“Tyler Shough is Not Better Than Shedeur Sanders”: Emmanuel Acho Questions the Saints for Drafting 25-Year-Old ‘Injury-Prone’ QB

The wait for Shedeur Sanders in the NFL Draft has upset several analysts, from Mel Kiper Jr. to Ryan Clark and now Emmanuel Acho. When the former Colorado quarterback did not get drafted on day one, there was anticipation that an NFL team that needed a quarterback would pick Shedeur early on day two.

Notably, the New Orleans Saints, which needed a quarterback, snubbed Shedeur to draft Tyler Shough as their No. 40 pick. Shocked by the development, NFL analyst and former linebacker Emmanuel Acho stopped his workout midway to share his two cents on the development.

According to Acho, the Saints’ decision to draft Shough over Shedeur is not convincing. His views echoed that of Skip Bayless, who on Thursday stated the “Titans will regret not trading Shedeur as the first round pick.” Acho also outlined the potential reason why teams are not interested in Shedeur.

“When I think about Tyler Shough and Shedeur Sanders, Tyler Shough is not better than Shedeur Sanders. He is not… At this juncture, it has gone too far. Now the question is, why in the world is this happening? From everything I am hearing from the people in the building, they do not believe Shedeur is worthy of all the attention. But this is crazy,” he explained on X.

So, why is it that Shough is not anticipated to shine in the NFL, as per Acho? According to him, the history of QBs aged 25 or above and their performance in the NFL is not promising enough, and it is the reason he is less convinced about Shough’s performance. 

“Quarterbacks drafted aged 25 or later have not had success in the National Football League. Whether it is Stetson Bennett, Brandon Weeden… They haven’t done anything in the National Football League. Furthermore, I watched the tape of Tyler Shough. Dude does have great arm strength… Because he is 25… He was in college forever,” Acho added.

Meanwhile, users on X (formerly Twitter) were divided on Acho’s take. They pinned their hopes on Shough while discussing the potential reasons behind Shedeur’s fall in the Draft.

Another fan looked into Tyler’s injury history.

Meanwhile, Shedeur, who admitted he was looking forward to the day two of the draft, had played a game of tennis with his brother Shilo prior to the event and seemed at peace with the late pick.

If we look at history, elite QBs like Tom Brady and Lamar Jackson were drafted late but went on to script history in the NFL. Perhaps Shedeur could take motivation from that and prove his critics wrong after entering the NFL.