New Orleans Saints wide receiver Mason Tipton, right, celebrates his touchdown catch with wide receiver Cedrick Wilson Jr. (11) during the second half of a preseason NFL football game against the Los Angeles Chargers, Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025, in Inglewood, Calif. (AP Photo/Eric Thayer)
Eric Thayer
**INGLEWOOD, Calif. —** Mason Tipton checked an important box in the New Orleans Saints [preseason opener](https://www.nola.com/tncms/asset/editorial/54255459-4e1d-4086-be03-950f290504a0/) against the Los Angeles Chargers: After a couple years of showing he could do it in a practice setting, he can now say he’s done it in a game.
Tipton torched the Chargers defense for a 54-yard touchdown in the third quarter of Sunday’s 27-13 loss. The play was reminiscent of something Tipton has routinely done in a Saints training camp practice, setting up a defender with a double move before blazing past him into the open.
“I'm just glad to get one in the books, you know?” Tipton said. “Last year for me lacked the big play, you know what I mean? So I'm just glad that a year later I could finally get one in the paint and knock it off the list.”
Tipton made the Saints’ 53-man roster last season precisely because he’d shown ability to impact the game the way he did Sunday against Los Angeles. Or, at least the Saints banked on what he’d shown during a small window of training camp translating.
A largely unknown undrafted rookie from Yale, Tipton routinely demanded attention in 2024 training camp with his penchant for making plays deep downfield. Then he suffered a hamstring injury, and he missed the entire preseason. New Orleans kept him on its 53-man roster throughout the season, but it never showed up in the games.
In 11 games, Tipton caught 14 passes for 99 yards with a long of 15. Only two of his 14 catches converted a first down.
“For me, it was just a lot of reflection after the year,” Tipton said. “ … I wanted to take all the accountability that I could from last year.”
That meant getting bigger and stronger without sacrificing his speed, and that meant refining his technique as a route-runner — getting more proficient at the entire route tree rather than just relying on his deep speed.
It also meant being honest with himself about his shortcomings during a rookie season.
“You can point fingers all you want, say it didn't go my way,” Tipton said. “But the only way you're gonna grow is if you look at this situation, say, ‘What I could have done better?’”
It’s still early, but it looks like he achieved the growth he was looking for. Shough considered Tipton the team’s “MVP” throughout training camp so far.
“The way he runs routes, his work ethic — it's really impressive, and I think that's why he's getting some of those balls,” Shough said. “He makes plays and he's getting open.”
Open doesn’t adequately describe the scene on Tipton’s touchdown catch Sunday. It needs a qualifier. Wide open is better, the kind of separation NFL quarterbacks typically don’t see. It was just a matter of time.
The Saints could feel the Chargers defenders starting to sit on the underneath routes New Orleans had been attacking them with. On the previous drive, a Chargers defensive back had aggressively jumped an out route intended for Dante Pettis on third down, picking off Shough’s pass and returning it for a score.
“Any route we were running, we could tell, 'Yo, they're just waiting on us to stop,’” Pettis said.
So coach Kellen Moore had his players stop, and then go. The double moves have been a staple of his offensive attack throughout training camp — something that doesn’t only take advantage of aggressive defenders, but also allows a platform to build other plays off of.
“You can't really sit on routes if you have the double moves off of it,” Tipton said. “So I think it just kind of expands the offense, expands play calling and just makes it unpredictable for the defense.”
Tipton deked toward the sideline, then ran right by the crashing defender. Shough hit him in stride, and Tipton hung onto the ball through a slight bobble to coast into the end zone. Finally, proof that he could be the player he’s shown he can be in practice.