An undrafted rookie has made the Green Bay Packers' 53-man roster for 21 consecutive seasons. In 2025, it was defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse. With training camp on the horizon, it's right about time to start wondering who could preserve that streak in 2026. If history is any indication, someone will.
A leading candidate to do so is receiver J. Michael Sturdivant. The Florida product is an intriguing prospect in his own right, but just as importantly, the backend of the Packers' receiver rotation is more wide-open than ever.Â
While Savion Williams is a good bet to emerge as WR4, any degree of certainty ends there. That competition to round out the depth chart should be mayhem, and that plays right into the hands of a hungry young player like Sturdivant.Â
J. Michael Sturdivant is in prime position to keep Packers' streak alive
To be clear, Sturdivant still has the odds stacked against him. Veterans Skyy Moore and Bo Melton are frontrunners to occupy the fifth and sixth receiver slots. If the Packers carry a seventh wideout, former UDFAs Isaiah Neyor and Will Sheppard both have a leg up on Sturdivant due to their time in the organization.Â
Still, he has the talent to throw his hat in the ring. Projected as a fifth- or sixth-round pick, the nearly 6-foot-3, 207-pound target slipped through the cracks despite a whopping 9.96 Relative Athletic Score, a product of his elite combination of size and speed.Â
Perhaps teams steered clear of Sturdivant due in part to his underwhelming statistical production as a senior. In fact, Sturdivant's production dropped every year after he compiled 755 receiving yards and seven touchdowns as a freshman at California.Â
He remained impactful after transferring to UCLA as a sophomore, but underwhelmed in his last two seasons. In 2025 for the Gators, Sturdivant posted 27 catches for 406 yards and three scores.
His athletic profile suggests there is more to Sturdivant than meets the eye, and the Packers shrewdly scooped him up in undrafted free agency. While it's true that Neyor and Sheppard have more experience in the Packers organization, they have yet to put their foot in the door. Talent talks, and Sturdivant can make the Packers listen with a strong training camp and preseason.
Elsewhere in the receiver competition, Melton should still make the roster due to his versatility and special teams work, but it's not like he's been tearing up as a pass-catcher. Since 2024, he has 12 receptions.
Much the same can be said of Moore. If nothing else, the former Chiefs champion will be Green Bay's best kicker returner in years. That said, there is a real chance that "nothing else" is indeed what Moore provides, having caught just five passes over the past two seasons.
That wide-open playing field gives Sturdivant a shot. Although the Packers' 91-man roster boasts many talented UDFAs, such as edge defender Nyjalik Kelly, there may be none better positioned than Sturdivant to realize his opportunity.Â
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