Jordyn Tyson passes first test from Saints rookie minicamp

Keith Williams had a test in mind for Jordyn Tyson before the New Orleans Saints rookie went out and practiced for the first time. A pop quiz, of sorts.

Normally, NFL coaches tend to start players — even the most dynamic ones — at one position, then gradually expand their workload. But Williams, who oversees the Saints' wide receivers, wanted to see if the first-round selection was really as versatile as his college film suggested.

So at practice, Williams had Tyson line up as the X receiver on the outside. Then came instructions to go to the Z, the strong side of the formation. And before the afternoon was done, Williams made sure Tyson got action in the slot, too.

“I told him that was going to happen on his way coming in,” the receivers coach said. “(But) I didn’t give him any (prior) knowledge about what the play was going to be because I wanted to see what he can handle.

“He dealt with it well.”

Tyson’s debut at the Saints’ rookie minicamp can be boiled down to one word — smooth.

He looked smooth when lining up at three different spots, just like his coaches had asked. He looked smooth breaking in and out of his routes. He looked smooth in his four reps of 7-on-7 against the defense.

Sure, analyzing rookie minicamps often deserves a grain of salt. Coach Kellen Moore, after all, said one of the main goals of the practices is to get players used to playing football again after spending months as “track athletes” while preparing for the combine and pro days. One practice isn’t going to say anything definitive about Tyson’s prospects in the NFL.

But at the very least, Tyson’s initial impression backed up the idea of why the Saints had become tantalized in the first place. He can add a different element to the receiving room.

“He can really go,” Moore said, referring to Tyson’s speed. “He’s got some suddenness, some elusiveness. You see his body move pretty well.”

That elusiveness is what perhaps separates the first-round pick from the rest of his position group. As good as Chris Olave has been for the Saints — and he was second-team All-Pro last season — Tyson’s ability to effortlessly turn his hips and change directions was regarded in such a manner that the 21-year-old even drew lofty, pre-draft comparisons to Odell Beckham.

“That is very lofty,” Williams said.

“They’re both males,” he added. “We’ll leave it at that for now. They’re both American and they’re both males.”

Williams, understandably, may not want to embrace such a comparison since Tyson has yet to play a single snap. But the position coach was willing to acknowledge one draft comparison — he said he could see those who said Tyson reminded them of Olave. The two share a “similar movement pattern” and have “kind of the same build, to some degree.” (Tyson is 2 inches taller.)

Instead of focusing publicly on how Tyson differs from the rest of the receiving corps, the Saints have repeatedly noted how the Arizona State product can accentuate the position’s talent. Tyson, Olave and Devaughn Vele have versatility that creates flexibility for a play-caller and an advantage against the defense, coaches have said.

On draft night, Tyson was thrilled by the idea of playing with Olave. The two had interacted during the draft process, when Olave unexpectedly popped into Tyson’s meeting with Williams at the Saints' facility. Tyson boasted that he and Olave would take “pressure off each other” and make their jobs easier by both being on the field.

“Us one-on-one?” Tyson said last month. “It’s going to get ugly.”

For that to happen, Tyson — and Olave — will have to be healthy. The Saints picked Tyson despite myriad injuries in college, with the team’s brass saying they were comfortable enough to make the selection. On Friday, Tyson didn’t appear limited at all by last season’s hamstring injury that carried into his offseason and delayed his pre-draft workout for teams.

The clean bill of health allowed Tyson to focus on whatever coaches asked of him, including Williams’ test.

“When I look at plays, I don’t look at just one person,” Tyson said after practice. “I look at the whole concept because you’re going to run that same concept out (of) a different formation and you might be on a different route. You have to look at it conceptually.

“So yeah, I was ready for it.”

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