Isaiah
Hodgins.
Isaiah
Hodgins.
Oregon St.· 6'4"· 210 lb· 4.61s 40
"A big-handed possession X who won with his frame and catch radius, not speed; the tape promised red-zone value, and the 4.61 forty explained why he fell to Day 3."Pre-draft read
Hodgins is a long, big-bodied outside receiver who wins the ball at the catch point rather than with pure separation. He aligns mostly at X or Z, releases with a controlled stem, uses his frame to shield defenders on slants and comebacks, and plucks the ball away from his body with large, reliable hands, including on contested throws down the sideline.
His secondary trait is body control: he tracks deep balls well, adjusts to throws behind him and toe-taps the boundary with real awareness. He is a willing, physical run blocker on the perimeter. He lacks a second gear and does not create much after the catch, so his value comes from winning above and through defenders.
West Coast timing offense with play-action shots that uses its X receiver on back-shoulder throws, slants and red-zone fades.
Year 1: No. 5 receiver and red-zone package target. Ceiling: rotational No. 3 possession receiver who starts in two-receiver sets.
Vertical spread offense that needs its outside receivers to win with speed and separation on go routes and deep crossers.
His value always depended on a quarterback willing to throw him open in tight windows.
Isaiah Hodgins 2019 Oregon State Highlights
His breakout 2019 junior season at Oregon State, including contested catches and red-zone scores.
NFL Draft Highlights: Oregon State receiver Isaiah Hodgins
Pre-draft highlight reel of his catch radius, body control and sideline work for the Beavers.
NEW YORK GIANTS | Isaiah Hodgins Touchdown Catch
A touchdown catch from his run as a Giants starter after being claimed off waivers from Buffalo.
Hodgins projected as a possession X receiver whose game was built on catch radius and hands rather than speed. Teams were buying a red-zone and third-down target who could win contested throws and grow into a reliable No. 3 or No. 4 option if his route detail kept improving.
He was a three-year contributor at Oregon State and broke out as a junior in 2019, leading the Pac-12 with 13 touchdown catches and earning AP first-team All-Pac-12 honors and a Biletnikoff semifinal nod. His signature game was a 14-catch, 200-yard day at Nevada in 2018 that tied a school single-game record. The flag was speed: a 4.61 forty at the Combine confirmed he would not stretch NFL defenses vertically.
Boards generally viewed him as a Day 3 prospect because of the testing and his modest separation skills, and he left school a year early. Buffalo took him at No. 207 in the sixth round as a low-cost bet on size, hands and red-zone production, with the hope that coaching could sharpen his routes.
- 01
Reliable hands
Catches the ball away from his frame with big, strong hands and rarely lets contested throws get into his pads or hit the ground.
- 02
Contested-catch skill
Uses his length and frame to box out defenders on back-shoulder throws and wins jump balls at the catch point with timing.
- 03
Red-zone target
Led the Pac-12 with 13 touchdown catches in 2019, winning fades and slants near the goal line where his size creates a window.
- 04
Body control
Adjusts well to poorly placed throws, tracks the deep ball over his shoulder and shows real sideline awareness to finish toe-taps.
- 05
Blocking willingness
Competes as a perimeter run blocker, sustains on stalk blocks and uses his size to seal cornerbacks on outside runs and screens.
- 01
Limited long speed
A 4.61 forty confirmed he lacks a second gear to run past NFL corners, so defenses can press him without much vertical risk.
- 02
Modest separation
Relies on his frame more than route craft and rarely creates clean windows against tight man coverage at the top of routes.
- 03
Little after the catch
Goes down on first contact too often and does not make defenders miss, limiting his value on quick game and screens.
- 04
Thin play strength
Nine bench reps and a lean build showed he can be jammed and rerouted by physical press corners at the line of scrimmage.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.61sp50
- Vertical
- 36.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 124inp50
- Three-cone
- 7.01sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.12sp50
- Bench
- 9repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Oregon State | 11 | 31 | 275 | 2 |
| 2018 | Oregon State | 11 | 59 | 876 | 5 |
| 2019 | Oregon State | 12 | 86 | 1171 | 13 |
| Career | — | 34 | 176 | 2322 | 20 |
Sports-Reference and CollegeFootballData season lines match exactly; seasons sum to the career line of 176 catches, 2,322 yards and 20 TD in 34 games, which matches Oregon State's official draft release. Zero rushing attempts are confirmed by Sports-Reference. Led the Pac-12 with 13 receiving TD in 2019.
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Day 3 possession receiver with reliable hands who starts in spurts but settles into a rotational depth role.
The upside: a strong-handed possession receiver who turns contested catches and physical blocking into a long starting career.
Big-bodied target whose lack of speed and separation eventually limits him to short roster stints.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Hodgins spent his rookie 2020 season on injured reserve in Buffalo and appeared in one game in 2021 after bouncing between the practice squad and the active roster. He played two games for the Bills in 2022 before being released, and the Giants claimed him off waivers in November 2022. He became a starter almost immediately, catching 33 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns in eight games. In 2023 he played all 17 games with 21 catches and three scores, then managed only five appearances across 2024 and 2025 with New York, bouncing to Pittsburgh's practice squad along the way.
In hindsight, the evaluation was accurate: the hands, size and contested-catch skill were real, and the lack of speed capped him as a rotational possession receiver. Through 2025 he had 70 catches for 749 yards and eight touchdowns in 38 games with 19 starts. The Giants released him in August 2026, and Pittsburgh signed him to its practice squad in September 2026, confirming a useful depth player rather than a long-term starter.