Chase Daniel has some major praise for New Orleans Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
Shough is coming off impressive back-to-back performances to start the 2026 season, leading the Saints to a major upset win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 2 as sizable underdogs after nearly leading them to a come-from-behind win over the Detroit Lions in Week 1.
Daniel, who is now a full-time analyst after a 14-season career in the NFL as a backup quarterback said that Shough is "for sure" the Saints' franchise quarterback.
"I liked what I saw out of the Saints, specifically Tyler Shough," said Daniel in a one-on-one interview. "To see Tyler Shough do that, it just tells me that he's for sure the franchise guy for them."
Shough's final Week 2 stat line against
the Ravens was impressive, going 27-for-34 with 252 passing yards, two total touchdowns and no interceptions for a 107.4 passer rating. That followed his Week 1 performance against the Lions when he threw three touchdown passes and had a career-high 410 passing yards while narrowly losing in overtime, 31-30.
"I liked what I saw out of the Saints, specifically Tyler Shough in the third, fourth, and overtime," said Daniel of Shough's performance against the Lions. "Didn't play very well in the first half, and then as the second half went on, they were able to sort of get into a rhythm and come back. This is a Lions team that is going to be good, and they were good. And Dan Campbell has them coached up well."
Daniel mentioned that he does see an "X-factor" when it relates to Shough. The second-year quarterback is now 6-5 as the Saints' starter.
"He's got that cool, calm, collected demeanor," said Daniel of Shough. "There's definitely an X-factor to be able to turn it on like that and have such a short memory of what was going on. So yeah, I think you'd say it's an X-factor."
With football season underway, Daniel is partnering with Cheez-It for their "Cheez-It Couch Committee" campaign. Cheez-It is hosting six lucky fans for their special shaped couch along with Daniel at his alma mater, the Missouri Tigers, for a tailgating experience in November.
Daniel is a Missouri great, having previously finished as Heisman Trophy runner-up and a Second-Team All-American during the 2007 season.
"Cheez-It has been showing up at bowl games in the college football playoff for almost a decade -- so they said, 'Hey, why not have a Cheez-It Couch Committee,'" said Daniel. "Listen, this is the greatest idea of all time. You know how you sit on the couch, you're watching TV, and everyone's being armchair quarterbacks left and right. 'Oh, this quarterback should have made this. Oh, that should have been that.' Well, guess what? I'm the lead analyst now of the College Football Cheez-It Couch Committee, and so when that happens, Cheez-It is getting a massive orange couch, a square couch, putting it in the middle of a tailgate, and one or two or multiple lucky fans are going to enter this contest.
"Hopefully, there's tons that enter the contest for a chance to be sitting with me talking ball because I want to hear your hot takes," Daniel continued. "I want to hear your debates. I want to hear what you think. Here's the thing: in today's society, we do so much of this over camera. Let's do it in person. It's really simple. Enter the contest. Go to Cheezit.com/couchcommittee. Pretty simple."
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Ex-Saints QB shares high praise for Tyler Shough: 'For sure the franchise guy'
