Former Tennessee Vol who delivered a number of splash plays in Josh Heupel’s first year getting a look at a second opportunity in the NFL with the New Orleans Saints
A VFL hopes to make the jump from the UFL to the next level
The Tennessee Volunteers started off the Josh Heupel era in 2021 with a 7-6 mark, but that season brought a lot of excitement on the offensive side of the ball, particularly when Hendon Hooker took over the starting quarterback job from Joe Milton. Big plays came in bunches, something that had been relatively foreign to Tennessee for too long.
One player who delivered a number of those impact moments was wide receiver JaVonta Payton, who came to Tennessee after the 2020 season from Mississippi State. Payton, while he didn’t deliver a huge stat line (413 receiving yards and 6 touchdowns in 12 games) in his one year in Knoxville, did lead the SEC in a key stat – yards per catch with 22.9. He delivered at least a 35-yard touchdown in each of 5 of 6 SEC games in the middle part of SEC play, including 75 yarders against Florida and Kentucky and a 57-yarder against Alabama.
Payton tried out for the New Orleans Saints on Tuesday
Now, that big play potential is at least getting a look from an NFL team, as the New Orleans Saints brought in Payton for a tryout on Tuesday, as per the league’s list of daily transactions. He was one of four wide receivers to be brought in and work out for the Saints.
Payton wen undrafted in the 2022 NFL Draft and signed with the Arizona Cardinals. He was added to the practice squad in September 2022, but quickly released and has not signed with an NFL team since. He spent 2023 in the XFL league with the Orland Guardians and Arlington Renegades, the latter of whom he’s played for through the 2025 UFL season.
It’s obviously a very long shot that Payton will get to stick around in New Orleans, but it sounds like Payton will at least get a shot to show what he can do, and that’s all you can ask for in his position.
