Jordyn Tyson may return to play this week for the New Orleans Saints against the Cleveland Browns.
He may still take another week or two as he comes off of injured reserve and a hamstring injury.
Either way, at some point, Tyson will be back — and his return will have an impact on the Saints’ passing game.
New Orleans hoped that Tyson would pair with Chris Olave from the start of this season to give Tyler Shough two first-round targets.
The No. 8 overall pick Tyson, though, was injured in August and hasn’t played since.
He’s back at practice, which has increased enthusiasm for his return, and now it’s just a matter of actually getting him activated. Once he’s available, Tyson will have to make his case for a spot in the Saints’ WR depth chart.
Of course, New Orleans is going to give Tyson all kinds of opportunities. It’ll be notable to watch how he impacts the players around him.
Saints WR Depth Chart With Jordyn Tyson
The Saints will rely on Chris Olave as their WR1 no matter who else they have available. It’s after Olave where things get interesting.
Without Tyson, the Saints have unlocked Devaughn Vele as a very positive contributor outside of Olave.
With Tyson, Vele could become a less-utilized player. It’s unlikely that in Tyson’s first week back that the Saints will use him heavily. But eventually, they’ll want to see exactly what he can do, particularly if they don’t work their way back into playoff contention. Tyson could definitely steal snaps in 2-WR sets from Vele.
Tyson also likely bumps Bryce Lance and Barion Brown, two youngsters, to the sideline for the heavy majority of games, at least once Tyson is fully healthy. The Saints like Lance and Brown, but they won’t have much space to get on the field once Tyson is back.
Devaughn Vele Trade Watch
It hasn’t been mentioned much, but keep an eye out on Vele’s name in the days leading into the Tuesday, Nov. 10 NFL trade deadline.
If the Saints feel confident in Tyson’s return while also being less confident about their playoff chances, they could trade Vele.
Moving Vele to a contender would clear space for Tyson and Lance and Brown to operate. It would be a look toward the future.
Vele isn’t old, though, and could be part of future plans, too — so this is far from a given. It’s just a possibility that seems to come into play with Tyson getting healthy.
What Jordyn Tyson’s Return Means For Saints’ WR Depth Chart