Green Bay Packers rookie UDFA wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant could sneak onto the roster due to his history of special teams work. Justis Mosqueda of Acme Packing Company unveiled his 53-man roster, and he had Sturdivant making it as the seventh receiver.
End-of-the-roster battles do not matter when it comes to position as much as special teams impact. According to Mosqueda, the rookie from Florida has already shown enough to be considered a 53-man roster player.
“J. Michael Sturdivant can help Green Bay as a non-returner on special teams, a role that few receivers have played in Green Bay under head coach Matt LaFleur (notably, Bo Melton and former Packer Malik Heath have been guys that did so),” wrote Mosqueda. “Sturdivant’s combo of size and speed, plus history as a special teams contributor in college (he was the lead blocker for Florida’s kick return unit), could be the difference between him and Isaiah Neyor being WR7.”
Sturdivant played 11 special teams snaps in the Packers preseason opener. He was involved in four different phases of special teams. It is a small sample, but Sturdivant had an 84.3 grade on special teams, per PFF, which is excellent for their grading system.
Mosqueda notes it goes beyond those 11 snaps, though.
Green Bay Packers UDFA is Ready to Contribute on Special Teams Immediately
Getty J.Michael Sturdivant #7
Sturdivant had a five-year college career. He went from Cal to UCLA and finished his career at Florida. His best year as a pass catcher was in 2022, when he had 755 yards at Cal. He could not replicate the success at UCLA or Florida, but he did play special teams through all five years of his college career.
Sturdivant played 21 snaps in 2021, almost all on punt coverage. Then, he began to get work on punt return in 2022. He only played 16 special teams snaps in two years at UCLA, but was back in the mix with the Gators.
He played 78 special teams snaps, including 57 on kick return, 15 on punt return, and six on coverage. He was not a return man, though; he was a core special teams option.
Having this experience and showing well in the preseason will get him roster attention.
Packers Wide Receiver Room is Deep
The issue is that the room is deep, and it will be hard for the UDFA rookie to climb. If anything, he has to beat out Neyor for the seventh spot and hope they carry seven receivers. The top three receivers are defined starters.
Fourth, they have Savion Williams, who is a gadget player who mixed in with the first-team offense in the preseason opener. He has a role. Fifth is Skyy Moore, who will be the return man. Lastly is Bo Melton, but Mosqueda added that Melton is already a core special teams player.
So, even with the special teams ability, it is hard to see him beating Melton and Moore, who have made careers in this phase.
Fans should be watching Sturdivant over the next two preseason games, but not as much on offense as when he takes the field on special teams.
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