Should the Commanders Draft or Pass on Jordyn Tyson?

Provided by CFB at Sports Reference: View Original Table
Generated 4/18/2026.

Player Overview

Athletics is a bit of a family business for Jordyn Tyson. His brother, Jaylon, currently plays for the Cleveland Cavaliers. Another brother, Berron, played football at South Alabama and is their strength and conditioning coach. His father played football at Florida A&M. Jordyn played basketball and football in high school. He was only a three-star prospect, but had a productive senior season with 80 catches, over 1,500 yards, and 13 touchdowns. Jordyn chose Colorado, the only power conference offer he had, over Colorado State, New Mexico, and Sam Houston State.

Jordyn contributed to the Buffaloes right away. Although the team only won a single game, he was second on the team in catches and first in yards and touchdowns despite tearing his ACL, MCL, and PCL in his ninth game of the season. With the arrival of Deion Sanders as head coach of Colorado, Tyson entered the transfer portal and ended up in Tempe at Arizona State.

Tyson redshirted 2023 to recover from his knee injury. Fully healthy and under the guidance of newly-hired receivers coach Hines Ward, Tyson flourished in 2024. The Sun Devils made the College Football Playoff largely on the strength of Tyson’s 75 catches for over 1,100 yards and 10 touchdowns. However, a broken collarbone held him out of the team’s playoff game. He was named Big 12 Offensive Newcomer of the Year and first-team All-Big 12. Tyson started 2025 where he left off, leading the team in catches, yards, and touchdowns. He was still named first-team All-Big 12 despite a hamstring injury that not only limited him to nine games but held him out of the NFL Combine and Arizona State’s Pro Day. Tyson held a private workout to showcase his talent – and his health – to over 20 NFL teams.

Strengths

• NFL size for the wide receiver position
• Has a diversity of effective releases from the line of scrimmage
• Good hand usage and strength to beat press coverage
• Smooth and precise route runner
• Sudden in his movements with good fakes to get open
• Excellent tracking the ball and adjusting to it
• Attacks the ball in the air with superb body control
• Experience playing out wide and from the slot

Weaknesses

• Several significant injuries have ended multiple seasons
• Struggled with drops prior to 2025
• Can get open deep, but speed looks just adequate
• Can round in-breaking routes, allowing DBs to jump them
• Not very productive after the catch

Let’s See His Work

How He Fits on the Commanders

The Commanders’ receiving room could use an infusion of talent. Despite using picks in the past two drafts on Luke McCaffrey and Jaylin Lane, there is no clear WR2 on the roster. Although Treylon Burks showed well last year, he didn’t show enough to claim that position. Terry McLaurin is still the best receiver on the roster, but with him turning 31 during the season, it’s not crazy to start looking for a player that could not only complement him, but become the Commanders’ top receiver in the future.

It would not be far-fetched for Jordyn Tyson to be considered the best wide receiver in this class. He has NFL size for the position, but plays with the quickness of a smaller player. His ability to create separation and make acrobatic catches make him a playmaking threat all over the field. Tyson’s talent and experience playing out wide and in the slot means he could complement McLaurin with the possibility of becoming WR1 in the future.

However, it would be foolish to overlook his injury history. It’s long and concerning. The team has met with him and was represented at his workout to acquire as much information on Tyson as possible. If Washington had him off their draft board after suffering knee, collarbone, and hamstring injuries, it would not be surprising. A healthy Tyson would be in play with the 7th pick, but it’s more likely he could be a trade back target later in the first round if the team is comfortable with his medicals. If he can somehow avoid significant injury going forward, Tyson could reward the Commanders with high-end wide receiver play well into the future.