WR LEONTE CARROO, RUTGERS

6’1” – 215 lbs. – 4.45e

Team captain. Appeared in a special-teams capacity as a freshman, then started three games the following season, leading the team in touchdowns. Took over the full-time starting job as a junior, a role which he reprised as a senior (although he missed four games due to injury.) Not particularly tall, with average arm length but a relatively thick, leggy build and good musculature. Lines up all over the field for the Scarlet Knights; primarily out wide and tight to the formation, but occasionally in the slot. Was his quarterback’s primary read on a surprisingly infrequent basis for a prospect as highly regarded as he is; not much of a “volume” receiver who the team feeds the ball throughout the game. Has a pretty diverse route tree, working primarily at the short and intermediate levels, in that order of frequency. Runs a lot of shallow crossing routes, especially when lined up tight. Doesn’t always gain a lot of separation during his routes, but has build-up speed once he’s got the ball in his hands; was also a productive deep threat at the college level, averaging over twenty yards per catch in his last two seasons combined. Has some shake and toughness after the catch. Tends to try and trap throws against his body rather than catching them away from his frame; lets some throws bounce off his pads. Not very natural with his hands, but might be able to drop some of his bad habits with coaching. Struggles to come away with catches in traffic, which may be a problem given his relative lack of separation; however, shows toughness to hang on through contact. That said, is a pretty good leaper who was frequently employed as a red-zone threat, especially given his above-average height. Doesn’t improvise much against zone coverage. Not a very good blocker; gives some effort, but doesn’t take great angles when stalking defensive backs, and struggles to place his hands. May be a more attractive prospect on paper than he is on the field; has a desirable combination of height, weight, and speed, but didn’t always convey the impression that he was difficult to handle from a size or speed perspective during film review. Then again, production may have suffered by playing in an offense in which his quarterback wasn’t looking his way particularly often. Will need to test well in order to have a shot at going on the draft’s second day, especially given the dip in production he suffered as a senior due to injuries. Previous special-teams contributions may offer him an early route onto the field; so will having been asked to do some different things in a pro-style offense.

Games watched: Ohio St. (’14), Washington St. (’14), Indiana (’15)