Former North Dakota State star wide receiver Bryce Lance had to wait until the fourth round of the NFL draft to hear his name called, but he expects to make the most of his opportunity.
The New Orleans Saints took Lance with the No. 136 pick in the fourth round on April 25 in Pittsburgh. Lance didn’t hold back his confidence when Saints senior offensive assistant Scott Linehan called him with the news.
“Let’s do this,” Lance told Linehan via social media on April 25. “You just got the steal of the draft.”
“We agree buddy,” Linehan told him.
At NDSU, Lance tallied 127 receptions for 2,157 yards and 25 touchdowns in three seasons, and most of that came in his final two. Between 2022 and 2023, he only had a catch for seven yards when he mostly played special teams, but his career took off in 2024 as a go-to receiver.
“Receiver wise, I have elite ball skills,” Lance told reporters on April 25. “When the is in the air, it’s mine or nobody’s. I mean, that’s something I always prided myself on … played the game at a really fast pace. I think I learn really quick. I can read defenses, [and] things like that.”
“I think, you know, the receiver position is a super technical position, so I think I can get better at the technical [parts],” he added.
Lance’s older brother, Trey Lance, plays quarterback for the Los Angeles Chargers. The older Lance played at NDSU from 2018 to 2020.
Bryce Lance ‘Learned A Lot’ From Packers Wide Receiver
While Lance took time to catch on as a star at NDSU, he benefited from fellow former Bison star wide receiver Christian Watson, who now plays for the Green Bay Packers.
Watson overlapped with Lance for one season in 2021, Lance’s redshirt freshman year. Watson, meanwhile, had a strong senior season with 43 receptions for 801 yards and seven touchdowns.
Former Bison quarterback Cam Miller made Watson his primary target on the way to the FCS championships that year. The Packers took him with the No. 34 pick in the second round of the 2022 draft, and he has 133 receptions for 2,264 yards and 20 touchdowns in his NFL career thus far.
“It took a lot of hard work in all honesty. It’s easier said than done,” Lance told NFL Draft on SI’s Justin Melo in an April 21 Q&A. “That’s what we pride ourselves on at North Dakota State. I learned from a lot of great leaders. Obviously Christian Watson was still there when I arrived. I learned a lot from him.”
Bryce Lance Had a Unique Saints Connection at NDSU
It didn’t stop with Watson, as Lance benefited from a deep receiver room in Fargo. That included Phoenix Sproles, the cousin of former Saints running back Darren Sproles.
“We had guys like Phoenix Sproles, Jake Lippe, and Zach Mathis in those rooms as well. They were ultimate professionals,” Lance told Melo. “They were the older guys in our position room. I just remember them pushing me to get better. We had a strong relationship right away.”
Ex-NDSU Star Bryce Lance Sends Strong Message on Joining Saints