Saints General Manager Mickey Loomis said last week that the results of the draft could factor into whether defensive end Cam Jordan returned to the team in 2026, but a couple of moves involving veterans might have more of an impact.
The Saints traded for Tyree Wilson during the draft and signed Anfernee Jennings on Sunday, which gave them two more pieces on the defensive front and could leave little room for Jordan to return for a 16th season. Jordan said on Sunday that he’d like things to work out and doesn’t think the team has replaced him, but understands that he may have reached the end of the road with the Saints.
“I don’t know,” Jordan said, via Matthew Paras of the New Orleans Times-Picayune. “There’s nobody who produced the way I did last year, so. My talent speaks for itself. And if things work out, phenomenal. I’ve always said I understand the business side to it, so I’ve never worried about it.”
The end of the draft gives all 32 teams a better idea of where things stand on the roster front, so Jordan could find doors open elsewhere if the ones in New Orleans have actually closed.
Saints Clips
The Saints announced on Sunday that they have agreed to terms with 10 undrafted free agents.
The group includes running back C.J. Donaldson, who played at Ohio State in 2025 after transferring from West Virginia. Donaldson ran 96 times for 361 yards and 10 touchdowns during his lone season with the Buckeyes.
New Orleans is also adding N.C. State tight end Cody Hardy, Maryland tackle Alan Herron, and Kentucky tackle Alex Wollschlaeger on the offensive side of the ball.
Central Michigan defensive end Michael Heldman, Alabama cornerback DaShawn Jones, Southern Illinois cornerback Jeremiah McLendon, USC defensive tackle KeeShawn Silver, Texas kicker Mason Shipley, and Wisconsin defensive tackle Jay’Viar Suggs are also joining the Saints.
The Saints are adding another veteran to their defense.
According to multiple reports, they have agreed to terms with linebacker Anfernee Jennings on a contract for the 2026 season. The news comes a day after the Saints made a trade with the Raiders for edge rusher Tyree Wilson.
Jennings was a 2020 third-round pick in New England and he played in 79 games for the Patriots, including all four of their postseason contests last year. Jennings started 43 of those games and had 233 tackles, 9.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in those appearances.
Wilson and Jennings will likely join the team for their offseason program in the coming days. It remains to be seen if longtime Saint Cam Jordan will be joining them or if he will move on after 15 seasons in New Orleans.
The Saints did not draft any edge rushers over the last few days, but they did add one to the roster in a trade.
They picked up Tyree Wilson in a swap with the Raiders on Sunday and General Manager Mickey Loomis said at a press conference that defensive coordinator Brandon Staley has “a vision” for how the seventh overall pick of the 2023 draft can fit into the team’s defense. Loomis also said that the team will see how that goes before giving any thought to keeping Wilson in New Orleans beyond the 2026 season.
“It’s a one-year trial and we’ll see how it goes,” Loomis said.
Loomis’s answer all but confirms the Saints will pass on picking up Wilson’s fifth-year option, which would guarantee him $14.475 million for the 2027 season. A big year for the Saints could set Wilson up for a bigger payday and that would fall into the category of good problems for the Saints to figure out next offseason.
Another Ohio State defensive player was draft. And another member of the Styles family.
With pick No. 172 in round five, the Saints selected defensive back Lorenzo Styles Jr. He’s the brother of Commanders linebacker Sonny Styles.
Sonny was picked seventh overall by the Commanders.
Lorenzo Jr., who spent two years at Notre Dame before transferring to Ohio State in 2023, is the older of the two, at 23. Sonny is 21.
Their father, Lorenzo, split the difference as a third-round pick (77th overall) in 1995. He spent two years with the Falcons and three with the Rams. In St. Louis, Lorenzo Sr. was a member of the Super Bowl XXXIV championship team.
The Saints are bringing in a former first-round pick.
Las Vegas has traded edge rusher Tyree Wilson to New Orleans, the teams announced on Saturday.
The Raiders will receive pick No. 150 in this year’s draft in exchange for Wilson and No. 219 in the seventh round.
The No. 7 overall pick of the 2023 draft, Wilson has appeared in 50 games with seven starts for the Raiders over his first three seasons. In 2025, he recorded 4.0 sacks with eight tackles for loss and six quarterback hits. He also had a pair of forced fumbles, one pass defensed, and one fumble recovery.
In all, Wilson has tallied 12.0 sacks in his career.
There’s now another set of brothers in the NFL.
The Saints selected receiver Bryce Lance — quarterback Trey Lance’s younger brother — with the No. 136 overall pick in the fourth round of the 2026 draft.
Bryce Lance also played his college ball at North Dakota State, winning a pair of FCS national championships.
He was a two-year starter at NDSU, garnering first-team All-MVFC recognition in 2024 and 2025. He recorded 75 receptions for 1,071 yards with 17 touchdowns in 2024 and 51 catches for 1,079 yards with eight TDs in 2025.
Now he will be in the pros with his brother, Trey, who is currently the Chargers’ backup QB.
Saints first-round wide receiver Jordyn Tyson says it’s going to get ugly for opposing defenses trying to cover both he and Chris Olave.
“It’s going to be amazing. Take pressure off each other make our job easier. Us one on one? It’s gonna get ugly,” Tyson said.
Tyson said he thinks his own game is a lot like Olave’s, although he knows that he still has to prove himself while Olave has already shown what he can do with three 1,000-yard seasons in the NFL.
“He’s kind of like me, but he’s proven himself,” Tyson said.
Tyson is also eager to play with Saints quarterback Tyler Shough.
“He’s a great quarterback,” Tyson said of Shough. “Great player, going to continue to do great things.”
The Saints’ offense started to turn a corner late last season, and they’re hoping that with Tyson added to the mix, their offense could be a thing of beauty this year.
Saints quarterback Tyler Shough has a new target.
The Saints selected Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson with the No. 8 pick in the 2026 NFL draft.
Shough had said before the draft that he’d love to see the Saints select a wide receiver, and they’ve given him his wish.
Tyson is a big-time talent, but injuries are a concern. He did not run at the Scouting Combine or Arizona State’s Pro Day while recovering from a hamstring injury, but he worked out for NFL teams last week and from all accounts looked great.
The hamstring was far from the first injury Tyson suffered during his college career. He tore his ACL as a freshman at Colorado, and after transferring to Arizona State he broke his collarbone. When healthy, he’s a dynamic playmaker who could be a great addition to an NFL team. The Saints will hope he’s healthier in the NFL than he was in college.
Don’t look for the Saints to make a big move up the draft board on Thursday night.
They are currently slated to pick eighth after going 6-11 during the 2025 season and that record would have looked much worse without four wins in their final five games. On Wednesday, General Manager Mickey Loomis said that was an encouraging run but that it didn’t leave the team feeling like there’s a single player who could vault them into contention.
“When you have a Drew Brees — when you have that caliber of quarterback — you always feel like you’re one player away,” Loomis said, via the team’s website. “And so, ‘Man, let’s go get the one player.’ And when you have a young quarterback and you’re developing your roster, you’re not one player away. So you’re less inclined to give up a number of assets to get one player. We’re not one player away. That’s a five-game stretch or a six-game stretch. I don’t want to read too much into that. We’re excited, we’re optimistic about our future, but by no means have we arrived anywhere.”
Quarterback Tyler Shough was in the center of that winning close to the season and the Saints hope that it was a sign of things to come, but more evidence will be needed before the team considers a big swing.
