Tag: Pittsburg State

Rico Payton is our Saints player of the game for Preseason Week 2

Our player of the game for the New Orleans Saints’ second preseason matchup is cornerback Rico Payton. The rookie from Pittsburg State has been impressive:

The second preseason game for the New Orleans Saints has been completed, with a 16-10 loss being the result against the San Francisco 49ers. A 13-point second quarter powered the 49ers to their victory, and despite that, the Saints looked solid in the first half and had some standout performances.

Of those standouts the most notable was undrafted free agent cornerback Rico Payton, who ended the first preseason game exceptionally well and carried his momentum into this week. In his first NFL game Payton ended with a 91.7 Pro Football Focus grade, 90.9 coverage grade, and 4 forced incompletions according to PFF. He picked up where he left off.

Payton had an exceptional game against the 49ers as well, with 3 tackles (2 solo) and a pass deflection, which was an extremely impressive play. He lost touch with wide receiver Danny Gray for a slight second along the left sideline, and was able to catch up to close the gap and bat the ball away for an incompletion. What a play by the rookie from Pittsburg State.

His impressive performances makes things extremely intriguing in the cornerback room, as four spots are already locked up presumably with Marshon Lattimore, Paulson Adebo, Kool-Aid McKinstry, and Alontae Taylor. However, if another roster spot were to be available at the position, you would have to assume Payton is well within reach of attaining it.

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Chiefs among teams in attendance at Pittsburg State pro day

The #Chiefs took a trip to Pittsburg, Kansas for the Pitt State pro day and CB/KR Dallis Flowers could be on their radar.

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The Kansas City Chiefs continue to be active in the pro day circuit, sending scouts to look at the next wave of talent ahead of the 2022 NFL draft. This past week they took a trip to Pittsburg, Kansas to check out five draft-eligible prospects at Pittsburg State University. The team had player personnel assistants, Kunal Tanna and Anthony McGee, among those in attendance.

Here is a look at the players who participated in events and on-field drills:

  • CB/KR Dallis Flowers
  • S Markel Roby
  • LB/DE Kaden Roy
  • WR Jalen Martin
  • RB Tyler Adkins

Flowers was the clear star of the show, weighing in at 6-1 and 196 pounds and testing extremely well. He posted a 131-inch broad jump (97th percentile), a 4.4s 40-yard dash (98th percentile), a 4.34s shuttle run and a 6.98s 3-cone. Expect the Chiefs to potentially bring him in for their local pro day ahead of the draft.

He’s an intriguing option for Kansas City, especially given their newfound need at kick returner after the departure of Byron Pringle in free agency. Flowers was an all-NAIA kick returner (and cornerback) at Grand View before transferring to Pittsburg State. In 2021, he had 17 kick return attempts for 573 yards and two touchdowns. His 33.7 yards per kick return attempt broke a school record previously held by NFL WR John Brown.

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