With less than a week remaining before the 2026 NFL Draft, Arizona State WR Jordyn Tyson held a private workout that most of the NFL teams attended. Tyson had missed the end of the Sun Devils’ 2025 season with a left hamstring injury, and he’d foregone workouts at the NFL Scouting Combine in late February and at ASU’s pro day in late March. The workout was viewed as an important health barometer for a prospect whose career had been defined by injuries as much as anything else. Tyson ran about two dozen routes, looking good — because Tyson looks good running routes — and reportedly dropping only one pass. Giants GM Joe Schoen and Dolphins GM Jon-Eric Sullivan were there among the scouts. The Saints were one of the more than half the NFL teams in attendance. “He showed the twitch, explosiveness and leaping ability we all saw in the fall. He showed he’s healthy and still explosive, which is all he needed to do,” ESPN’s Pete Thamel tweeted after Tyson’s workout. It was the kind of check-the-box workout that alleviated the health concerns and vaulted Tyson close to the top of the draft. Six days later, Tyson was a Saint, drafted eighth overall. And less than four months after that, Tyson is back in a sadly familiar place — injured. He suffered a hamstring injury that could keep him out for two months, potentially missing at least the first quarter of his rookie season. Jordyn Tyson’s length injury history Tyson landed at Colorado in 2022 as a three-star prospect and suffered three torn ligaments (ACL, MCL and PCL) in his left knee that year, wiping out the rest of that season and nearly all of 2023. He’d transferred to ASU in 2023 and played a handful of snaps late in that season. Tyson’s injury luck continued to haunt him in Tempe. Late in the 2024 season he suffered a fractured collarbone, forcing him to miss the Big 12 championship and ASU’s playoff game vs. Texas. In 2025, Tyson suffered a sprained ankle that caused him to miss most of spring practices, and later last season he suffered a strained hamstring that caused him to miss three more games. So it isn’t shocking that the injury-prone player got hurt again. What is notable about Tyson’s current hamstring is that it’s apparently unrelated to his past issues with that body part. Saints head coach Kellen Moore praised his rookie receiver, who has had some eye-opening moments in camp, and claimed that Tyson’s injury was a fluke thing, saying that “this has nothing to do with Jordyn's history." Injuries have followed Saints wide receiver Jordyn Tyson around since college. (AP Photo/Ella Hall) AP Photo/Ella Hall
But that history can’t be ignored, no matter how badly some would like to. One AFC scouting director, who liked Tyson as a player but ended up worried about the risk factor, said after the draft Tyson was one of their most debated prospects in pre-draft meetings. “We ended (up) talking him over — him, the Alabama tackle (Kadyn Proctor) and I think (Florida DT Caleb) Banks — more than any other guys,” the director said. “With injury guys, you want to figure out on some level how tough they are, how competitive, and if this is always gonna be a problem that chases you around. “At the end of the day, he hasn’t had a healthy season — fully healthy — since high school.” That streak just extended another year with Tyson’s latest ailment. Or as another scout relayed via text: “Hurt players tend to stay hurt. Just the way it is.” Saints have been risk takers when it comes to health One advantage we have with Saints GM Mickey Loomis in terms of judging his talent is a large sample size. He’s possessed personnel say for nearly a quarter century now, so there are ample decisions by Loomis from which we can easily form opinions. Two indisputable facts: 1. Loomis has unquestionably improved the team during his watch, which has included a Super Bowl title. 2. Loomis is more willing than other general managers to gamble on injured players whom he believes possess very good to elite talent. Drew Brees is the ultimate example. The Saints were willing to take a health risk that the Dolphins and other teams were not. That ultimate gamble paid off immeasurably. You can understand how they might be emboldened by this approach. Some of the Saints’ and Loomis’ dart throws on injury-prone draft prospects, such as Marshon Lattimore and Ryan Ramczyk, have paid off. Other similar risks, however, have not had the same return on investment.
2021 first-rounder Payton Turner also had a lengthy college injury history, and he impressed with pre-draft workouts, but Turner has spent significant time on IR in the pros and was one of their biggest recent busts.
2018 first-rounder Marcus Davenport had a significant injury history in college, never became a full-time star in New Orleans, and he has continued to miss time in the NFL.
2017 third-rounder Alex Anzalone — Repeated shoulder injuries (including some major surgeries) limited him significantly at Florida, missing big chunks of multiple seasons. Anzalone became a standout eventually with the Lions, but the Saints never really reaped the full benefits of that pick. His shoulder issues remain a worry to this day.
2015 second-rounder Hau’oli Kikaha suffered multiple ACL tears in college, yet the Saints still used a top-50 pick on him, about a round higher than most teams were comfortable with. Not surprisingly, knee issues continued to plague Kikaha in the NFL.
The hope is that Tyson at worst can follow a similar track to Lattimore, who became 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year, made four Pro Bowls and was clearly a star before the chronic injury concerns reared their ugly head late in his New Orleans tenure. Some players’ injury histories might hide for a bit, even if they never completely go away. Saints’ contingency plans without Jordyn Tyson The Saints must make a call on whether to place Tyson on injured reserve. If they do so, the earliest he could return would be Week 5 against the Vikings. The Saints open the season with a tough road duo — at Detroit and at Baltimore — and play the rival Falcons in Week 4. After the Saints drafted Tyson, wide receiver appeared to be a potential area of strength, even with another injury-prone wideout (Chris Olave) opposite him. Olave has remained healthy so far, but in addition to Tyson’s injury, the unit took a hit when Ja’Lynn Polk abruptly retired back in early August.
Olave and Devaughn Vele appear to be the top pair now. Bryce Lance and Barion Brown, the other 2026 draft picks the Saints spent at receiver, have reportedly looked good in camp and might be counted on sooner than expected now. If there was a smart thing the Saints did after drafting Tyson, it was buttressing him with two other WR selections. Those could prove to be two very important insurance policies. The Saints also appear to like third-round TE Oscar Delp quite a bit, too. There are other options, too, with the likes of Bub Means, Ronnie Bell and Kevin Austin. But this is clearly a disappointing development with Tyson expected to miss regular-season game time.