The New Orleans Saints have fielded questions about their quarterback of the future since Kellen Moore was hired in February.

They might have answered that question Friday night.

The Saints selected Louisville quarterback Tyler Shough with the 40th pick of the NFL draft, opting for him over Colorado QB Shedeur Sanders, who was still available when the Saints made their second-round selection.

The Saints passed on Sanders twice in as many nights after selecting Texas offensive tackle Kelvin Banks Jr. with the ninth pick Thursday.

Shough was the third quarterback selected in the draft after Cam Ward (No. 1) and Jaxson Dart (No. 25), while Sanders remained available after being widely projected as a potential first-round pick.

The Saints had never selected a quarterback in the second round and hadn't drafted a quarterback in the first two rounds since 1971, when they took Archie Manning at No. 2.

"That's pretty cool. I didn't know that. That's awesome, man. It's such a great franchise and unbelievable opportunity," said Shough, who still exchanges texts with Manning after two stints at the Manning Passing Academy.

The Saints have mainly opted for free agent quarterbacks under Saints general manager Mickey Loomis, signing Drew Brees in 2006 and Derek Carr in 2023.

Carr's future has been one of the biggest points of speculation this offseason after Moore appeared noncommittal when asked if the team had a quarterback decision to make during his opening news conference in February. Moore backed Carr in subsequent interviews this spring, but things got murkier when news of Carr's shoulder injury became public three days before the start of the offseason program in April.

The Saints are likely tied to Carr's contract after guaranteeing him $40 million when they restructured his deal. However, Carr was open to exploring his other options prior to the restructuring and has not attended the offseason training program to date.

Moore and Loomis remained mum regarding Carr's status in the days leading up to the draft.

Shough, who turns 26 in September, is one of the oldest quarterbacks selected in the first two rounds in the common draft era. He is a year older than second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler and is entering the NFL after seven seasons of college football.

"In a perfect scenario, I play 10, 12 years and I'm still mid-30s, and I think any team would ask for that," Shough said. "Coming into this situation, I've already seen what can happen in the NFL.

"I've already gone through those challenges in college, so I feel much more prepared now to come in and just play free and have fun and do everything I can to make the team better. ... I think when you're a younger guy at 21, 22, you ... don't know what you don't know, and there's some growing pains, and the support system around me with my wife and my family, I just feel a lot more equipped to come in and handle it."

Shough began his college career at Oregon in 2018 behind Justin Herbert and played with current Saints tight end Juwan Johnson, who was a wide receiver at Oregon in 2019. Shough started seven games in the COVID-19-shortened season in 2020.

Shough transferred to Texas Tech and started nine games there over the next three seasons, missing time because of collarbone breaks in 2021 and 2022 and a broken left fibula in 2023.

Shough's final season was at Louisville in 2024, when he started 12 games and completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 3,915 yards and 23 touchdowns. He ran for one touchdown and threw six interceptions. He was named the 2024 Comeback Player of the Year by College Sports Communicators.

Shough played in the Senior Bowl, where the Saints have gotten many recent draft picks, including Rattler, who was drafted in 2024, and Jake Haener, who was drafted in 2023. The Saints had several assistants coach at the Senior Bowl this year, and they also brought Shough in for a visit and attended his pro day.

"I think the greatest part about this process is I've gotten a whole new perspective and humility with it," Shough said. "My whole thing was, 'Man, it's probably not going to work out,' but I'm going to give it everything I can and if it does great and if it doesn't, I'm going to be fine and I'm going to make the most of it. ... I've always been confident in myself and I just needed an opportunity at Louisville and that's my whole goal going in the NFL is just to have fun with it. You got to be prepared, you got to go make every moment count."