Don’t look now, but Tyler Shough has skyrocketed in the odds to be named this year’s NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year. Taking over a 1-7 New Orleans Saints team and going 4-3 as the starting quarterback, with three consecutive wins in as many weeks, will do that. If he can keep up this momentum in two road games to close out the season — one against the No. 1 pick Cam Ward and a surging Tennessee Titans squad, and then the finale against the ancient rival Atlanta Falcons — Shough just might go the distance.
Winning the OROY vote would be historic for him. Just three players have won the award in Saints history, all running backs: George Rogers (1981), Rueben Mayes (1986), and Alvin Kamara (2017). A dozen quarterbacks have won it, too, but only two of them weren’t drafted in the first round. Shough, this year’s 40th overall pick, could join Dennis Shaw (1970’s 30th overall pick, when the league only had 26 teams) and Dak Prescott (2016’s 135th overall pick) in some pretty exclusive company.
It was a tough weekend for many of the other contenders. Betting favorites like New England Patriots running back TreVeyon Henderson left his game early with an injury, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers wide receiver Emeka Egbuka tallied a single catch. New York Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart stunk it up, going 7-of-13 for 33 yards and an interception. DraftKings Sportsbook offers the only rookie with stronger odds than Shough (+370) right now as Carolina Panthers receiver Tetairoa McMillan (-250).