Someone needed to step up when the New Orleans Saints shut down Jordyn Tyson for the preseason with another hamstring injury. And with their first-round pick not expected to play in at least the first three or four regular season games, it fell on his fellow rookies to make a difference. Fourth-round pick Bryce Lance and sixth-round choice Barion Brown answered the bell.
This week it's been all Lance. After catching three of his four targets in Tuesday's joint practice session with the Dallas Cowboys, Lance reached another level by going five-for-five on Thursday. And he did it against a very good Los Angeles Rams defense. He's looking like much more than the small-school standout with a limited route tree he was cast as on draft day.
Lance making plays at every level of the field and consistently delivering in the red zone is significant. He's still behind Chris Olave and Devaughn Vele on the depth chart, but with those two starters taking veteran's rest days this week (Vele was held out of the Cowboys practice, while Olave was an observer against the Rams), he was functionally the team's WR2. He's got more to do to ensure a heavy role when the season starts in September -- and you can bet tight end Juwan Johnson is going to draw a lot of targets -- but Lance is earning his quarterback's trust.
This article originally appeared on Saints Wire: Rookie wide receiver steps up during Saints-Rams joint practice

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