Lance operates as WR3 in Week 1 loss

Loomis said Tyson is “improving” in his long rehab from a major preseason hamstring injury. Tyson, who traveled with the Saints to France for their Week 7 game against the Steelers, could still be a couple weeks away as the team takes a cautious approach to his recovery. In the meantime, Bryce Lance will operate as the Saints’ No. 2 wideout behind Chris Olave. Lance over the past two weeks has a 13 percent target share and a 20 percent air yards share in the pass-first New Orleans offense.

Lance was the Saints’ WR3 against the Giants, seeing four targets on the day. He scored his first career touchdown on a two-yard pass on fourth-and-goal at the end of the first half. Despite the score, Lance is still low in the Saints’ pass-catching order and is best left on fantasy benches.

It seems like Brown is very unlikely to play at this point. His agility and long speed define his game as a gadget player and return specialist. His absence could benefit WR2 Devaughn Vele and WR Bryce Lance.

Lance could have the inside track for the Saints’ short-term No. 3 wide receiver job with WR Jordyn Tyson (hamstring) sidelined, though WR Barion Brown will almost assuredly make the roster as a receiver and returner. Lance nearly added a decent, leaping downfield gain to his box score, but QB Spencer Rattler’s pass grazed off his fingertips along the sideline. Brown was not involved as a receiver today, but rushed twice for 19 yards and one touchdown, including an eight-yard jet sweep that got him into the end zone. He also returned one punt for four yards.

Triplett was apparently surprised to see reporters wondering whether the Saints should bring a veteran receiver aboard. According to him, the Saints had nine legitimate wide receiver candidates to make the final roster, with rookie WRs Bryce Lance and Barion Brown leading the charge. Per Triplett, Lance “is coming on faster than anyone else,” though Brown notably surged early in camp. Lance does not play on special teams, which could make him an ideal No. 3 wide receiver. Triplett also believes the Saints should design a package of plays for the speedy Brown, who WR Chris Olave said is “basically the same player” as former Saints WR Rashid Shaheed. For deep league fantasy managers, Lance could be worth a late-round dart throw. Both players should be rostered in dynasty.

The brother of former No. 2 overall pick Trey Lance, Bryce (6’3"/204) followed in his sibling’s footsteps to North Dakota State, where he spent three years as either a redshirt or a special teamer. Lance finally got his chance to start in 2024 and made the most of the opportunity by racking up 17 receiving touchdowns, a mark that unsurprisingly led all D1 receivers. Lance also added one touchdown on the ground. Though he “only” scored eight times in 2025, Lance did so while averaging 21.2 yards per catch and 3.58 yards per route run. Both of those marks ranked top-10 among all D1 wideouts (min. 50 targets). Lance is a lengthy deep-ball specialist from North Dakota State. That, of course, was always going to earn him the Christian Watson comparison. He solidified the connection at the NFL Combine with a 4.34 40-yard dash, beating Watson by two thousandths of a second. Lance also posted 98th-percentile burst measurables and a solid short-shuttle mark of 4.15 seconds. North Dakota State’s run-first offense doesn’t ask its wideouts to run every route at an elite level, meaning Lance will need more reps to hone his skills as an underneath receiver. Even if he never develops that skill set, Lance has a bright future as a big-play Z receiver in the pros.