The Saints’ Jordyn Tyson Selection Was Historic. But His Brother Was Too Busy to Watch.

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When the Saints selected Arizona State wide recevier Jordyn Tyson with the No. 8 pick in Thursday’s NFL draft, the rookie etched his name in the sports history books before even receiving his New Orleans jersey and hat.

Tyson wasn’t the first person in his family to be drafted in the first round of a sports draft. His older brother Jaylon Tyson was selected No. 20 overall in the 2024 NBA draft by the Cavaliers, where he still plays. The Tyson brothers officially became the first sibling duo to be drafted in the first round of two different sports. What an impressive feat to establish.

However, the NBA-playing Tyson brother was not present in Pittsburgh with the rest of his family to cheer on his brother’s selection. He had a good reason, though—Tyson was competing in Thursday night’s Cavaliers–Raptors playoff game in Toronto. Unfortunately Cleveland lost Game 3 on Thursday, but they still hold a 2–1 lead in the first round series. It’s too bad it couldn’t be a winning night for both Tyson brothers.

“I'm super grateful that he’s going to be able to share this day,” Tyson said before the draft and game, via the Akron Beacon Journal. “As soon as the game’s over, I’ll be able to celebrate with him, but I’ve got a task at hand that I’ve got to handle.”

Cavaliers coach Kenny Atkinson told reporters on Wednesday that he would let Tyson know when his brother was drafted.

“I know it's playoffs, but that's your family and your brother, so we're going to get that to him,” Atkinson said.

There was speculation before the draft that Tyson would be selected sixth by the Browns to reunite the brothers in Cleveland (the Browns ended up trading with the Chiefs and fell to ninth). If the trade wouldn’t have happened, there’s a chance Tyson could’ve ended up in Cleveland instead of New Orleans.

The distinction for this historical mark made by the Tyson brothers is that they are the first sibling duo to be drafted in separate sports in the first round. There’s been quite a few sets of brothers drafted in the first round of the same sport, with various cases happening in NFL history.

Some brothers drafted in the first round in NFL history

There’s been a handful of brothers drafted in the NFL first round in different years, but there’s only one set of siblings to be drafted in the first round in the same year: Tremaine and Terrell Edmunds. The former was selected 16th by the Bills with the latter picked by the Steelers at No. 28 in 2018.

The only NFL brothers to both be selected No. 1 overall are Peyton and Eli Manning (1998, ‘04). Maurkice and Mike Pouncey are twins who were both drafted in the first round, but in back-to-back years instead of the same year. J.J. and T.J. Watt both have won the NFL Defensive Player of the Year award, and they both were drafted in the first round of their respective drafts. Most recently, the Bosa brothers were both picked in the first round: Joey Bosa went third overall in 2016, while Nick was selected second in ‘19.

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Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollowPublished 10 seconds ago | Modified 10 seconds agoMADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University.

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