Green Bay Packers 2022 NFL Draft Prospects to Know: TE Isaiah Likely

After a brief one-year hiatus, the tight end position is once again a need for the Green Bay Packers–particularly a pass-catching threat.

Now, Robert Tonyan’s return could help solve this issue, but if he heads elsewhere in free agency, adding this element to the offense will be a must. In Tonyan’s absence last season, the Green Bay offense greatly missed him down the seam, over the middle, as well as in the red zone.

Not having Tonyan is, of course, not the sole reason why the offense took a step back in 2021, but it certainly didn’t help either. It’s not a coincidence that the Green Bay offense was playing their best football last season late in the year when Josiah Deguara and Marcedes Lewis were consistently making plays in the passing game.

In terms of blocking tight ends, with Deguara, Lewis — assuming he’s back — Tyler Davis, and likely Dominique Dafney returning, the Green Bay Packers are well-equipped in this area. However, there isn’t anyone on the roster who can fill Tonyan’s role. Sure, they could probably get by with the current group of tight ends that they have, but the offense won’t be at its absolute best either.

So come draft time, if the Green Bay Packers are in the market for a dynamic pass-catching tight end, well, then look no further than Isaiah Likely.

The 6’4″ – 240 pound Likely, spent four seasons at Coastal Carolina, where he was a big play just waiting to happen and an active member of the passing game. For his career, Likely was targeted 169 times, catching 72% of those passes at an impressive 15.4 yards per catch–including a whopping 20.7 in 2020 on 25 receptions.

This most recent season was his most productive as Likely hauled in 52 receptions for 816 yards with 10 touchdowns. He finished fourth among all tight ends in total YAC and tied for 15th in YAC per catch–showcasing his playmaking ability with the ball in his hands.

According to PFF ($$), Likely spent 62% of his career snaps lined up in-line and another 30% from the slot. Likely also has some experience out wide as well. A bulk of Likely’s targets came within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, but there really wasn’t a part of the field that he wasn’t targeted.

As you can see from his numbers, Likely’s primary responsibility in the Coastal Carolina offense was as a pass-catcher; however, his blocking did continue to improve over his college career. For what it’s worth, he was even PFF’s second-highest grading blocking tight end in 2021. He also ranked sixth by this metric in 2020.

For more on Likely’s game and what he can offer, here is a look at what The Draft Network has to say about him in their scouting report:

"“Likely is an athletic tight end that thrives at stretching the field vertically. He has good speed to not only get vertical but can run away from most Sun Belt defenders. At Coastal Carolina, they lined him up in multiple different positions and he thrives at all of them. He has shown to be a natural hands-catcher and can turn up the field to be a good run after the catch option for offenses. In the NFL, Likely will be best served as an offensive weapon, he has the athleticism, toughness, and natural hands to play all over the field and should serve as a mismatch for offenses.”"

Now for an additional perspective, here is what NFL.com’s Lance Zierlein has in his scouting report about Likely:

"“Tight end prospect with an intangibles profile and positional traits that make him projectable to the next level. Likely was a winner in high school and played a pivotal role in the ascension of Coastal Carolina over the past two seasons. He lacks a prototypical tight end frame and is an inconsistent blocker, but he runs well and filled up his career stat sheet with big plays. It could take Likely a year or two to find his footing against stronger, faster coverage, but he has the tools to uncover against NFL coverage as an “F” tight end.”"

One important thing to keep in mind if the Green Bay Packers do choose to address tight end in the draft, whether it’s Likely or another prospect, very rarely do rookies make a significant impact at this position. Between knowing blocking techniques and responsibilities like an offensive lineman as well as route trees and concepts like a pass-catcher, tight end is one of the more difficult transitions to make.

But if the Green Bay Packers are looking to add some needed big-play ability to the tight end room, then Isaiah Likely will certainly be on their radar.