One of the top wide receiver prospects in the 2026 NFL Draft is Arizona State’s Jordyn Tyson. He is one of the most intriguing receiver draft prospects in this year’s draft, not only from a production standpoint, but also from an injury aspect. 

After starting his career at Colorado, a significant injury and coaching change led him to transfer to Arizona State, where he broke out for 75 receptions,  1,101 yards, and 10 touchdowns in 2024. He followed up his 2025 season with 61 receptions for 711 yards and 9 total touchdowns. This is despite missing time due to various injuries. 

Wide receiver is a strong need for the Buffalo Bills as they look to reshape the offense in Joe Brady’s vision. Tyson will be a weapon at the next level for any team, but will the Bills take him at pick 26 or look to move up if he begins to fall into the second round? Will he even be a target for the Bills?

Read below for his full injury history and analysis.

Injury History 

2022 Colorado – Left Knee ACL, MCL, PCL tear, vs Oregon missed last three games of season. 

2023 Arizona State – Missed the first nine games of season as he rehabbed, played last three games, appeared in against Utah, UCLA, Arizona, and did not record any stats.

2024 Arizona State– Left collarbone fracture, missed two games

2025 Arizona State – Low ankle sprain, missed part of spring practice.

2025 Arizona State – Hamstring strain, both sides, vs Texas Tech, Arizona, missed three games. Opted out of bowl game.

2026 Arizona State – Hamstring strain, missed Pro Day. 

Jordyn Tyson Injury Analysis

Over the course of four seasons, Jordyn Tyson missed a total of 17 games due to injury. Tyson has demonstrated incredible production over the course of his career, with the bulk of it coming at Arizona State. But Tyson’s inability to avoid the training room may impact his availability at the next level. Looking at all of Tyson’s injuries, there are varying levels of concern. 

No Concern

The two injuries that don’t have any lingering concerns are the collarbone fracture that cost him two games at the end of 2024, and his ankle sprain the following spring. 

His collarbone fracture cost him two of the most important games of the 2024 season, missing the Big 12 Championship and the College Football playoff loss to Texas. He underwent surgery to repair the bone and rehabbed until the spring. There are no lasting performance or production deficits, and with a plate healed to the bone, there is a reduced risk of fracturing the area in the future. 

Once he was cleared and got into spring ball, he rolled his ankle early during the spring session and appeared to miss about a week. There isn’t a lot of information, but what is available indicates that this is a garden-variety ankle sprain that would have likely caused Tyson to miss at most one game had it occurred during the season. 

Moderate Concern

Knee Injury

Tyson’s multi-ligament knee injury can’t and shouldn’t be ignored when it comes to discussing his draft prospects. He tore three out of the four ligaments in his knee, which cost him a full year of football before he could return. 

Anatomy 

The ACL is a ligament that connects the tibia to the femur and runs from medial to lateral — or from inside to outside — acting as a stabilizer in the knee to prevent the femur from shifting too far forward over the tibia during movement. It also assists in preventing hyperextension in the knee. When the knee is loaded during activity, such as cutting and sudden stops, the ACL is designed to keep the knee stable, but in the presence of injury, the ligament is overloaded, which either stretches and partially tears or fully tears, depending on the activity. 

The PCL or posterior collateral ligament is the ligament stabilizing the knee from going backwards and crosses the ACL. Finally, the MCL acts as the medial stabilizer of the knee. 

While most of the time, ACL tears are non-contact at a rate of roughly 70 percent. In Tyson’s case, the mechanism for Tyson was a direct blow to his knee, placing him in the classic valgus position of the knee that we see with an ACL tear, but due to the low hit outside, the excess force injured the PCL along the MCL, leading to the multi-ligament injury. 

Credit: YouTube 

Football players who have an ACL + PCL/LCL tear return at just 55.6 percent in the NFL and take on average 459.2 +/-245.1 days to return to play. Tyson managed to return in 364 days, according to his game log. Furthermore, only 18.5 percent return to their prior level of performance with the multi-ligament damage compared to 43.5 percent for ACL/MCL. He appeared to be part of the less than 20 percent that returned with his 2024 production.

Following an ACL tear, there is a chance for articular cartilage damage and chondral lesions, but if surgery happens quickly, then the risk is under 10 percent for future complications. There is the possibility that he still had a chondral lesion or cartilage damage at the time of injury that was not reported. At a 10-year follow-up, there are radiographic signs of arthritis in 53.5 percent of patients. However, those subjects had cartilage lesions or meniscectomies in their history. We simply don’t know if Tyson had any associated damage, which means it’s unknown if this knee will be an issue moving forward. 

Hamstring Injury

Anatomy 

The hamstrings are made up of three muscles in the back of the thigh, consisting of the biceps femoris on the outside and the semimembranosus and semitendinosus on the inside. Together, these three muscles attach to parts of the upper femur and the bottom of the hip, which is called the ischial tuberosity.

At the other end, they connect to the top of the tibia and fibula, which are the lower leg bones. Due to the muscles crossing over two joints, they have different functions based on hip or knee position. Together, these muscles allow the leg to extend and drive the body forward, along with bending the knee. They also assist with medially rotating the leg when the knee is bent.

Risk Factors & Cause

Risk factors for injuring the hamstring include older age, previous hamstring injury, tight hip flexors, tight hamstrings, poor core stability, and previous knee injury, among others, contributing to a hamstring strain. During times of injury, the muscle can be overworked, overstretched, or fatigued, leading to part of the muscle tearing, also known as a strain. 

These types of injuries occur when an athlete suddenly tries to decelerate and change direction, hurdling a player or trying to push their body faster and faster. This can also occur during blocking, trying to maintain their ground as they’re being pushed forward and backward. Eventually, the muscle gives out, causing the injury. 

The eccentric contraction of the muscle, where the muscle lengthens under load, is a common reason for the strain to occur in the above-mentioned mechanisms. The most commonly injured hamstring muscle is the biceps femoris when referring to strains in the area.

Severity Grades

Grade 1 tears are the least severe, in which a small portion of the muscle tears during excessive activity. This can heal up rather quickly with several days of rest, stretching, and light exercise can remedy the muscle. These can last one to two weeks before returning to unrestricted play.

A Grade 2 hamstring tear is where a moderate portion of the muscle tears with a greater force, leading the player to limp and be unable to properly use the affected leg as intended. 

Typically, there is greater bruising and swelling with initial difficulty placing weight, keeping the athlete off it for some time. Bruising, poor functional control, and tenderness may occur during this time, which could cause the athlete to miss anywhere from four to eight weeks before they are back to playing shape. 

Looking at the injury further, wide receivers make up 20.8 percent of all hamstring injuries, only second to defensive backs. Incidence of overall recurrence after initial hamstring injury can vary greatly, but several studies range from placing the risk at around 30-38 percent. Going further, there is a 38.4 percent chance that he suffers another one in the next three seasons. Risk factors for same-season re-injury are fewer weeks with return-to-play and suffering an in-game injury, which stands at just shy of 12% occurrence. 

With players trying to achieve a quick return to play, the week-to-week injury recurrence rate is highest when the player returns within two weeks (13.4%) of the original injury, and the risk for further injury lasts for up to 12 months. 

However, there was a five-week gap between when he suffered his original left-sided injury against Texas Tech. He missed three games before he hurt his right hamstring against Arizona. 

As he trained for the NFL Combine, he sat out as he was still recovering from his previous injury. At some point, he re-injured the hamstring while training and missed Arizona State’s pro day on March 27, a month after the Combine. He healed enough to be ready for his private workout on April 17 with 20 teams in attendance. 

He showed that he was finally healthy, which is promising for his draft prospects. 

Buffalo Bills Outlook

Looking at all the injuries together, there is concern about his future. He’s a very draftable player who can produce against the best competition. 

Would Buffalo draft him? History says no. Since 2018, have never drafted a player with his type of injury history in the first two rounds. Besides fractures that have cost previous draft picks time, they have not selected anyone with an ACL tear or extensive soft tissue injuries in the first two rounds. 

Some of these injuries are bad luck and have no impact on his future, like the ankle and collarbone. His knee could be degenerative, though that is speculative, and his hamstrings may continue to give him issues as he transitions to the NFL. The Bills have much more information than the public does, which will guide their decision-making. 

If Tyson begins to fall, he could be available for Buffalo at 26. I like the talent, but I’m concerned about his body holding up at the next level. He reminds me of Treylon Burks and Quentin Johnston. Both very talented receivers coming out of college and first-round selections, but they continued to deal with injuries throughout their NFL career. 

With how Tyson looked at his workout, someone will fall in love with him, especially if they need immediate results. If I were the Bills, I wouldn’t trade up to get him. If he fell to them, I’d be open to the idea, but those medicals must be pristine, and even then, I’d be concerned he’d miss more time once he gets into camp. We’ve seen how this fan base reacts when top players like Kincaid, Hairston, and others aren’t available. 

I hope Jordyn Tyson has a bright future, but he will either be selected before the Bills pick or they pick a healthier player if he falls. He could be a target if he falls to the second round, but I don’t think he’ll even make it that far.