METAIRIE, La. (AP) — The New Orleans Saints selected Arizona State receiver Jordyn Tyson with the eighth pick in the NFL draft on Thursday night, adding a potential playmaker to a position group that could use one.

“I’m ready to hit the ground running right now,” Tyson said. “I keep getting better. I just want to continue on that track. Work works.”

The 6-foot-2, 203-pound Tyson — whose brother, Jaylon Tyson, plays in the NBA with Cleveland — was the second receiver drafted behind Ohio State’s Carnell Tate, who went fourth overall to Tennessee.

The 21-year-old receiver said his name was called in the draft around the same time he he saw his brother hit a 3-pointer in Cleveland’s 126-104 Game 3 playoff loss against Toronto.

Now, Tyson joins a Saints receiver corps that was headlined by four-year veteran Chris Olave in 2025, but had little depth behind him after Rashid Shaheed was traded to eventual Super Bowl champion Seattle.

“This is a great add to that group,” Saints coach Kellen Moore said, highlighting Tyson’s ability to make plays on deep balls as a wideout, as well as his ability to play as a slot receiver.

Tyson said he met Olave during a pre-draft visit to New Orleans and bonded well with him.

“It’s going to be amazing to take pressure off each other, make our jobs easier,” Tyson said. “I feel like us, (covered) one on one — shoot — it’s going to get ugly.”

The Saints entered the draft with their most apparent needs at receiver, edge rusher and defensive back.

Last season, Tyson played in nine games at Arizona State, catching 61 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in a campaign shortened by a hamstring injuries in both legs.

He had his best season statistically in 2024, catching 75 passes for 1,101 yards and 10 TDs.

But more than his statistics, it was Tyson’s knack for making clutch plays and the knowledge of football he exhibited in meetings with staff in New Orleans is what sold the Saints on him.

“You felt the football junkie in him,” Moore said. “He’s got a really smart head to him as far as football acumen and awareness about what’s going on in this league.”

Tyson’s injury history also includes torn knee ligaments — requiring reconstructive surgery — when he played at Colorado in 2022. He played in just three games in 2023 with Arizona State because of a broken collar bone.

But he dismissed concerns about his health going forward, and said his recent training with former NFL receiver Hines Ward, a receivers coach at Arizona State, has helped him learn how to maintain his body like a pro football player should.

“I’m going to give myself the best opportunity to stay on the field and be as healthy as possible,” Tyson said. “I’m going to do everything in the weight room, do everything with nutrition, I’m going to have a chef. I’m going to get a massage on the same day every week.”

Moore didn’t sound too concerned, either.

“Guys are going to go through things they have to navigate,” Moore said. “He battled through it and that’s a credit to him. … This guy’s a really tough football player. He’s battled some things — and that’s a positive.”

Today’s Lineups

A rare three-hour game for the Diamondbacks last night: 3:02, to be precise. Just the third of the season, and the first at Chase Field since the home opener. I guess at least it gave the SnakePitette and her husband their money’s worth: they were at the ballpark for the first time together. She popped in to borrow some items from the extensive collection of D-backs wear possessed by Mrs. SnakePit and myself. I await a report on whether they had… what is it the young people call it? Oh, yes: “fun”. Maybe not a game for baseball purists, but with six home-runs and three triples, no shortage of action.

Advertisement

Despite last night, the D-backs are actually seeing shorter games in general this year, even though we now have ABS challenges. The average game has been 2:41 long, which is three minutes less than last season. However, a factor there may be the lack of extra innings: Arizona has played only three frames over regulation through 24 games. That’s one every eight games, which is below last year’s rate of one extra inning every six games. Across all of baseball, nine-inning games are on average four minutes longer than in 2025. Right now, they average 2:42, which is the longest since the pace of play changes came in for the 2023 season.

We are seeing slightly more plate appearances per game, and also the number of pitches per plate-appearance is higher. The former may be due to an increase in extra-inning games: at 9.5%, the current rate would be the highest since 2013. The latter is at 3.93 pitches/PA, the second highest since records started being kept in 1999 (it was 3.97 in 2020). I wonder if this is a result of ABS? I do note we are seeing more walks per game than any year since 2000. But strikeouts are also up on last year too, so… We are still less than a month in to the new normal though, so let’s see how things work out.

Join the conversation!

Sign up for a user account and get:

Advertisement

• Comment on articles, community posts

• Rec comments, community posts

• New, improved notifications system!

The Arizona Lottery offers multiple draw games for those aiming to win big.

Here’s a look at Wednesday, April 22, 2026 results for each game:

Winning Powerball numbers

24-29-32-49-63, Powerball: 11, Power Play: 2

Check Powerball payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning The Pick numbers

04-07-08-14-25-30

Check The Pick payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Pick 3 numbers

2-8-7

Check Pick 3 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Fantasy 5 numbers

01-02-17-25-34

Check Fantasy 5 payouts and previous drawings here.

Winning Triple Twist numbers

05-08-13-19-30-36

Check Triple Twist payouts and previous drawings here.

Feeling lucky? Explore the latest lottery news and results

What time is the Powerball drawing?

Powerball drawings are at 7:59 p.m. Arizona time on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays.

How much is a Powerball lottery ticket today?

In Arizona, Powerball tickets cost $2 per game, according to the Arizona Lottery.

How to play the Powerball

To play, select five numbers from 1 to 69 for the white balls, then select one number from 1 to 26 for the red Powerball.