The 2026 NFL preseason is officially underway, starting off with one of the best Hall of Fame games ever. With the New Orleans Saints preseason debut now on the horizon, some position battles might be getting to the good part. All eyes should be on the Saints wide receiver battle at the bottom of the depth chart, with eyes directly at Barion Brown, Bryce Lance, and Kevin Austin Jr.
The upcoming game against the Liam Coen-led squad will be the first opportunity for a lot of this year's camp darlings to show that the past few weeks haven't been a fluke. This preseason is where some position battles, like the wide receivers', might have to be settled. All the months of offseason training activities and training camp have come down to those three upcoming games.
One of the most exciting battles so far in training camp has been the one between the wide receivers. With four guys fighting for only two or three open spots, it's one that is bound to be decided this preseason.
This preseason, the Saints will have to get ready to make some tough decisions
Barion Brown and Bryce Lance
It's one that has really taken off as training camp officially got underway, thanks to sixth-round rookie Barion Brown. He's effectively leapfrogged fourth-round rookie Bryce Lance in terms of the pecking order, and it's barely been a week of training camp practices. Not to say that Lance won't make the roster, because he will due to his own plays he's been making.
Kevin Austin Jr.
But a preseason game or two could really provide an answer as to who the WR4 can be, because it's not just those two names fighting for that job. There's also Kevin Austin Jr., who's entering his third year in New Orleans. Still a young receiver, he's noticeably been working his tail off not to fall behind his peers.
Mason Tipton
Mason Tipton too, if he can come back from his offseason tibia surgery in time, but so far he's not quite at the end of that recovery yet. With his roster spot in doubt, it looks like he'll be coming back to a practice squad spot if anything at all. Although, if he ends up on the PUP/reserve list when roster cut-downs start, the team doesn't have to make the decision whether to cut him or not right now.
This one would be a tough goodbye, if that's where this ends up going. A valuable depth piece who has really shined at times over the past few years, he's had bad injury plus some competition that could force him out of the building.
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