Green Bay Packers First Round Draft Prospects: Brandon Aiyuk

In a series previewing the first round prospects in the 2020 NFL Draft for the Green Bay Packers, let’s take a peep at wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk.

Despite his unusual path to the NFL Draft, Brandon Aiyuk is on the verge of potentially becoming a first-round pick this year. And that path could lead him straight to the Green Bay Packers.

Aiyuk was forced to play for a junior college immediately after high school and elected Sierra College. He dominated the field during his two seasons there, totaling 89 catches for 1533 yards and 19 touchdowns. He found the endzone three other times, as he housed two kick returns and a punt return as well.

He then enrolled at Arizona State in 2018 with two years of eligibility remaining. Although it took him a year to adjust–he only tallied 33 receptions for 474 yards and three touchdowns–he proved to be a quick learner in 2019. He earned third-team Associated Press All-American honors last year by posting 65 receptions for 1192 yards and eight touchdowns. He again excelled as a returner at ASU.

At 6-foot and 205 pounds, Aiyuk ran a 4.5 second 40-yard dash while completing 11 reps on the bench press and sporting a 40-inch vertical leap. He also showed off a 128-inch broad jump.

Aiyuk’s arrow is pointing straight up and the Packers could elect to call his name with the hopes that he continues his amazing development. He might not have as high of a ceiling as some of the other wide receivers going in this range, as his best-case scenario might be to develop into a legit wide receiver three. However, they can’t all be home run picks.

Aiyuk plays faster than he actually is and has a slipperiness to him both with the ball in his hands and on his routes. He’s great at racking up yards after the catch, something the Packers desperately need on their squad.

He also showed off good hands in college and a very nice catch radius. This allows him to haul in some inaccurate throws and gives his quarterback a bigger target to hit.

He’s not quite the deep threat Green Bay needs, as he lacks the top-end speed and separation. However, the natural smoothness to his game helps to make up for that. He also lacks strength and will struggle early against press man coverage.

If Green Bay decides to call his name on draft night, they’ll be getting a player who is most dangerous with the ball in his hands. Head coach Matt LaFleur would have a blast scheming different ways to make this happen.