Both J. Michael Sturdivant and Isaiah Neyor flashed a few times at the back end of Green Bay Packers’ first preseason game in Pittsburgh. I’ve written a bit about Sturdivant before, and while he’s not my favorite wide receiver prospect, he is very toolsy, he fits a need on the team, and he has some special teams value. I get why the Packers picked him up, and if he makes the team, I won’t be surprised. But Isaiah Neyor is interesting in his own right, and I think he has more long-term upside if he can
figure a few things out.
The reason that Neyor remains interesting is because he hit on a few key criteria we use to project young receivers (with some caveats, which we’ll get to) while in college, and his relative lack of production near the end of his college career was likely caused by some ill-timed transfers while recovering from a torn ACL. It’s not a perfect profile, there are warts for sure, but there is a LOT of good here in context.
In his 2021 season at Wyoming, Neyor had a legitimate breakout as a young 20-year-old (he turned 20 in June of 2021). He led the Cowboys with 44 receptions (17 more than second place Josh Cobbs), 878 yards (580 more than second place Ayden Eberhardt), and 12 TD catches (no other Cowboy had more than 2). He absolutely dominated the Wyoming passing game as the clear, best playmaker, and they leaned on him as a result.
Breakout age is one of the better predictors for future success, and leading your team in all major receiving categories by far as a redshirt freshman is a great sign. Unfortunately, there are two major issues that call this performance into question.
The first is the weirdness of the Covid years, which created many dominant performances that did not translate at the next level. Wyoming didn’t face a single quality opponent (Boise State was probably the best), and they got blanked by Fresno State and essentially blanked by New Mexico. It would have been nice to see Neyor face a random Big Ten or SEC team at some point, but it just didn’t happen, and so level of competition was a big question mark.
The second is the fact that they just didn’t do that much passing in the first place. This is a problem that pops up with a lot of Big Ten schools, especially as you move further West. While Indiana and Ohio State throw plenty, a lot of schools (Iowa, Michigan, Wisconsin, etc.) don’t. When Nico Collins, now a star receiver for the Texans, played at Michigan, he never caught more than 38 balls in a season, though on a per play basis he was amazing. Volume is often an indicator of future success, as the ability to demand the ball will result in volume, but if an offense doesn’t pass much in the first place, those differences can sometimes just be noise.
In a perfect world, Neyor would have parlayed that excellent season into a transfer to a higher volume school, or at least another dominant season at Wyoming, but instead a torn ACL robbed him over his entire 2022 season. He would then transfer twice, first to Texas where he did nothing in 2023 while recovering from injury, and in fact re-injured the same knee, losing most of the back half of the season. He then moved on to Nebraska for his final season, where he was likely still recovering, and was just okay.
While at Nebraska, Neyor was out-targeted by possession receiver Jacory Barney and outside receiver Jahmal Banks, but he was still a dangerous deep threat, leading the Huskers in touchdowns with five. That said, while falling on the depth chart at Texas is excusable, 2024 was his best chance for a post injury breakout with limited talent for competition, and it just didn’t happen.
Here’s why you should still care. First, that early breakout shows what’s possible. Neyor has some talent, and his lack of success comes with a good reason in that torn ACL. Second, any lingering concerns about his athletic profile were put to rest at the combine. Neyor posted a 9.90 RAS with elite testing in everything but agility drills, where he was merely good.
His closest RAS comp is Brian Thomas Jr, with Alec Pierce and Bryce Lance also making appearances. He’s huge at 6-4, 218, and he’s back to full speed.
And so, the problems with Neyor are mostly about the nuances of playing receiver. If you consult Dane Brugler’s 2025 version of The Beast, where he ranked Neyor 28th among receivers with a sixth-round grade, he fawns over the athletic profile, his catch radius, and his body control. He even praises his blocking, which may be why he’s currently a Packer. The weaknesses are all defects that can be corrected. Brugler labels Neyor an “unseasoned route runner, slow to adjust at the top of routes.” While he praises Neyor’s blocking, he does call out his technique which resulted in two penalties in 2024. And he also points out that pressing corners can give him trouble.
Importantly these are all teachable skills, and it’s worth remembering that because of his two knee injuries, Neyor lost a lot of development time in college where these things would normally be sorted out. You cannot practice route running when you cannot run. A year on the practice squad likely helped Neyor more than your average prospect. It’s difficult to perform technique work while on the active roster, where you are forced to prep for games, not refine technique. The practice squad is the perfect place for unrefined athletes, and it’s at least possible that some of that work is starting to pay off.
Neyor looked good in limited work last week. He looked much more polished as a route-runner than he ever did on his college tape. His size and speed pop immediately as soon as he steps on the field. And importantly, even though he’s been through quite a lot at this point, he only just turned 25.
The Packers have a pretty crowded receiver room between Christian Watson, Jayden Reed, Matthew Golden, Bo Melton, and Savion Williams, even though Romeo Doubs and Dontayvion Wicks are gone. But there is room for a tall burner, and it will be interesting to see if Neyor, or Sturdivant, or both, can continue to impress, and maybe even press Williams for a spot.
