake Snell’s 8.0 BB/9 is the second-best in the rotation so far, at least among pitchers with two starts, so this is the shakiest top spot in the power rankings the Dodgers have had in months, if not an entire year. (They were still the unanimous choice, of course.) — Grant Brisbee
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Dodgers place Blake Snell on IL due to shoulder inflammation
Record: 7-2
Last Power Ranking: T-4
Early difference-maker: Jesús Luzardo
There’s a lot going right for the Phillies. Kyle Schwarber has been a monster, Zack Wheeler has been as good as ever, Edmundo Sosa has been awesome off the bench and the bullpen has picked up the slack for struggling closer Jordan Romano. But the defining moment in this strong start to the season has been taking two out of three from the Dodgers over the weekend, and that series started with Luzardo going seven scoreless innings in the opener. Two starts into his Phillies career, Luzardo is 2-0 with 19 strikeouts and a 1.50 ERA. The rest of the rotation (other than Aaron Nola) has also been excellent, but Luzardo was the team’s biggest offseason addition, and he’s had an immediate impact, including that early season statement against the defending world champs. — Chad Jennings
Record: 6-4
Last Power Ranking: 2
Early difference-maker: Aaron Judge
The Yankees are this high in our rankings for many reasons, most of them to do with their offense. Jazz Chisholm Jr. and Anthony Volpe have been the best middle-infield duo in baseball, Paul Goldschmidt has been resurgent at first base, and both Trent Grisham and Ben Rice have taken advantage of more-than-expected playing time.
But let’s not overthink this. Judge was historically great last season, and it took eight games this season for FanGraphs to declare him already a 1 WAR player (he dipped to 0.9 WAR after a hitless Game 9). A three-homer game certainly helped pad the early-season stats, but Judge has another three-hit game, he’s twice homered in back-to-back games, and he leads the league in both runs and RBIs. It’s going to be hard to match last season, but Judge is making an early run at it. — Jennings
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Trent Grisham hits 2 home runs in win over Pirates, talks overcoming difficult 2024
Record: 9-2
Last Power Ranking: 7
Early difference-maker: Jackson Merrill
Merrill is the only Padre currently with a double-digit RBI total and now, he’s one of those Padres who can pick up a restaurant tab, too. San Diego expects him to be a superstar and make up for the less-than-superstar production it might get from Xander Bogaerts and Manny Machado going forward. So far, so good, and it’s making A.J. Preller’s foresight to keep him while trading every minor leaguer and minor-league mascot in the system look even more impressive. — Brisbee
Record: 8-3
Last Power Ranking: 3
Early difference-maker: Josh Smith
The thing about the Rangers is that there are at least six guys I could nominate here. Nathan Eovaldi has pitched like an ace. Jack Leiter looks more like a blowtorch and less like a flameout. (This is absolutely a “Leiter” pun, I’ll own it.) Joc Pederson and Jake Burger have been helpful additions to the lineup. But I’m going with Smith here. His defense is good-to-great at any of the five positions he can play, and at the time of this writing, he led all Rangers position players in fWAR (0.5) and OPS (1.011). This is a team with Corey Seager, Marcus Semien and Adolis García in the lineup, in case you forgot. — Levi Weaver
Record: 5-6
Last Power Ranking: 6
Early difference-maker: Corbin Carroll
Corbin Carroll’s back? Corbin Carroll’s back. The Diamondbacks scored more runs than any other team in baseball last year, even with their young, burgeoning superstar hitting below the Mendoza Line for the first two months. Any herpetological-related optimism for this season was based on the belief that his second half was much more representative of his talent level. It probably was, and now every starting pitcher not named Zac Gallen has to make the good kind of difference if they’re going to keep up in a red-hot NL West. — Brisbee
Record: 6-5
Last Power Ranking: 8
Early difference-maker: Rafael Devers
Oftentimes, we’re using the term “difference-maker” as a shorthand for team MVP. And if we apply that logic to the Red Sox, Wilyer Abreu would be the choice. But if we’re looking for a tangible difference, consider this: Devers went 0-for-19 in the first five games of the season, and the Red Sox were 1-4. Then he had two hits in Game No. 6, stayed blistering hot through a four-hit game on Sunday — the last game we saw before voting on the Power Rankings — and the Red Sox went 5-0 in those games. When Devers wasn’t hitting, the Red Sox weren’t winning. When he started hitting, the Red Sox couldn’t lose. Seems like the definition of a difference-maker. — Jennings
Record: 7-3
Last Power Ranking: 9
Early difference-maker: Tylor Megill
Juan Soto is getting on base a ton, Pete Alonso is hitting for power and Francisco Lindor is struggling (but still delivering when it matters). The Mets are built around those things. For their team to work, those three pieces have to be clicking. So far, so good. (For the most part.) The surprising piece keeping the Mets afloat in the early going is starter Megill, who’s become especially important following injuries to Sean Manaea, Frankie Montas and Paul Blackburn. Megill made two starts and won them, including the first game of a three-game weekend sweep of the Toronto Blue Jays. He has a 0.87 ERA. — Jennings
Record: 8-2
Last Power Ranking: 15
Early difference-maker: Wilmer Flores
The Giants are off to their fastest start since 2003, when they went wire-to-wire and finished with the best record in baseball. That team had Barry Bonds in his prime, but this team has a healthy Wilmer Flores, which is roughly the same thing, at least for the first couple of weeks of the season. It was Flores’ home run that helped them come back on Opening Day, and it was his ninth-inning single on Sunday that helped keep the Giants’ winning streak going. The .900-something OPS will come down, but a return to his career numbers would be a big deal for a lineup that will need steady contributors. — Brisbee
GO DEEPER
‘We like fun!’: Matt Chapman, Jung Hoo Lee help Giants extend win streak to 6 games
Record: 1-8
Last Power Ranking: T-4
Early difference-maker: Spencer Strider?
Almost all of the Braves’ positive impact has come from three players: Marcell Ozuna (he can still hit), Matt Olson (ditto) and Spencer Schwellenbach (two starts, three hits, 14 strikeouts, no earned runs). But the Braves have only one win because of [gestures wildly in all directions] everything else. Austin Riley has a .468 OPS, Chris Sale has a 5.40 ERA, Jurickson Profar has an 80-game suspension, and Reynaldo López is having shoulder surgery. It’s last season all over again.
Except, very soon, the Braves could get Strider off the IL, and that’s the kind of addition that could be a turning point. Give the rotation another ace, get some hitters back on track, and the Braves could gain some momentum and remind us why they were among the favorites heading into this season. — Jennings
Record: 5-6
Last Power Ranking: 10
Early difference-maker: Charlie Morton
The Orioles’ lineup is performing more or less as expected. It has not been great with runners on base, but the lineup is loaded with well-above-average hitters (including Jackson Holliday, whose second season is off to a better start than his first). But if the lineup has been as expected, the rotation has been as feared. Failure to re-sign Corbin Burnes, plus injuries to Grayson Rodriguez and Kyle Bradish — among others — left the Orioles’ rotation vulnerable. Through the weekend, three of their starters had an ERA higher than 6.00, including Morton (9.72 ERA in two starts, both losses). This helps explain why, despite Cedric Mullins being awesome, the Orioles still have a losing record. — Jennings
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Happy New Year, Baseball! 17 Weird & Wild ways the season’s first week surprised
Record: 8-5
Last Power Ranking: 13
Early difference-maker: Kyle Tucker
As much fun as it would be to give the nod to Carson Kelly, who hit for the cycle and has some very fun small-sample early-season numbers, the clear answer here is Tucker. Dude has been everything the Cubs hoped they were getting when they traded away a prospect (Cam Smith) who this spring looked very capable of giving them a bad case of Trade Regret™.
Not yet, though. Tucker is hitting .327 (1.165 OPS) with five home runs. Enjoy it now, Cubs fans — he’s going to break a lot of brains when we hear how much he makes in free agency this winter.
(Shout out to Shota Imanaga, who’s also been very good.) — Weaver
Record: 6-4
Last Power Ranking: 16
Early difference-maker: Spencer Torkelson
I could easily go with Riley Greene here, but he was already pretty good last year. That doesn’t mean he can’t be a difference-maker, but if we truly want to highlight something new and current, Torkelson has been a different player this year, hitting .289 (.953 OPS) with a pair of homers. Last year, it wasn’t clear whether or not there would be space on the roster for Torkelson in the future. A swing change and breakthrough later, he’s been one of the Tigers’ best hitters. — Weaver
Record: 4-6
Last Power Ranking: 11
Early difference-maker: Brendan Rodgers
Does the early difference-maker have to be making his team different in a better way? If so, then it’s Rodgers, a third-overall pick who was a top-25 prospect for five years before being aggressively OK with the Rockies. There’s also a chance that he arrived in Houston and said something like, “Wait, these video rectangles — these ‘eye pads’ — can show me videos of opposing pitchers and help me break down my swing? And there are people whose entire job is to look at ‘statistics’ and ‘data’ now? Golly.” He’s now Brendan Rodgers in the 21st century, and maybe this is the year he breaks out.
If the early difference-maker can be someone making the team worse, then the answer is … well, just about everyone. The post-Tucker/Bregman era hasn’t gotten off to a scintillating start. — Brisbee
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How Brendan Rodgers’ first Astros team flight helped him handle ‘pressure’ of being the new guy
Record: 4-7
Last Power Ranking: 12
Early difference-maker: Julio Rodríguez
Not because Rodríguez has been so good that he’s propelled the Mariners to a winning record, but because he’s had a strong-ish start to the season. If the team is going to leverage its strong rotation, it will need Rodríguez to be the perennial MVP candidate the franchise has been expecting for a couple years now. He’s making a difference by helping Mariners fans believe a rainbow might follow the 10-game season-opening downpour, and that’s about all they can ask for. Well, that and a pennant or two. — Brisbee
Record: 6-5
Last Power Ranking: 14
Early difference-maker: Andrés Giménez
Of all the guys to hit cleanup on this team, Blue Jays manager John Schneider has gone with his slick-fielding second baseman since Opening Day. Giménez came into the season with a barely above-average 101 OPS+ for his career, but he’s justified the lineup choice by coming out of the gate with the best offensive numbers on the team. Much slower starts by Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and Anthony Santander help explain why the Blue Jays were only a .500 team through the weekend. Another difference-maker worth noting: If we voted for Cy Young awards after two starts, Chris Bassitt would be among the front-runners in the American League. He’s allowed one run and two walks through 12 2/3 innings. — Jennings
GO DEEPER
Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Blue Jays agree on 14-year, $500 million extension
Record: 4-5
Last Power Ranking: 17
Early difference-maker: Brandon Lowe
Eight seasons in the big leagues, and Lowe has yet to finish a year with below-average offensive numbers. He came close in 2022 (103 wRC+) but has otherwise never had a season with less than a 112 OPS+ or 114 wRC+. When Lowe’s healthy, he hits, and he’s doing it again this year and that’s been enough to keep the Rays afloat in the early going. Their rotation has been predictably solid from top to bottom, and Kameron Misner has given them a spark off the bench. The rest of their lineup has been too erratic to maintain much momentum, and the Rays were swept this weekend in Texas. They have yet to lose when they’ve scored more than four runs, but they’ve scored more than four runs only three times. — Jennings
Record: 5-5
Last Power Ranking: T-21
Early difference-maker: Maikel García
By the end of the season, I have full confidence that the answer to this question will be Bobby Witt Jr. He hasn’t been bad, but there are two others I think deserve it a bit more.
On the pitching side, Kris Bubic has been brilliant in his first two starts, going 2-0 with a 0.71 ERA, striking out 16 and walking just three in 12 2/3 innings, outpacing even Cy Young candidate Cole Ragans. As for the hitters, while Mark Canha’s numbers are a little better, García is right there, and in about twice as many plate appearances, hitting .333 (.977 OPS) with two home runs.
García has always been an anomaly to me. Compare his barrel percentage (lower 10th percentile in 2023 and 2024) with his hard-hit percentage (93rd and 65th percentile in 2023 and 2024, respectively).
So far this season, we’re seeing what happens when a blue number flips to even a pinkish shade of red. — Weaver
Record: 5-5
Last Power Ranking: 20
Early difference-maker: Freddy Peralta
For one year, in 1969, the Seattle Pilots existed. Then they moved to Milwaukee and became the Brewers, completely wrecking what would have been — given their dogged dedication to stripping out parts and somehow staying afloat — a perfect “Ship of Theseus” reference in this space. I’d love to be able to nominate the departed Corbin Burnes or Devin Williams or Willy Adames or Josh Hader or Brent Suter or manager Craig Counsell or GM David Stearns or … well, there’s a word limit. William Contreras is still around, but he’s had a slow start.
But look, it’s Fastball Freddy! Peralta has a 2.08 ERA and a 0.538 WHIP. On a team that has not pitched well, he’s been an oasis. — Weaver
Record: 3-7
Last Power Ranking: 18
Early difference-maker: One of the center fielders
The Twins have a single hitter with a batting average over .300 (Matt Wallner, .303). Their pitching fWAR leaders are Pablo López and two relievers (0.2). Do you see any “difference-makers” in their pitching or hitting leaderboards? Because I do not.
So I guess let’s go with Harrison Bader, who has been distinctly not terrible. Or maybe we want to go with vibes and point out that Byron Buxton is a difference-maker in terms of creating excitement? You can take your pick; the vitriol and fire of my youth have long since waned, and I no longer have it in me to debate about a team such as this. — Weaver
Record: 3-6
Last Power Ranking: 19
Early difference-maker: Austin Hedges
From a pure statistical standpoint, the answer is José Ramírez. Maybe the league’s most underrated superstar, Ramírez is off to another hot start for the Guardians, hitting .320/.438/.880 (1.318 OPS) through the first nine games.
But I’m going to give some love to backup catcher Hedges here. He has been the worst hitter in baseball for a very long time, but his defense and clubhouse enthusiasm have been so outsized that he keeps getting big-league jobs. So far this year? He has an OPS of 1.229. Please do not inform me that it is on the strength of one hit (a home run) in five at-bats. I know. — Weaver
Record: 4-6
Last Power Ranking: T-21
Early difference-maker: Lars Nootbaar
Lots of candidates here, including Iván Herrera, who is currently leading the National League in slugging percentage. Let’s turn the spotlight on Nootbaar, though, because he’s always been a Baseball Savant darling for his ability to stay in the strike zone and hit the snot out of the ball, but hasn’t had flashy statistics to show for it. There’s a stat called expected weighted on-base average on contact (xwOBAcon) that says Nootbaar’s offensive output should be closer to Bryce Harper’s and Fernando Tatis Jr.’s than Brandon Nimmo’s or Michael Conforto’s. Maybe this is the year it shows up in the real world. — Brisbee
Record: 4-7
Last Power Ranking: 24
Early difference-maker: Tyler Soderstrom
Soderstrom was once one of the better-hitting prospects in the game, and he was called up at a younger age than most of his peers. With a full season of above-average hitting in his age-22 season last year, he might have had a lot more buzz coming into this year. A wrist injury cost him a couple months, so that left us with about 200 plate appearances that suggested that he was on schedule and could still develop into an All-Star. A few weeks into the season, he looks like an All-Star, so don’t be surprised if he signs an extension to make sure he joins Brent Rooker and Lawrence Butler as franchise cornerstones when Sacramento’s beautiful new ballpark opens in 2029. You may say I’m a dreamer, but I’m not the only one, and I’ll believe in Las Vegas when one (1) steel girder is in place. — Brisbee
Record: 4-7
Last Power Ranking: 23
Early difference-maker: Brady Singer
We’re going for good difference-makers, right? Because I could make the argument that a few guys have made a bad difference, given that the Reds put together an impressive 35-inning scoreless streak last week.
But if we’re leaning positive here, I have two finalists. Hunter Greene has been very impressive thus far, boosting an already-nasty fastball into consistent triple digits. But I’m going with new addition Singer, who came over in the Jonathan India trade. Through two turns of the rotation, he went pitch-for-pitch with Greene. Throw in Nick Lodolo, and that’s starting to look like a pretty nasty rotation in Cincinnati. — Weaver
Record: 6-3
Last Power Ranking: 28
Early difference-maker: Kyren Paris
The Angels have won twice as many games as they’ve lost, which puts them on pace for a 108-win season. Will it last? Probably not, but they’ll always have Paris. The 2019 second-rounder was scorching hot all spring, and he somehow got even hotter for the start of the season, with a .444/.545/.889 slash line as of this writing. He’s always shown strong plate discipline in the minors, but it came with an outsized strikeout rate. Now he’s making more contact, and he’s making better contact. If your first thought was “swing change,” guess what, you’re right. He has Angels fans believing, which might be the biggest miracle of the season so far. — Brisbee
Record: 5-5
Last Power Ranking: 27
Early difference-maker: Daniel Moskos
It’s impossible to accurately judge this from afar, but here’s what the numbers show: Last season, the Marlins ranked next-to-last in staff ERA. Only the Rockies were worse. This season, the Marlins have an above-average ERA that’s nearly a run better than last season. Getting Sandy Alcantara off the IL has certainly helped, but it’s hard not to notice that the Marlins also hired Moskos this offseason to be their new pitching coach. Now, Max Meyer’s numbers are better, Anthony Bender’s numbers are better, and the Marlins have a winning record. It’s an absurdly small sample, but if you’re wondering what’s made the difference for the Marlins out of the gate, it’s their pitching. It’s only fair that the new pitching coach gets at least some of the credit. — Jennings
Record: 4-7
Last Power Ranking: T-25
Early difference-maker: Paul Skenes
I like to think of myself as a creative person and an outside-the-box thinker. I love to eschew the predictable in favor of the underappreciated or unexpected. Routine? Never heard of it. My art? Abstract. My music? Eclectic. I put mayonnaise on my hot dogs because I like it and because it makes my friends from Chicago very angry. Look who I picked for the Guardians blurb. (I stand by it.)
But no matter how much I look for a zag (Andrew McCutchen?), it’s obviously Skenes, who has a 1.46 ERA after two starts. Nobody outside Pittsburgh can even give you a half-hearted suggestion that anyone else is even close, and nobody in Pittsburgh wants to. — Weaver
GO DEEPER
Every time Paul Skenes starts, an entire sport marvels — and also holds its breath
Record: 4-6
Last Power Ranking: T-25
Early difference-maker: Mitchell Parker
It was first-rounder MacKenzie Gore who stole the show on Opening Day, but ever since, the most reliable way for the Nationals to win a game has been to put Parker on the mound. Through their first nine games, the Nationals were 3-6, but two of those wins belonged to Parker, a 25-year-old with a 0.73 ERA in his second big-league season. Rookie of the Year candidate Dylan Crews has fallen flat out of the gate, but Parker and Gore have been good in the first two turns through the rotation. They’re going to need some help, though, to ultimately lift the Nats out of mediocrity. — Jennings
GO DEEPER
Juan Soto spent 3 weeks with his minor-league host family. Memories endure 7 years later
Record: 2-7
Last Power Ranking: 29
Early difference-maker: Kyle Freeland
The frontrunner was Dinger, with his gleeful and only slightly demonic cavorting forever giving the franchise a chance to turn 6-year-olds into Rockies fans. Let’s throw a bone to Freeland, though, as he’s made two good starts so far. The Denver native has watched a lot of lousy baseball in his nine-year Rockies career, and very little of it was his fault. Here’s hoping for 30 more solid-to-excellent starts and some downballot Cy Young votes this year. He’s earned it. — Brisbee
Record: 2-7
Last Power Ranking: 30
Early difference-maker: Martín Pérez
The biggest difference between the 2024 White Sox and 2025 White Sox? Last year, they waited until game No. 11 to win their second game. This year? They were at .500 as late as … four games into the season, at 2-2. The reason was that their starting pitchers came out of the gate on an absolute heater, going on a 28-inning scoreless streak that extended into their fifth game. (They lost that game, and every subsequent game they have played.)
So yeah, it all imploded after that, but if we have to pick one of the guys who staved off the inevitable for almost a week, let’s go with Pérez, who pitched six no-hit innings in his first start of the year. — Weaver
(Top photo of Austin Riley: David J. Griffin / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
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Christian Pulisic has not appeared in any of the three AC Milan games this season, and on Friday coach Ruben Amorim shared at a Friday press conference that the star forward is “upset” about that. While Pulisic has been listed as a substitute in each of the three games, he did not appear in them.
The stated reason for the lack of playing time is recovery from a bone bruise and microfracture to his right tibia, which were revealed following the United States’ exit from the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
“He is angry because he has had zero minutes so far and I like that in my players,” said Amorim, per GOAL. “Don’t forget that he had an injury in the summer and then in the first training session he took a knock and had to stop.”
Amorim has led AC Milan to two wins and a draw in the season’s early going, without any minutes from Pulisic. (Photo by Giuseppe Cottini/AC Milan via Getty Images)
Pulisic might not have to wait very long to finally appear in a game, however, as Amorim also shared that he is likely to play this weekend. “You will see him tomorrow, I don’t know whether from the start or during the game. I think he will play a few minutes.”
Amorim also revealed that just because Pulisic is a “name” does not mean that he gets to disrupt the current flow for AC Milan. “I will not take out those who are doing well just to put in a ‘name’: this is my way of managing the group and I will die with these principles,” Amorim told assembled media. “Pulisic is very important for me. After the international break there are eight weeks with three games a week: everyone will be tired because of how much they will play. Pulisic is important and he will play a lot of matches. But you have to understand the context and my history to understand why I make certain choices. But you will see Pulisic from this weekend onwards.”
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Amorim took over as AC Milan’s coach before this season, replacing Massimiliano Allegri. The former player began his career managing in 2017, and is a two-time Primeira Liga manager of the year. Pulisic is in his fourth season with AC Milan, where he started in 32 and 29 games in his first two seasons, before playing in 30 games but starting just 18 in the 2025-2026 season.
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When we surveyed people around the NFL on which player could be the next Drake Maye or Jaxon Smith-Njigba and make a sudden leap in 2026, one common answer emerged.
New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough was routinely mentioned by scouts and executives we spoke with as a rising star to watch this season. In fact, one NFL executive told us that there’s no young quarterback “better set up for success” than Shough, while a scout told us that he was the best rookie quarterback last season.
There were also a pair of Chicago Bears standouts that people around the league have their eyes on this season as rising stars. So, let’s unpack what we’re hearing about potential breakout candidates this season.
Ralph Vacchiano: Even the New Orleans Saints weren’t quite sure what they had in second-round quarterback Tyler Shough at the start of last season. But by the end of the year, it looked like they had found their quarterback of the future. He was also the best of the quarterback class of 2025, even though he made just nine starts.
And some around the NFL think he should be even better in Year 2 since the Saints have surrounded him with a stellar supporting cast.
“There is no young quarterback better set up for success than [Shough],” an NFL executive told me. “Kellen Moore is a brilliant offensive mind, for starters. And look what they surrounded him with. He already had [wide receiver Chris] Olave and [tight end Juwan] Johnson. And in the right hands, Travis Etienne is a terrific running back — way better than Alvin Kamara at this stage.
“In a bad division, they could surprise some people. And his numbers could pop.”
Tyler Shough enters his second season working with Saints head coach Kellen Moore (right). (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)
Things would have looked even better for Shough if it wasn’t for the hamstring injury suffered by rookie wide receiver Jordyn Tyson, a player the executive told me “might be the best receiver in the draft.” He’s out at least the first four weeks of the season, and he could be sidelined until mid-October, according to some reports.
“That’s a blow for sure,” one NFC scout told me. “But I think there’s still enough there for Shough to grow. Look at what he did last year. He’s got a much better team around him now.”
Vacchiano: The Saints were 6-11 last year, but that was enough to finish just two games out of first place (and the playoffs). Shough completed 67.6% of his passes for 2,384 yards, 10 touchdowns and six interceptions. He showed off a little mobility too (186 rushing yards, 3 touchdowns).
“I don’t think there was a better rookie quarterback last year,” the scout told me. “Maybe [Giants quarterback Jaxson] Dart will be better because he’s a real true dual-threat quarterback. But Shough has the ability to be an outstanding passer. And he’s certainly in the right hands.”
And as Shough showed promise toward the end of last season, the executive I spoke with expects him to take a step forward in 2026 now that he’s spent a year in Moore’s offense.
“He was good at everything. But mostly he was poised and efficient and really ran that offense well without a lot of mistakes,” the executive told me. “Moore will push him more this season, and I think he’s up to the task.”
Eric D. Williams: Shough was a pleasant surprise for the Saints in the second half of the 2025 season, and talent evaluators I spoke with expect him to take another jump in his development in 2026.
Shough, who was taken in the second round of last year’s draft and was the third quarterback taken behind Cam Ward and Dart, lost the training camp battle with Spencer Rattler before becoming the starting quarterback for the final games. As Shough went 5-4 as a starter, one talent evaluator I spoke with noted one area he grew in as his rookie season progressed.
“Shough took a large leap last year in the last quarter of the season handling pocket pressure,” an NFL senior talent evaluator told me. “I think a full offseason with Kellen Moore will pay more dividends. A strong offensive line, nice receiving options and a proven offensive coach puts him in a great situation.”
A longtime NFL scout, meanwhile, noted that the 26-year-old’s seven years in college should help him even more in 2026.
“He is an experienced college QB who is coupled with a good player caller in the head coach,” the scout told me. “He made a jump in the last part of the season, and I expect that to continue. The head coach will play to his strengths.”
Williams: During Shough’s final year in college, Louisville head coach Jeff Brohm got an up-close view of what his quarterback could do at the next level. In a collegiate career marred by injuries at Oregon and Texas Tech, Shough transferred to Louisville for his final college season, looking to reestablish himself as an NFL prospect.
“For us, when we took him out of the portal, he wasn’t one of the hot names at all,” Brohm told me. “He was somebody who had been injured and kind of gone through some ups and downs – been a starter, been benched – whether it was due to injury or whatever. And I think he wanted one last chance to show what he was made of.
“It was a great fit. We wanted a guy who was hungry and wanted to make one year work. He wanted to prove he was durable. And when we researched it, when he got hurt a lot of times, it was because of designed runs. I told him we’re not going to do that; we’re going to run more of an NFL system here. We can work around that and get it to our running backs, and that’s what we did. He lasted all year.”
Jeff Brohm coached Tyler Shough in the quarterback’s lone season at Louisville, going 9-4 in 2024. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Louisville provided a dream scenario for Shough. He completed 63% of his passes for 3,195 yards, with 23 touchdowns and just six interceptions, leading the Cardinals to a 9-4 record.
“He was durable,” Brohm said. “He did a great job and played well in games. He was a good leader, had a good arm. He’s a natural leader and guys liked him. He was very approachable; he played hard and tough, and had grit. And when things didn’t go well, he didn’t point the finger at anybody. He just had a natural way to lead. He had really good qualities and intangibles that carried over to his talent and skill.”
Shough also helped his draft ascent at the combine, throwing the ball with zip during quarterback drills and running a 4.63-second, 40-yard time. Brohm said he wasn’t surprised by the success Shough had in his rookie season and expects him to have a solid NFL career.
“I had a feeling that whoever took him was going to really like what they got,” Brohm told me. “And I think that definitely showed through in the first year of his NFL career. He’s in a good system. It’s always great to start the year not as the starter, but as the backup. Which I thought was great because I knew maybe they wouldn’t perform well, and then when that happens midway through the year, everyone’s clamoring for him. And he stepped in and showed what he’s made of. So, I was very happy for him. He earned it and I think he’ll do great from here on.”
Vacchiano: Chicago Bears coach Ben Johnson has had a knack over the years of turning his offensive players into dangerous weapons. And he has two more in the pipeline in Chicago that might be ready to break out.
An NFC scout told me that he thinks wide receiver Luther Burden III and tight end Colston Loveland are going to become “elite” players under Johnson’s guidance, and it could happen as early as this season — though that depends on how much Johnson features them in what could be a very diverse offensive attack.
“I actually think Burden is going to end up as their No. 1 receiver ahead of Rome Odunze,” the scout told me. “He’s got way better hands and is more reliable. Odunze is more explosive, probably, but at some point you lean on the guy who can make more plays. That’s Burden. He’s got great hands and strength.
“And Loveland is right there with him. Johnson loves to rely on his tight ends too, so he’ll have plenty of opportunities. And you saw down the stretch last year what he can do with them.”
Loveland, the 10th overall pick in last year’s draft, did go off late last season after a very slow start. He caught just 11 passes for 116 yards in the first six games before he had his breakout. He was truly elite in his final four games, though — including two in the playoffs — when he had 28 catches for 378 yards and two touchdowns.
Burden, meanwhile, put up only average numbers (47-652-2), but he also was only the target of 10.6% of Williams’ passes. Considering he caught 78.3% of the balls thrown his way, that target share surely will increase.
“I’m telling you, Johnson is going to lean on those two,” the scout said. “Let the defenses target Rome. Those are the two guys that will kill you.”
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