Jordyn Tyson selected No. 8 by the New Orleans Saints, WR is the highest ASU pick in 50 years
All the talk about Jordyn Tyson’s durability and health was ultimately, if not expectedly, your typical pre-draft smoke screen. Even his position coach, Hines Ward, who returned to the city where he enjoyed an illustrious 14-year NFL career and accompanied him in Pittsburgh tonight, said last week, “I chuckle because they try to write the narrative he’s not physical…anything they could do to get you at a cheaper rate, they’re going to do it.”
Well, the team that selected Tyson certainly didn’t believe that narrative.
In tonight’s first round of the NFL draft, Tyson, who was thought by many to be the best wide receiver in the draft, wasn’t the first player to come off the board at his position, but was still a Top 10 selection drafted at No. 8 by the New Orleans Saints. Tyson is also the highest pick out of ASU since NFL Hall of Fame cornerback Mike Haynes was picked No. 5 in 1976.
Tyson is also Arizona State’s second first-round pick this century, following fellow wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who was selected No. 25 by the San Francisco 49ers in 2020. Additionally, he is the highest ASU WR selected since J.D Hill was the No. 4 pick in 1971 by the Buffalo Bills.
Tyson, who transferred from Colorado in 2023, didn’t play that season at ASU as he was recovering from an ACL tear. Despite missing half a dozen games from 2024-2025, Tyson still earned back-to-back Third-Team All-American honors after totaling 1,800+ receiving yards and 18 total touchdowns. He also helped the Sun Devils to their first-ever appearance in the College Football Playoff in 2024 following ASU’s Big 12 championship in their first year in the conference. The wide receiver was named First-Team All-Big 12 that year.
Tyson caught 61 passes for 711 yards and eight touchdowns in nine games played last season, and overall in his Tempe tenure, which included a redshirt year in 2023, he collected 1,812-yards and 19 touchdowns
