NFL teams aren’t afraid to elevate small-school players to the top of their boards if they’re worthy. Can Andy Isabella be the next surprise NFL Draft standout?
Andy Isabella made a particular splash in the 2018 regular season with the University of Massachusetts, finishing as one of the top three wide receivers in the NCAA as a finalist for the Biletnikoff Award, given to the nation’s best wideout. The diminutive pass catcher was the nation’s leading wide receiver in both catches (101) and receiving yards (1,697). Where is he bound in 2019?
Proponents point to Isabella’s performances against top competition. Last year against Georgia, a team loaded with NFL prospects that finished as the SEC runner-up, Isabella racked up 15 catches for 219 yards and two touchdowns. In 2017, Isabella had seven catches for 158 yards and one touchdown against Mississippi State, another SEC school.
At the Senior Bowl in January, Isabella led Team North with seven receptions, 74 yards, and one touchdown. Considering Isabella’s explosiveness, elusive route-running, and penchant for showing up in big games in his college career, it should have come as little surprise that he performed so well against a stable of future NFL players among the nation’s best senior players.
Isabella is listed as 5-foot-8 and 186 pounds, dimensions with his statistics that portend a gritty, sure-footed NFL slot receiver. Isabella may be a bit enigmatic due to the level of competition — UMass has gone 12-36 the past four seasons and has only been playing FBS Division I football since 2011 — and because of his stature. However, his standout performances against the best of his peers should leave little doubt for his NFL potential.
Strengths
Isabella averaged 16.8 yards per reception as a senior, helping provide proof that he was not merely racking up reception totals with short screens or quick passes behind the line of scrimmage.
Isabella ran a 4.31 40-yard dash at the NFL Combine, surprising no one who knew the Mayfield, Ohio product who won the state 100-meter dash as a high school senior track athlete. Scouts have raved about his toughness, his quickness, and his versatility as part of the Minutemen’s offense.
Weaknesses
Critics say that Isabella can be bumped off his running routes by a physical corner and that his size may hamper him against next-level defensive backs.
Another pressing concern might be the lack of sample size of games against top competition. While Isabella did perform well at the 2019 Senior Bowl and in games against Georgia and Mississippi State the past two seasons, most of his college career was spent playing against the likes of Charlotte, Coastal Carolina, Liberty, and Connecticut — not exactly the material of the New England Patriots or the Los Angeles Rams.
This lack of game experience against NFL-caliber defensive backs might give teams pause, even considering his numbers and his raw physical attributes.
Draft Expectations
Considering draft selections in 2017 of UNC’s Ryan Switzer (to the Dallas Cowboys) in the 4th round and Louisiana Tech’s Trent Taylor (to the 49ers), some might say that Isabella’s name might not be called until the draft’s third day.
However, these two wideouts, though both 5-foot-8 like Isabella, did not quite boast Isabella’s standout college credentials. It’s easy to compare Isabella to the gritty Julian Edelman and many would like to think that Bill Belichick is eyeing the in-state college football star, but that is certainly not a given considering the Patriots’ needs and the mechanisms of 32 teams on draft day.
Look for Isabella to be chosen higher than his stature might suggest in a selection that reflects a moving NFL trend toward multiple receiver sets and high-octane passing offenses.