Day 5: Kayshon Boutte

 

Prospect of the day!

Day 5: Kayshon Boutte

Position: Wide Receiver

College: Louisiana State University

Projected Draft Class: 2023

Projected Draft Round: 1-2

Height: 6'0"

Weight: 185

BMI: 25.1

Pro Comparison: Will Fuller V

My thoughts on WR Kayshon Boutte:

Kayshon Boutte absolutely showed out as a freshman for LSU in 2020. Initially starting behind Terrace Marshall Jr., Boutte managed to work him way up the depth chart and assert himself as the WR1 for the team, racking up 19.5% of the target share, and turning that into 740 yds with 7 tds, at 16.5 yds per catch.

As a freshman, he displayed great hands, keeping the ball away from his body in tough catches. His reception % may seem low, but some QB play did have some to do with this. Between the three QBs who played for LSU in the 2020 season, 42% of their passes were deemed inaccurate and 19% of passes were deemed uncatchable; alleviating some of my concerns. He has excellent vertical speed, getting to the next level very quickly, and often gains large amount of separation. His after the catch ability is insane, with nearly 50% of his yards coming after the catch in 2020.

There are some concerns to be watched, though. Firstly is his size. Kayshon has a smaller frame and smaller than average catch radius. His excellent body control detracts from concerns over his frame, but doesn't alleviate concerns entirely. His routes could also use some work over his next two years at LSU. Some seemed lazy, though he already has a decent route tree. Finally, he had 7 drops over the course of his freshman season.

Overall, Boutte has shown athleticism and talent at a level that's exciting to see at such a young age vs. high levels of competition (played only 10 games this season, all vs. SEC opponents). I expect to see him continue to bulk at a natural progression (has gone from 180 -> 185 through his freshman year) and also hone his route tree. Watch for him to work on drops. As long as he can get over his drop issue over the next two years, I definitely see him being a 1st round pick in the NFL Draft of 2023.

See For Yourself:

LSU Catcher Stats from SECStatCats

Kayshon Boutte on ESPN

Kayshon Boutte highlights from JLP Productions on YouTube

Kayshon Boutte highlights from Hudl on YouTube

Day 4: Zach Wilson vs. Justin Fields

 

 Prospect of the day!

Day #4: Justin Fields vs. Zach Wilson

Position: Quarterbacks

College: the Ohio State University / Brigham Young University

Projected Draft Class: 2021 (confirmed)

Projected Draft Round: First (top 4, both)

Height: 6’3” (both)

Weight: 227 / 209

BMI: 28.4 / 26.1

Pro Comparison: Dak Prescott / Deshaun Watson

 

My thoughts on Justin Fields/Zach Wilson:

Where to start on QBs that have been covered ad nauseum. I do not want to hammer on the points that have already been driven into you about Justin Fields and Zach Wilson, but rather compare them to one another as the consensus QB 2a and 2b.

 

Arms:

Both have absolute cannons, so no knock on either prospect arm strength wise. Justin fields has consistently shown a stronger arm than that of Zach Wilson. Again, Zach Wilson has a massive arm, but Fields often manages to get balls further down field than Wilson. However, Wilson has shown himself to have a higher level of arm talent than Fields. Fields makes throws that are more technically sound and more NFL ready. Occasionally, Fields makes throws that are flatter than would be expected and turnover prone. However, these I don’t see these issues as major red flags or anything that expert coaching couldn’t solve.

 

Athletic Ability:

Another area where both prospects have major ability. Fields clearly takes the edge here, though. In this past year, Justin Fields averaged 4.7 yards per carry, where Zach Wilson averaged 3.6. The variance between the two stems from several different sources. Firstly, Fields is just a better runner. O-line play doesn’t come in as a factor much, as (according to PFF) BYU’s O-Line ranked 2^nd in the country and OSU’s ranked 12^th, without a ton of space between them. The primary discrepancies stem from two sources: designed QB runs, and time to runs. Ohio State drew up far more designed QB runs over the 2020 season than BYU did. Of course, this is largely due to Field’s athletic ability, but it does play a large role in the YPC discrepancy. Finally, reads leading to time-to-run. Fields has a knack for only going to his first read. This meant that he more frequently made the decision to scramble as it was often his second option upon seeing his first read was locked up.

 

Vision and Reads:

This is the biggest difference between the two quarterbacks for me. Justin Fields tends to lock onto his first read and often ignore third or even second reads that can be wide open. This is obvious as OSU has elite receivers, backs, and an excellent receiving tight end as well, who all often find themselves left hanging and waiting for the ball. In my opinion, if he did not have his legs to back him up, his TD/Int ratio would look much different. On the flipside, Wilson makes NFL-level reads; quickly scanning and re-scanning his receivers down the field. He is incredibly confident in his ability as well. However, I saw a few plays where this could have led to issues. On one play, he got a little cute and made a no-look shovel pass in his own red zone. This pass bounced off the defensive end’s body and could have easily been a stupid pick-six, but luckily enough, his running back caught it and made the first down.

 

Conclusion:

With both of our QBs, they have small tweaks that need to be made in the NFL, but nothing that sitting behind a veteran through training camp and most of an NFL season will not fix. I do not buy in to the ‘OSU QBs can’t succeed’ narrative, either. I think that both players will be franchise quarterbacks in the NFL, given proper coaching, and can see both becoming perennial pro-bowlers. For the time being, I have to give the edge to Zach Wilson. I think he possesses a higher ceiling than that of Justin Fields and I also believe that he is at a more NFL-ready level currently.

 

See For Yourself:

PFF 2020 CFB O-Line Ranking

Justin Fields analysis from The QB School on YouTube

Zach Wilson analysis from The QB School on YouTube

Justin Fields vs Nebraska from kielpro88 on YouTube

Zach Wilson vs UTSA from kielpro88 on YouTube

Justin Fields on ESPN

Zach Wilson on ESPN

Day 3: Tank Bigsby

 

 Prospect of the day!

Day 3: Cartavious ‘Tank’ Bigsby

Position: Running Back

College: Auburn

Projected Draft Class: 2023

Projected Draft Round: 2-3

Height: 6’0”

Weight: 204

BMI: 27.7

Pro Comparison: Le’Veon Bell

 

My thoughts on Tank Bigsby:

Burst onto the scene as a freshman during the 2020 season at Auburn University. He rushed for 834 yds at a massive 6.0 yards per carry on an Auburn Offense that struggled all year, with an offensive line that was sub-par. This came entirely against SEC defenses. 

During his freshman season, Tank Bigsby delivered on his name; running fast and fierce, but smart as well. He was able to quickly identify holes, when they existed, and move his body into position to accelerate through them. He also demonstrated strength, using some pretty gnarly stiff arms and averaging a solid 3.51 yards after contact.

Unfortunately, the Auburn offense this season was quite vanilla and puttered through the year. Tank ran very few routes and was featured in few designated pass plays to him. Tank managed to pull in 11/13 of his targets, an impressive 85%, but certainly not enough to go on. There is great hope that the new coaching staff brings Bigsby more opportunity to shine, though. 

 

See For Yourself:

Tank Bigsby on Auburn University

Tank Bigsby on ESPN

Highlights brought to you by Chris Lee on YouTube

Day 2: Sincere McCormick

 Prospect of the day!

Day 2: Sincere McCormick

Position: Running Back

College: University of Texas at San Antonio

Projected Draft Class: 2022

Projected Draft Round: 3-5

Height: 5'9" - 175cm

Weight: 200lbs - 91kg

BMI: 29.5

Pro Comparison: Aaron Jones

My thoughts on Sincere McCormick:

Ran for 963 yds at 5.6 yards per carry in his freshman year and a whopping 1,467 yds at 5.6 yds per carry in 2020, his sophomore season. Showed good hands in an offense that didn't largely feature him as a receiver, pulling in 24 and 20 receptions in his two seasons thus far. For his height, he runs with serious power and aggression. On top of that, he can get into traffic and shift on the drop of the dime.

Needs to work on his blocking, and I'd like to see him featured more in the receiving game going into what projects to be his last season at UTSA. He's really quick too, and takes off as soon as he grabs the ball. 

See For Yourself:

Sincere McCormick on ESPN

Sincere McCormick on UTSA

Highlights brought to you by The Breakshot on YouTube

Day 1: Warren Jackson

Prospect of the day!

Day 1: Warren Jackson

Position: Wide Receiver

College: Colorado State University

Projected Draft Class: 2021

Projected Draft Round: 5-6

Height: 6'6" - 198cm

Weight: 220lbs - 100kg

BMI: 25.4

Pro Comparison: Allen Lazard

My thoughts on Warren Jackson:

Warren Jackson is a monster, standing at 6'6" and 219 pounds. In 2019, he put up 1,119 receiving yards and 8 TDs on 77 receptions. 2019 was his last year at CSU as he decided to sit out the 2020 season due to COVID and declare for the NFL draft.

He makes terrific pure hand-catches that don't require use of his body to secure the ball. The combination of his technique with his size, catch radius, vertical ability, and NFL-caliber hands make him a monster catch-in-traffic target.
Unfortunately, his route tree is underdeveloped, but that is something that could be worked on over time.

Though I don't expect Warren Jackson to be drafted until Day 3 of the NFL draft, expect him to quickly work his way up the roster wherever he lands as a goal-line target.

See For Yourself:

His Profile on CSU's Website

Highlights brought to you by Stadium on YouTube