Tyler Shough, New Orleans Saints
In his nine starts as the New Orleans Saints starting quarterback during his rookie season in 2025, Tyler Shough went a respectable 5-4 and finished with 10 passing touchdowns, 3 rushing touchdowns, and a solid passer rating of 91.3. All in all, it was a very encouraging, productive season for a player that not many people had high hopes for.
He also completed 67.6 percent of his passes, which is excellent for a rookie. Over his final four games of the season, the Saints went 3-1, and Shough tossed 5 touchdowns against 1 interception for an excellent rating of 103.8.
All things considered, Shough was awesome as a rookie, and in the offseason, the Saints added running back Travis Etienne, guard David Edwards, and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson to the offense. Not only does Shough have a ton of capable weapons around him now, but the offensive line got better, and even the defense, led by Brandon Staley, was sneaky good last year.
There is a lot going for Shough here in year two, and while the Saints and the NFC South as a whole is nothing special, the second-year quarterback has what it takes to breakout.
Jaxson Dart, New York Giants
Another second-year quarterback on this list, Jaxson Dart, despite the dysfunction that seemed to plague the New York Giants in 2025, finished with 24 total touchdowns in 14 games, which included a whopping nine rushing touchdowns and a stellar 3:1 TD:INT ratio.
I understand that the Giants haven't really done themselves any favors this offseason in terms of shedding that dysfunctional label, but it's hard not to like what he did as a rookie. Yes, he needs to take care of himself better when he runs, but this is a quarterback with a legitimate dual-threat skillset.
Watch out for Dart taking a major year two leap in the 2026 season.
Kyler Murray, Minnesota Vikings
This feels like an obvious one, right? What we saw from Sam Darnold with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024 is likely what the team hopes for Kyler Murray in 2026. Murray had an up-and-down, but productive tenure with the dysfunctional Arizona Cardinals from 2019 to 2025, and he's now entering a personnel situation in Minnesota that is significantly better than anything he had during his time with the Cardinals.
Simply put, Murray is a good player at a hugely important position, and with what I believe to be a make-or-break year for some coaches on the team, I could see an 'all out' effort to make it work with Murray under center.
He does have the passing talent to have that part of the offense at a good spot, and his legs are something that creates a rushing element to keep the defenses honest.
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