Jahan Dotson, WR, Penn State, 5-10.5, 170, 4.35, SR … Fourth-year senior leaves Happy Valley as one of the school’s all-time leading receivers highlighted by a 2021 season in which he had 91 catches for almost 1,200 yards and 12 TDs. In the process, he made several All-America teams and was a semi-finalist for both the Biletnikoff and Walter Camp POY awards. Really talented receiver who can make plays at all three levels. Checks off all the boxes pretty well, except for one. And that’s the fact that he isn’t all that big or physical and can struggle to beat press coverage at the line of scrimmage. Otherwise he’s fast – he was a state level track star in high school – with the speed and acceleration to get deep; he’s quick, has good balance and body control; has great hands and will make the tough catch in traffic; runs crisp routes and understands how to get open; is dangerous with the ball in his hands after the catch and is also a quality punt returner; and despite being undersized is a tough, competitive kid who will block. Bottom line: Put this kid in a bigger frame and we’re talking a potential top ten prospect. He’s a complete receiver who can both get open underneath as well as make plays over the top, but the questions about his lack of prototype size will likely push him down into the latter part of the opening round.
Skyy Moore, WR, Western Michigan, 5-9.5, 195, 4.35, JR … Rising third-year junior was an option QB and defensive back in high school who was actually named both offensive and defensive POY in his conference as a senior. Switched to WR when he arrived at WMU and made an immediate impact catching 51 passes as a true frosh when he was named to the All-MAC first team, but then really blossomed this past season when he had 94 receptions for almost 1,300 yards and 10 TDs. He isn’t all that big; in fact, he looks more like a smallish scatback than a prototype WR, but he is solidly built, especially thru the lower-body, and can break tackles in space. He will also struggle at getting off the line of scrimmage against tight press coverage. Also, because he’s only played the position for three years and worked mainly in an option offense where he wasn’t asked to run a lot of sophisticated patterns, his route-running isn’t all that refined as he will round off breaks. When he gets in space, though, he’s a blur with a projected 40 time in the low 4.3-range. He also quick and agile, tracks the ball well, and has great hands. He’s also versatile in that he can play on both the outside and in the slot and can make plays both on underneath gadget routes and in the vertical game. Bottom line: Intriguing non-Power 5 prospect that is just starting to really pick up the nuances of the position and who will be downgraded because of his lack of prototype size and the fact that he didn’t face a lot of top-quality competition in college on a weekly basis. However, he has some real tools including elite speed, quickness, great hands and top-end competitiveness.
John Metchie, WR, Alabama, 5-11.5, 187, 4.45, JR … Third-year junior is arguably the best Canadian prospect in the draft, although his immediate future for 2022 is clouded by the fact that he tore an ACL in the SEC championship game in December and likely won’t be ready for the start of the season. Metchie is a good all-around receiver who had 96 catches for almost 1,200 yards and 8 TDs this fall before being injured. He has adequate size, although he isn’t necessarily the most physical receiver out there, especially when working in traffic; he also has quite short (30.5″) arms. However, he has good speed and quickness, runs decent routes, has good hands, as well as something of a burst after the catch. He’s also a very versatile receiver who can fill a number of roles at all three levels depending on what his team needs. However, he doesn’t really excel in any particular phase of the game. He has decent speed, for example, but it’s not elite track speed and while he can get deep, is still probably better suited to fill an underneath possession receiver role. Bottom line: Solid, all-around receiver who doesn’t have many holes in his game, but doesn’t excel in any area either, meaning that he is probably going to be better suited to be a complimentary guy rather than a featured #1 target. And that may very well have knocked him out of the first round even before the injury cast further doubt on his final grade.
George Pickens, WR, Georgia, 6-2.5, 195, 4.45, JR … Third-year junior was a blue chip recruit from Hoover, Alabama, which is just down the road from Tuscaloosa, but somehow ended up at Georgia. Looked like a possible top ten pick after two solid years with the Bulldogs, but tore an ACL in spring practice last year and barely played this season, ultimately making just 5 receptions in 4 games, although two of the four were big plays, including a critical 52-yard gain early in UGA’s national championship win over Alabama. Has good size, length and play strength; he’s also a long-strider with good speed who tracks the ball well and has a second gear when it’s in the air. He also has a pretty good competitive intensity and will win his share of contested throws. He also has good hands with a wide catch radius and consistently makes grabs from all angles. Needs to polish his route-running as he doesn’t come out of his breaks all that crisply, but he does have a burst after the catch and can make people miss in space. Bottom line: If healthy, is a big-play vertical threat with prototype size, speed, concentration and acceleration, but lacks the overall refinement to figure as more than an outside-only wide receiver in the NFL. If healthy is the operative word, though, which could have him going anywhere from the middle of the second round based on his pre-injury talent base, to right off some team’s boards altogether because of the injury red-flag.
Calvin Austin, WR, Memphis, 5-7, 170, 4.30, SR … Fifth-year senior was a track star who walked onto the football team which may be the last time he actually walked anywhere near a football field as he could very well be the fastest guy in the 2022 draft with a projected 40 time under 4.30 seconds. However, while he may be the fastest player in Indy this week, he may also be the smallest at barely 5-8, 173. And with that smaller size comes some of the usual issues for smaller receivers in that Austin is going to catch a whole lot of slants and he will struggle to beat the jam at the line of scrimmage. Although if a DB hopes to get his hands on him, he’d better be quick because despite his size, Austin is electric. He’s extremely quick and agile, has excellent balance and body control, has soft hands, runs decent routes and is explosive with the ball in his hands. In fact, he has also been an effective punt returner at Memphis. Bottom line: Undersized, but uniquely talented receiver with speed and quickness you just can’t teach. Again, he’s not going to be a go-to #1 type target, but in the right system with a creative coordinator prepared to find ways to get the ball in his hands, he will be fun to watch and no fun to defend.
