Who Should I Start? Tyler Shough or C.J. Stroud

Thursday, June 26, 2:37 PM

New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough was selected in the second round of the 2025 NFL Draft, and veteran signal-caller Derek Carr (shoulder) announced his retirement shortly after. This leaves Shough as the favorite to win the QB1 job in his rookie season, though he is competing with sophomore Spencer Rattler. After a long college football career full of adversity, Shough is ready for the growing pains and downs of his first year in the NFL. "I think for me and what I've been through: I've been carted off the field, I've been booed, I've been an MVP, I've been a starter, I've been a backup to [Justin] Herbert," Shough said. "You're not going to faze me if we start off 0-2 or I suck. It's going to be fine." The former Oregon Duck, Texas Tech Red Raider, and Louisville Cardinal acknowledge that while he's an older first-year player, he's still a rookie who will have to learn. Even if Shough pans out, he likely won't be a fantasy football contributor in single-QB leagues this season since he does not have much of a rushing skill set. That said, he could be a QB2 sleeper for Superflex and two-QB leagues while throwing passes to Chris Olave, Rashid Shaheed, Alvin Kamara, Juwan Johnson, and Marquez Valdes-Scantling.

Tuesday, June 10, 12:10 PM

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (shoulder) was throwing during mandatory minicamp on Tuesday as he continues to get over muscle tightness in his shoulder that he dealt with during voluntary organized team activities recently, according to KPRC 2 Houston's Aaron Wilson. It's not a surprise that Stroud is out there this week after head coach DeMeco Ryans said during OTAs that he wasn't really concerned with the QB's shoulder. The 23-year-old former first-rounder was the Offensive Rookie of the Year in 2023 but took a step back in 2024, throwing for 3,727 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions while taking 52 sacks in 17 regular-season starts. A porous offensive line and knee injuries to Stefon Diggs and Tank Dell didn't help his cause as he finished as the QB18 in fantasy. Houston's offense line is going to have to be much better for Stroud to rebound in 2025.