2023 NFL draft: Princeton WR Andrei Iosivas a name to watch for Chargers

The Chargers have the need for speed this upcoming offseason.

It’s no secret that the Chargers need speed at wide receiver. Justin Herbert’s average depth of target this season is a career-low 6.4, nearly a yard and a half lower than any other season of his career. Even with speedster Jalen Guyton in the lineup before he tore his ACL in Week 3, defenses were able to key in on the deep shot or quick pass: three of his four targets in 2022 came more than 20 yards down the field, and 34 of his 46 targets last season came either 20+ yards downfield or within 9 yards of the line of scrimmage.

Oh, and every other wide receiver on the team has also been injured at some point this season.

In short, LA needs to find another speedster to unlock their own creativity. Preferably, they’d have the jets to burn DBs while still possessing the ability to win at intermediate levels of the field.

Why not get creative in pursuing creativity?

Meet Andrei Iosivas:

Princeton is, admittedly, not an NFL hotbed. While the Ivy League school has produced 36 NFL players dating back an entire century, only four Tigers have been drafted since 2001. In fact, Princeton has never had a wide receiver drafted. The closest they’ve gotten are a tight end (Seth DeValve in 2016) and three running backs (Cosmo Iacavazzi in 1965, Hank Bjorklund in 1972, and Judd Garrett in 1990).

But Iosivas is different for one key reason: speed. The Hawaiian senior also competes for Princeton’s track team as a heptathlete, finishing fourth at the NCAA Indoor Championships last season after setting a meet record in the 60 meters with a time of 6.71 seconds. Iosivas is a decorated track athlete: he’s won Ivy League Most Outstanding Field Performer twice and was named an All-American in the heptathlon last season.

Oh, and in case you’re curious: a 6.71 60-meter dash translates to about a 4.22 40, which would tie John Ross’ combine record.

Iosivas isn’t just a straight-line burner, however. The senior has flashes of brilliance, making catches outside his frame:

Tracking the ball downfield for contested catches also presents little to no issue:

This is because Iosivas is 6-foot-3 and 200 pound. Consider that wide receivers who have run 4.3 or faster since 1999 are, on average, 5’11” and 186 pounds. Of the 16 receivers in that group, only Breshad Perriman and Darrius Heyward-Bey tipped the scales over 200 pounds. Both were first-round picks. Iosivas also boasts a vertical jump of 39 inches, higher than all but three members of this speedy group: Henry Ruggs III, Mike Wallace, and Mike Thomas.

Iosivas has already been visited by nearly 30 NFL teams on Princeton’s campus, so he’s no sleeper around the league, even if this is the first you’re hearing of him. Dane Brugler of The Athletic reported in October that scouts everywhere are bullish on Iosivas’ potential once football is his full-time focus, rather than pausing his football regimen to focus on track in winter and spring.

Whether you want to manufacture touches for Iosivas at the line, hit him on crossing routes over the middle, or hit the deep shot, the senior has shown he can win at every level – albeit against Ivy League competition. As of right now, I’d expect him to be a Day 2 pick, making him an exciting option for the Chargers if they miss out on a top target earlier in the draft.

However, Iosivas has accepted a Senior Bowl invite. If he shows the same level of ability he did at Princeton against the best of the best in Mobile, there’s no reason to think he can’t become the Tigers’ highest-drafted player since kicker Charlie Gogolak went in the first round in 1966. I thought Patriots rookie speedster Tyquan Thornton would be available much later than the second round, which is where New England ended up taking him after he ran a 4.28 and performed well at the Shrine Bowl. Who’s to say Iosivas won’t end up on the same path?

We won’t have those answers until late April, but one thing is clear this early in the process: Iosivas is not someone to sleep on.