Saints rookie Barion Brown breaks out as returner in win over Giants
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The gist
Saints rookie Barion Brown returned a kickoff 41 yards and added a 23-yard punt return in a win over the Giants.
His special-teams field position helped power New Orleans' offense.
Background
Barion Brown is a New Orleans Saints rookie wide receiver and kick returner (#19), a former LSU wide receiver taken as a Day 3 pick in the draft. The Saints drafted him to return kicks, but before the Giants game he had not been the difference maker on special teams the team expected, though he had some highlight plays over the past few weeks.
How it unfolded
- Oct 18, 2026In the Saints' win over the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium, Brown had a 41-yard return that helped open scoring, setting up a Daniel Carlson field goal, plus a 23-yard punt return and his first career reception.
- Oct 18, 2026At halftime, with the score 10-all, Brown was averaging 33 yards on two kickoff returns and 13 yards on three punt returns.
- Oct 19, 2026Canal Street Chronicles named Brown an "Up" in its ups and downs from the game, calling it his breakout game.
- Oct 22, 2026Brown had no injury designation for Week 7 and was on the Saints depth chart.
- Oct 23, 2026Brown attended a press conference after an NFL practice session in Versailles near Paris, speaking on his journey as a Day 3 pick and being in Paris as an NFL player.
Who’s saying what
- Analysts
- Canal Street Chronicles' Kyle Besson wrote that Brown hadn't been the special-teams difference maker New Orleans expected but finally had his breakout game against the Giants, with his returns giving the offense valuable field position.
- Analysts
- SI's Doug Joubert said the LSU speedster is showing off his moves because of much better blocking on special teams, which he had asked for the week before.