Selected by Saints

The Saints selected Tyson in the first round of the 2026 NFL Draft, eighth overall.

Tyson (6-foot-2, 203 pounds) had the best collegiate production profile between himself and fellow top wideout prospects Carnell Tate and Makai Lemon, but Tyson's injury history understandably caused some anxiety and until Thursday it was unclear whether NFL teams would red-flag Tyson over those injury concerns. That Tyson was picked this early seems to answer the question - the Saints looked into his knee and hamstring injuries and evidently decided to bet on his talent. Tyson suffered a torn ACL, MCL and PCL his true freshman season at Colorado, and hamstring troubles from his 2025 season followed Tyson into the offseason, leaving him unable to participate in pre-draft athletic testing. If one disregards the injuries as the NFL seemingly has, then there are otherwise only reasons to like Tyson. His production was compelling both at Arizona State and Colorado, and while Tyson won't ever be a great big-play threat he shows the ability to dice up the underneath to a high-volume extent, giving him clear 100-catch upside at the NFL level during his best years. Even as a rookie, Tyson should push for a heavy workload right away, likely running as the primary Saints wideout opposite Chris Olave.