6’3 – 215 lbs. – 4.72
High-school quarterback who caught fourteen passes as a freshman, then saw his production jump to 50-480-7 (14.5) the following year. Sustained a wrist injury in the opener of the following year and ended up being dismissed from the team while redshirting, following a rant directed against the team’s coaching staff. Came back the following year to post 30-438-3 (14.6), then had his best year as a senior, going 59-969-8 (16.4). Big, well-built receiver who takes snaps both inside and outside; was actually more commonly utilized as a big slot receiver during the games reviewed. For a receiver with his type of yards-per-catch numbers, actually ran a lot of his routes within ten yards of the line of scrimmage, mainly consisting of some short hitches, drags, out routes, screens, and the occasional outside-inside double-move; tree itself was pretty simple, although you can see some attention to detail as he works his way through them. Adds some window dressing at the route stem, with pretty good footwork, sinking his hips into the break. Usage may end up being pretty similar at the pro level because of his poor timed speed, although he doesn’t look too slow on tape and would occasionally be sent down the seams from the slot or on a post pattern from a split end alignment. Has some ability to leverage his frame to shield defenders from the ball, and although he’s not a great leaper, his size still presents quarterbacks with a big target, although he was guilty of a focus drop during the review. Battering ram who is one of the most difficult receivers to tackle in this year’s draft class. Has good vision and relatively impressive agility to weave through traffic, accelerating smoothly and being a load to bring down when he gets a head of steam. Capable of taking would-be tacklers for a ride or bouncing off of their attempts, picking up yardage after contact on seemingly every catch. Blocking leaves a lot to be desired; for a player who is so physical after the catch, looks pretty soft in the run game, and at times can go through several attempts without so much as extending his arms. Has the type of size and frame to become a good blocker and does flash some physicality at times, but his inconsistent effort and poor technique are glaring issues. A big, hard-charging receiver who had been building some momentum leading up to the Combine, but tested very poorly and it’s looking like he’ll be a third-day pick at the earliest, or potentially even an undrafted free agent if he isn’t able to assuage concerns about his character during pre-draft interviews.
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