INDIANAPOLIS – Jordyn Tyson thought his hamstring issues at the end of the 2025 season were originally just cramps. And there was little he could do, playing such a physical sport as football, about the broken collarbone he had at the end of 2024 or the exploding knee (ACL/MCL/PCL) he suffered in 2022.
Without those injuries, the Arizona State product might be the top wide receiver in the 2026 NFL draft. He might still be anyway.
But Tyson hasn't been robbed of his confidence. Not of his own play – asked about helping ASU return to prominence, he stressed he was only a small piece of the resurgence – but of his own optimism.
"(It's) finding my perfect regiment so I can play all 17 games – or 21 games if we make the Super Bowl," Tyson said with a smile Friday morning at the NFL Scouting Combine.
Tyson's playmaking for the Sun Devils was undeniable. In ASU's playoff year of 2024, he had 75 receptions for 1,101 yards and 10 touchdowns before the collarbone out him out after 12 games. Last season, the hamstring limited him to nine games, but he had 61 catches for 711 yards and 8 touchdowns and showed plenty of what will make him a first-round pick.
Tyson, still rehabbing the hamstring, will only do the bench press while at the Combine.
The medical history "is the one criticism," NFL Network draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah said. "The tape is outstanding. There are plays he floats in the air when I watch him. He's a creative playmaker."
Tyson comes from an athletic family. His father and one of his older brothers played college football, his other older brother, Jaylon, plays for the NBA's Cleveland Cavaliers.
(Tyson was asked about being drafted by the Browns to be in the same city as Jaylon; the smile he had at that notion gave away his answer.)
That family dynamic meant that growing up, there was always competition and that Jordyn also was forced to work extra hard just to keep up. It will ultimately pay off on Thursday night of the draft.
"They are going to get a dog, they are going to get a culture changer," said ASU cornerback Keith Abney II, himself waiting to see where he gets drafted. "Jordyn is going to work every day. He's got the hype and stuff but he's not even going to worry about that. He's going to be a humble player, a humble guy. He's the best receiver in the draft in my opinion."
Tyson is known as an excellent route runner, and he acknowledged that when asked what his elite skill would be. His ability to separate is one of the first talents noted by draft analysts.
The Athletic's Dane Brugler compared Tyson with Patriots wide receiver Stefon Diggs and is a top 12 player if teams don't get stuck on the injuries. At the same time, "There are teams that are not mad he is not working out" in Indy.
Wherever Tyson goes in the first round, a team gets more than just the talent on the field. His position coach at ASU was former Steelers star Hines Ward, who Tyson couldn't credit enough in his development.
"He instilled all the things he learned in his first years in the NFL to me," Tyson said.
Tyson won't be staying in Arizona, not with the Cardinals needs elsewhere at 3 and Tyson to be off the board by the time the Cardinals pick again (with Michael Wilson and Marvin Harrison Jr., choosing a premium wideout over various other spots doesn't make sense anyway).
Tyson wasn't predicted where he would land either. But he wasn't necessarily expecting to become this kind of prospect, so he is open to anything that could happen.
"I am a person that gets better every year," Tyson said. "Ever since I was a little kid, it was get better every year, every year. I was a late bloomer. I got better and started to catch people who were above me for a long time.
"Shoot, I did surprise myself."
