The Saints are heading into Week 1 with a rookie class that looks more like a group in training than one ready to take over.
That doesn’t mean the group is short on talent. It just means New Orleans is likely to lean on patience early, starting with the Sept. 13 opener in Detroit. Of the Saints’ eight draft picks, only a few are positioned to make an immediate push, and even those roles may be limited at the outset.
The biggest setback is at the top of the class. First-round receiver Jordyn Tyson was expected to start, but a hamstring injury will keep him out for at least the first four games.
The Saints are taking the long view with him, and if they put him on injured reserve, he won’t be eligible to return until Week 5 against the Minnesota Vikings on Oct. 11.
Even that date may not be a hard target depending on how the rehab goes.
Quarterback Tyler Shough didn’t sugarcoat the outlook for Tyson.
“I know he’s going to do everything he can to be back,” Shough said. “I know a lot of people are doubting him, but he’s going to come back even stronger and play a lot of football games for us.
… I know what kind of work he’s going to put in and he’s going to help us out a lot this year. No doubt about that.”
Tyson isn’t the only rookie dealing with a delayed start. Third-round tight end Oscar Delp is also hurt with a hamstring injury, and fifth-round cornerback Lorenzo Styles is out with a calf issue.
Fourth-round guard Jeremiah Wright is listed as a backup, second-round defensive lineman Christen Miller is still being eased in, and seventh-round corner T.J. Hill is on the practice squad.
That leaves a couple of late-round receivers as the most intriguing early developments in the class. Bryce Lance, a fourth-round pick, and sixth-rounder Barion Brown both turned heads during camp and may have worked their way into the conversation faster than expected. For now, they’re still backups behind Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele, unless New Orleans decides to use one of them in a three-receiver set.
What makes that notable is how quickly things can shift in this league. The Saints already saw that last season, when a rookie group that started with limited expectations wound up producing more than most people anticipated. Even then, the opening-week picture was modest: the Saints had only one rookie starter in 2024 and 2025, and none in Week 1 of the 2023 season.
Coach Kellen Moore made it clear the approach is built around preparation, not instant impact.
“You’ve got to be ready to go,” Moore said, adding, “You have to define roles for everyone and so everyone understands how they’re helping this team win football games. And if you’re not heavily involved in the gameplan, or you’re not getting the opportunities you want necessarily on a Sunday that you were looking forward to, you’re developing through the whole week.
“So that when the opportunity does present, you’re ready.”
The Saints have tried to make that development real during camp, not just theoretical. They’ve built in extra work after practice so the rookies can keep stacking reps, and defensive coordinator Brandon Staley said the young players were once again the main beneficiaries.
“When you’re a young player in this league, you have the most room to improve because you haven’t seen as much,” Staley said. “That’s been kind of our goal is to make sure those guys get as much looks at it as possible, while obviously getting your starters and your primary players enough of the live looks too. We struck a good balance of that, but we try to be a developmental program.
“Those young guys, you’ve got to focus on them, if you can.”
Staley also pointed to how the Saints used camp to test players in unexpected spots, and Lance and Brown are the clearest examples. Their opportunities expanded after Tyson went down and Ja’Lynn Polk unexpectedly retired, and both receivers responded with strong playmaking that helped them climb the depth chart. What once looked like a path to fifth- or sixth-receiver status has turned into a spot where they could open the season as New Orleans’ third and fourth wideouts.
“All of a sudden, they’re playing a lot,’ Moore said. “They’re doing a great job.”
Still, for most of this rookie class, the message is clear: wait your turn, stay ready, and be prepared for the call when it comes. The Saints learned last year that backups can become answers fast. Third-round safety Jonas Sanker entered the season as a reserve, then was starting by Week 2 after Julian Blackmon’s season-ending injury.
That kind of change can happen in a hurry. For now, though, New Orleans is beginning the year with a rookie group that will need time before it takes center stage.
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