The New Orleans Saints opened training camp with 12 receivers on the roster and, since eight were veterans and another (Jordyn Tyson) was the team's first-round draft pick, there wasn't an immediate need to stamp high expectations on fourth-round pick Bryce Lance.
He owned the physical attributes (6-foot-3, 204 pounds), but the learning curve would be steep for Lance, who came from a college program (North Dakota State) not known for churning out NFL receivers, and the depth chart would be steeper.
But a funny thing happened to the possibility of developing slowly: The luxury never fully presented itself.
Ja'Lynn Polk retired on Aug. 2, less than a week into training camp. Tyson suffered a hamstring injury Aug. 13, hasn't practiced since and was placed on injured reserve with a return designation, which means he'll miss at least the first four games. Bub Means suffered an injury that cost him time.
And Lance kept stacking wins in drills — contested balls, crisp routes, big-receiver blocks — as he made the depth-chart climb.
The Saints felt comfortable enough with his ascension that when roster cuts were made Aug. 30, only four receivers were listed on the 53-man roster: Chris Olave, Devaughn Vele, fellow rookie Barion Brown and Lance. New Orleans has since added several receivers to the practice squad: Kevin Austin Jr., Cedric Tillman, Trey Palmer and Jalen Moreno-Cropper.
"I would say the way training camp went, (Lance and Brown) ended up having a lot more opportunities probably than we thought," Saints coach Kellen Moore said. "And then, they took advantage of those. A couple of injuries, Ja'Lynn stepped away from football, a couple of things happened like that. They did a great job."
It happened for Lance because of his willingness to ask, learn and apply the knowledge gained.
"I think my teammates and coaches have helped me grow so much — the route running, catching the ball," Lance said. "I've asked so many questions to guys like Ve (Vele) and C.O. (Olave), and they haven't gotten sick of me yet. It's been really fun to work with them. They've helped me a lot to grow in all aspects of my game."
Moore said Lance's biggest improvement was in run blocking.
"The physicality," Moore said. "I think for a bigger kid that's going to be an important part, particularly in the run game. Thought he has been a really physical player. We know he's fast, and then just the mental stuff is always the challenge for these guys. He's done a good job picking it up."
Lance said he'll pick up whatever is requested in order to help the Saints win games.
"Just contribute any way I can," he said. "I'm not too focused on what exact role I'm going to be in, but whenever my name is called, whenever my number is in there, just execute and do my job. And I think that's what I've done throughout camp. Just continuing to grow and get better at different aspects of my game. Any way I can contribute is the goal."
He said receivers coach Keith Williams is owed much of the praise for his continued improvement.
"I can't express enough how much Coach Dub has helped me throughout this camp and OTAs, such a short amount of time how much better I've gotten because of him," Lance said. "He pushes me every day and I know he has a belief in me as well, which is a huge blessing and a huge help. He makes me want to go make plays for him, and that's what I try to do every day, day in and day out."
In 10 more days, he'll try to make plays for the first time in an NFL game and for that, he's humbled.
"From an outside point of view, before you're in the league you look at the games," Lance said. "But now that I've gone through a camp and all the practices you definitely get a different perspective of what it takes to truly play in this league."
WILSON OUT: Quarterback Zach Wilson had an excused absence from Thursday's practice.
