Wisconsin Football Lands Transfer Receiver From Power 4 Program

The addition of Griffin, a former four-star recruit with two seasons of eligibility left, bolsters the depth and experience of the Wisconsin football team’s receiver room heading into 2024.

Wisconsin Football Adds Joseph Griffin to WR Room 

In Griffin, the Wisconsin football program is gaining a 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver from Massachusetts with 955 career snaps under his belt at the Power 4 level. He played for now Green Bay Packers defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley.

Griffin registered 18 catches for 234 yards and five touchdowns as a true freshman and tacked on another 25 grabs on 55 targets for 345 yards and one score as a sophomore. Notably, Griffin didn’t drop a single pass during his freshman year and has a career drop percentage of just 6.5%. For reference, Bryson Green was the only Badgers receiver with a drop percentage lower (5.7%). 

By more-telling metrics, Griffin had an impressive EPA per pass of 1.002, per College Football Data. That would have been the second-highest among Badgers wideouts with at least 100 routes run.

It’s worth noting that Griffin’s ADOT of 14.9 would have been the highest among Wisconsin’s receiver room in 2023. His addition illustrates the staff’s desire to push the field downfield.

According to Pro Football Focus, Griffin earned an offensive grade of 58.7 last season, which falls within the average range according to their metric, and a 65.0 (above average) in 2022.

On film, Griffin looks like a big-bodied wideout capable of making tough catches across the middle, with enough strength to break tackles.

He could be an asset in the air raid on quick hitters, adding some much-needed physicality and toughness to the offense. In my opinion, Griffin’s skill set perfectly complements the receivers Wisconsin football already has while giving Badgers quarterbacks another red-zone threat who can win 50-50 balls.

When you step back and consider that Luke Fickell and company replaced what used to be Tommy McIntosh’s spot before he entered the portal — and used that scholarship to bring in a player who projects to be an asset — this feels like a considerable upgrade for the Badgers. 

Griffin joins a Wisconsin football receiver room led by Kenny Guiton. He will compete with players like Bryson Green, Vinny Anthony II, CJ Williams, Quincy Burroughs, and Tyrell Henry, who took first- and second-team reps this spring, for a spot in the Badgers two-deep this fall.