Saints rookie QB Tyler Shough can break unique NFL trend on his first regular season snap if he wins starting job

New Orleans Saints rookie quarterback Tyler Shough is kicking off his NFL career right now, at rookie minicamp, alongside other young players who need to develop for their team in coming seasons. 

For the young quarterback, though, he's got a shot at carving out a starting role, following the latest news on Derek Carr. If Shough can accomplish that, it will be an intriguing storyline for the league, alongside New Orleans. 

Shough's special opportunity for Saints

The rookie quarterback won't even have to throw a pass in order to break a league-wide trend that has stood for eight years. 

Per @ESPNStatsInfo, if Tyler Shough wins the starting job for the Saints, he'll be the first non-Round 1 rookie quarterback to start in Week 1 since DeShone Kizer (2017)

-- Benjamin Solak

This is a stat that may surprise plenty of folks, but it proves how rare it is that we see quarterbacks selected after round one, who have a legitimate chance to start right off the bat. 

New Orleans did not have the luxury of waiting on Shough, though. Firstly, Derek Carr just retired this weekend. The Saints may have been a tad bit surprised by this choice, but they probably had an inkling of it entering the draft. 

Additionally, there was other interest in Shough around the NFL around where the Saints picked in round two. If they let him keep sliding, it seems unlikely that they would have landed him at their next pick, which came in round three. 

An AFC exec said of second-round quarterback Tyler Shough: "He was a hot name Day 2. Sounds like he would have gone pretty quickly if not for New Orleans. He's got some of what [new head coach] Kellen Moore [likes], intelligence at the position, good makeup. Will need to improve his accuracy at the next level." -- Fowler via ESPN

No matter what -  Shough has a real chance to suit up as the starter for Kellen Moore in Week 1. If he does, it will be a unique opportunity to shine for him - that few other quarterbacks selected where he was get in today's NFL.