There’s a curious phenomenon going on at the moment with the Packers’ wide receiver room: it lacks size.
Anybody who’s watched the Packers throughout the Matt LaFleur era would tell you that’s a bit strange. LaFleur has long preferred big-bodied receivers who can run block, and has been willing to trade speed for size to enforce his will in the ground game.
But right now, Christian Watson is the only noteworthy wide receiver who fits that description, though, to be fair, he might be the best example
of a height/weight/speed prospect at the position in recent Packers history. Outside of Watson, though, there’s nothing there. Jayden Reed and Matthew Golden will never be mistaken for hulking specimens, and toward the bottom end of the depth chart, Bo Melton and Skyy Moore make their respective livings either playing bigger than they’re listed or by embodying the traits that make small receivers interesting in their own right.
Savion Williams is the one non-Watson exception, except here’s the problem: if we’re talking about wide receivers, I’m not sure Williams really merits a mention, because he really isn’t one. I don’t quite know yet what he is, and I don’t think the Packers do, either, but a receiver he is not.
The book on Williams pre-draft in 2025 was that he was a gigantic athlete who was still learning the nuances of the position. A year later (and with essentially half a season of evidence), that seems to still be the case. Williams is, at best, an unrefined wide receiver prospect. If you want to be less generous, you might say he looks more like a super athletic dude that someone put in a uniform and turned loose on a football field. Yes, he technically looks like he belongs, but only because he’s an athlete among athletes.
But the Packers do have a couple of big-bodied prospects who look like they can actually play the position. Isaiah Neyor and J. Michael Sturdivant both fit the bill of a height/weight/speed prospect, and both looked much more confident in their abilities on Thursday night.
Neyor, who actually appeared in the Packer’s playoff loss to the Bears last season, stands a hair over 6-foot-4 and weighs 218 pounds. You won’t be surprised to learn that he posted terrific numbers in his pre-draft workouts in 2025 before landing with the Packers as an undrafted free agent.
Sturdivant, meanwhile, is a slightly lighter, slightly shorter, slightly faster prospect, though still comfortably falling into the “big receiver” category. He also caught our Paul Noonan’s notice for his limited but still impressive productivity in college.
Across 37 snaps on Thursday night, Neyor caught four passes for 34 yards, leading the Packers in both categories. Sturdivant played 26 and grabbed two passes for 26 yards. But, more importantly, both looked smooth, calm, and in control when they were on the field. It’s such a squishy, old-school, tobacco-spitting scout way of putting it, but they both looked like football players out there. They knew what to do and when to do it. They have the nuance of the position figured out.
Williams doesn’t. Not yet, at least. And although the chances he gets cut are exceptionally slim as a second-year third round pick, if the Packers want actual wide receiver abilities from a big-bodied prospect, looking at other prospects might be wise.
Neyor and Sturdivant both look better equipped to contribute than Williams. Maybe they end up starting the year on the practice squad. But if Williams can’t figure out how to play like an actual wide receiver instead of an oversized Tyler Ervin-esque gadget man, it’s likely they won’t stay there for long.
