The New Orleans Saints took receiver Jordyn Tyson in the first round, a talented player who was plagued by injuries during his college run, to give Tyler Shough a dynamic pairing with rookie and veteran Chris Olave.
Tyson’s dynamic upside complements Olave’s do-it-all ability, giving sophomore quarterback Tyler Shoough two receivers who can win plays on the one and expand the zone.
On a recent episode of the Green Light Podcast with Chris Long, Shough raved about Tyson’s athleticism and what it can bring to the Saints’ offense.
“I mean his brother is an NBA player for the Cavs, Jaylen,” Shough said. “He’s really just like an elite hitter. Like he’s just going to go; he’s going to call regardless. Like he’s going to jump out in the gym on somebody. He’s going to open up in the crazy way, but he’s also kind of got this rawness to him that I don’t think a lot of people give him credit for.”
Few doubted Tyson’s ability to play on the field. At ASU, the wideout was a dynamo, with twitchy athleticism that allows him to make jaw-dropping plays. The concerns coming into the NFL were mainly due to his injury history, which included significant knee injuries (ACL, MCL, PCL), a broken collarbone, an ankle injury and most recently a lingering hamstring strain. Tyson missed multiple games in each of his four college seasons.
Shoough likened Tyson’s injury woes to coming out of college.
“I had some contacts at Arizona State who said great things about him and his journey,” he said. “He’d been hurt quite a few times. You know, we’ve both broken bones. He’s had a knee, you know; he was fighting some kind of hammy there at the end of the year. And that was kind of the story of me coming out of the race was that I had some injuries in the past, and I was like, man, screw it. And I just feel the best going out there. Getting to know him is that he’s just one of one person and you know that will be even more exciting to work with him in camp as we continue to move forward.
If Tyson and Olave, who have their own injury questions, stay healthy, the Saints offense has the potential to be much more dynamic in Kellen Moore’s second season.