Former Wyoming Tight End Lands on Saints' 53-Man Roster

LARAMIE -- Treyton Welch and 52 of his teammates will be on the sideline inside Detroit's Ford Field for the NFL season opener.

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The third-year pro, who spent his entire college career at the University of Wyoming, has made New Orleans' initial roster after out of training camp after spending a year on the Saints' practice squad.

Welch, a 6-foot-4, 240-pound tight end, snagged seven passes for 41 yards during the preseason. He was one the field for 101 offensive snaps and finished with a run-blocking grade of 72.3, according to Pro Football Focus. The Buffalo, Minn., native was also involved in 33 special-teams snaps, lining up for everything put field-goal block.

After not hearing his name called in the 2024 NFL Draft, Welch signed a free-agent contract with the Cleveland Browns. He was eventually waived during final cuts and signed with New Orleans two days later. There he joined fellow UW alumni Carl Granderson.

Wyoming head coach Jay Sawvel openly asked that March why Welch wasn't invited to the NFL Combine? That came moments after he ran a 4.6-second 40-yard dash and bench pressed 225 pounds 25 times.

Need some perspective?

Frank Crum, a 6-foot-8, 313-pound offensive tackle, finished with 27 reps.

"Treyton kind of had that most to gain by having a good day today -- and Treyton had a really good day," Sawvel said during the university's NFL Pro Day. "... For him to run well, jump well and bench what he did, I think he helped himself a lot."

Welch agreed.

"It's definitely important, you know, to put one foot in front of the other and give your best, your all," he said when asked how it felt to show NFL scouts what he can do on the football field. "I don't ever want to be a guy that leaves anything on the field ... I think there is a big opportunity today to go out there and do that as a group of guys. And again, you know, we've talked about it all the time, especially the last season, the group of guys that we had and, being able to do it with those guys, was a huge blessing in itself. So it was extremely cool."

Welch reeled in 77 passes for 874 yards and nine touchdowns during his time in the brown and gold. Five of those trips to the end zone came during the 2022 campaign.

Other Cowboys in the NFL:

* Sabastian Harsh, who capped his career at North Carolina State, has made the 53-man roster of the Houston Texans. The rookie edge rusher went undrafted last April.

* Frank Crum has landed on injured reserve to begin the 2026 season. The third-year tackle will be eligible to return to the Broncos' lineup in Week 5. The Laramie native suffered a leg injury in a preseason tilt with Green Bay. Houston defensive tackle Solomon Byrd will also start the season on injured reserve after suffering a high-ankle sprain.

* Former Wyoming safety Andrew Wingard is set to begin his first season in Arizona after spending the first seven seasons of his career in Jacksonville. His former secondary mate in Laramie, Marcus Epps, has also made the Eagles' 53-man roster.

* Edge rusher Carl Granderson is set to begin his eighth NFL season with the Saints. He has 34.5 sacks in that time frame.

* Tight end John Michael Gyllenborg suffered a season-ending knee injury early in training camp and the Kansas City Chiefs, his hometown team, put him on injured reserve.

* Josh Allen will step under center in Buffalo for Year 9 this fall. He has thrown for more than 30,000 yards and 20 touchdowns. He's added nearly 5,000 more on the ground to go along with 79 scores.

* Former Wyoming cornerback Tyler Hall (Browns), linebacker Chad Muma (Patriots) and running back Sam Scott (Jets) have all been cut from their respective teams. Offensive guard Caden Barnett was also waved by Chicago, but is expected to join the team's practice squad. Same can be said for tight end Evan Svoboda and wideout Isaiah Neyor, who will remain with the Chargers and Packers, respectively.

* Emmanuel Pregnon, the third-round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars, is on the 53-man roster. The Denver product was a freshman All-American at offensive guard at Wyoming before transferring to USC and eventually Oregon.

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