The Packers’ first preseason game is slowly drifting further into the rear view mirror, but I still have some clips so I’m gonna write about them. Today, we’ve got a mini film room and we’re looking at Isaiah Neyor and J. Michael Sturdivant.
Isaiah Neyor
Neyor was an undrafted free agent pick-up by the 49ers in 2025, but spent the regular season on the Packers’ practice squad, getting 3 snaps with the team all year (in the Wild Card game against the Bears).
At 6’4”, 218 lbs & running a 4.43 40, Neyor has the measurables
you’d expect to see out of a Packers WR. His 9.97 RAS score certainly backs that up.
How did he look in the first preseason game? If you care about preseason stats, he was the Packers leading receiver on the day, grabbing all 4 of his targets for 34 yards.
He looked like a natural receiver to me. He certainly struggled with some things – and he didn’t really show off that 4.43 time – but he looked like a professional possession receiver. In our Jordan Love post we talked about the out-breakers we’re likely going to see in this offense this year. How showed the ability to threaten vertically, cut off sharply and make a catch while going to the sideline.
Is that fairly basic stuff? Sure! But there’s an ease in how he operates as a receiver that shows up there. You can also see some of the suddenness in his route running on this quick slant.
Again, nothing too crazy here, but that’s a nice, crisp route exactly where it’s supposed to be.
I also like seeing what he does when the ball is in the air. On this route, he does a nice job of working back to the ball instead of waiting for it to come to him.
His big body suggests that he could work in the blocking game. While he shows a willingness in that part of his game, his technique could still use some work. When blocking from out wide, he has a tendency to get his arms wide and wrap around his target. While he may get away with it from time to time, that kind of action is the exact type of motion that will draw holding.
He had a couple reps as an insert blocker. Again, with his size, this seems like something he could be good at. It didn’t go well.
Another rep as an insert blocker went better, but he was tentative and got moved back into the pile (and also has an initial reaction of opening his arms to his target).
As a receiver, I really like him. He shows a good understanding of what his role is on a play, and he moves like a receiver. If he can clean up his blocking, you can color me intrigued.
J. Michael Sturdivant
Where Neyor is starting year 2 in the Packers organization, Sturdivant is brand new. He was a UDFA out of Florida this year. As you might expect, he is also a RAS all-star, posting a score of 9.96. He comes in at 6’3”, 207 lbs, with a 40 yard dash time of 4.40. Sturdivant posted elite scores in his 10 yard & 20 yard times, as well as in his explosion grade.
That’s truly what stands out: explosion. I mentioned earlier how I didn’t really see Neyor’s speed show up in the first game. The same was not true of Sturdivant.
You can see the explosion out of the blocks. The speed is immediate. He looks like a true speed freak down the field. There were a couple other flashes he showed (we’ll get to those shortly), but, if you’re looking for the trait that will have the biggest impact as to whether he makes the team or not, it’s the speed.
Like I said, there were a few other things that showed up. He showed a good understanding of coverage and was able to throttle down and find room in the middle of the field for his QB.
He also showed nice adjustment to a ball thrown outside of his frame. (There’s a chance that he ran the wrong route and was supposed to cut to the sideline, but we don’t currently have a way to know that.)
There’s also a bit of nastiness to his game as a blocker. He has shown that he is up for the fight.
The problem is that, while he may be up for the fight, he still is far from a polished blocker. He doesn’t show a great ability to adjust after he hits his spot, which leads to reps in space like this, where he looks to overrun his block.
Or this, where it looks like he’s pulling up short, but he’s really just waiting for the defender to react, but is then unable to adjust to that reaction.
There’s more, but you get the idea. He has the size and willingness that would profile as a good blocker, but he has a lot to work in that part of his game, from both an understanding an adjustment/movement perspective.
That being said, his combination of size and speed is intriguing. If he can show some value on special teams, he could carve out a nice role on this team as the honorary Charles De Mar “Go that way really fast” player. Get a few snaps a game on the outside as a straight line speed guy to give some other guys a breather or open up some underneath opportunities for some other guys.
Much like Neyor, I’ll be keeping an eye on Sturdivant’s blocking as the preseason rolls on. Sturdivant has further to go in that regard, but if he can even get a small amount better, he starts to become an extremely interesting player. The most likely scenario is that it isn’t until 2027 when we see him truly carving out a role for himself, but improving a tick as a blocker would go a long way to seeing him running fast in a straight line a few times this year.
Albums listened to: Ratboys – Singin’ to an Empty Chair; Snail Mail – Ricochet
