Did you notice which name was missing from Wednesday's first Week 10 New Orleans Saints injury report? That would be Jordyn Tyson. The rookie first-round pick had an up-and-down debut last Sunday, finishing with four catches for 30 yards and a fumble, though he came up big in several moments late in the overtime win. Tyson was only on the field for 18 snaps, fourth at his position behind Devaughn Vele (70), Chris Olave (64), and Bryce Lance (38), and only 25% of the Saints' total snaps on offense. But there's a lot we can learn even from that small sample size.
Let's start with alignment. Tyson had an even split between routes from the slot and out wide; he was targeted twice from the slot, catching both passes to gain a dozen yards and convert
two first downs. Each target was a short quick pass that asked him to pick up yards after the catch (at an average depth of target of 3.0 yards), and he obliged. Vele leads the Saints in slot targets on the season so far (12), running about 54% of his routes from the slot. Olave is at 30.8% while Lance has run just 24.2% of his routes from the slot. Tyson may have more inside-out flexibility than Lance and Olave while splitting reps with Vele. He was also the player in motion on a lot of those plays, some of which set him up to run an out route to the periphery.
What about where he was targeted? Tyson caught three passes over the middle to gain 25 yards, gaining 15 of those yards after the catch. He also caught a short pass on the right side (lined up in the slot) that gained 5 yards and converted a first down. There weren't many routes for him flowing deep downfield or along the sideline, at least in his debut. Maybe he'll get more opportunities on shot plays as his snaps increase. There's been a lot written about Shough's hesitance to throw over the middle, but Tyson gives him another viable option. We should note he was wide-open in the end zone on another play where Shough missed him after being flushed out of the pocket.
The most important thing is that Tyson finished the game healthy. As we mentioned at the top, he wasn't listed on the injury report at all after spending months on injured reserve and being limited throughout last week's practices. Fingers are crossed that he'll continue to enjoy good health, catch more passes, and get the Saints on track for success.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Jordyn Tyson's usage in Saints debut could tell us what's ahead
