Garrett Wilson - Ohio State

Overview:

Strengths:

1. Precise routes / cuts - Excellent at turning defensive backs' hips the wrong way before cutting. Great comeback route, but could sell a forward body lean a bit more before the cut. Can sell false routes in man, and knows how to work a zone.

2. Body control - Strong ability to contort body and make the difficult catch.

3. Sudden release - Great stance and shiftiness at the line.

4. Lateral acceleration - Excellent, and can be elite if he gets a little stronger in the NFL.

Weaknesses:

1. Contact balance - Contact balance appears fine against some college corners, but not against any decent prospects.

2. Average YAC - He can make a man miss, but has little strength through contact.

3. Footwork efficiency - Great short area quickness, but could be more efficient with plant foot on route cuts instead of occasionally dancing. He also stumbles too frequently on cuts, which should be very fixable given his athleticism.

4. Average speed / size - Deep contested catches will not be as successful at the NFL level. He could also get jammed at line against NFL outside corners. While he is not undersized for a slot receiver per say, gaining some weight will help diversify his role in the NFL.

Grade: Mid-Late First

Wilson has elite potential, but he has his work cut out for him. The end of the 2021 season bolstered his draft stock, which proved that he can continue to grow as a player. His current ability would dictate a late first-round grade, but it would be unsurprising if a team took a shot on him in the early-to-mid first due to his clear potential for dominance at the next level.

Film:

Michigan (11/27/2021): 10-119-1

Willing blocker. Knows how to turn the corner's hips the wrong way before inside breaks due to body position and ability to threaten the sideline. Occasionally danced too much instead of single cut acceleration off the line and with the ball. Overall better at five yard breaks than two yard breaks. Clearly lacks top-end speed.

Minnesota (09/02/2021): 5-80-1

Willing blocker. Sits on routes upon completion. Gains deep separation from slot due to working safeties instead of corners. Gets the ball frequently behind the LOS, and does a fine job with it.

Michigan State (11/20/2021): 7-126-2

Knows how to separate if he already has a step on the defender. Decent blocking technique overall. Excellent cuts without too much dancing this game.

Purdue (11/13/2021): 10-126-3 (+51yd TD run)

Willing blocker. Aside from some penalties, very strong game overall. Excellent route running between 5-15 yards out. Great YAC on receptions. Known player weaknesses were not apparent in this game.

Penn State (10/30/2021): 7-82-0

Great between 5-15 yards as always. Can make a man miss in open space, but stumbles unnecessarily. Willing blocker. Ohio State loves using him as a gadget receiver, and he does fine overall. Beats press coverage and jams at the line reliably.

Oregon (09/11/2021): 8-117-1

Occasional false step on stance. Fell down, which would usually not be docked in a scouting report since that happens occasionally to all receivers, but Wilson has made a habit of stumbling. Used speed on deeper routes well. Touchdown was on blown coverage; nothing special happened that play except Wilson committing to the 9-route without unnecessary moves at the line. Wilson could have had a better game with more targets on the fake screens and inside routes. Ohio State seemed to utilize his skillset better later in the season with more tape on him.

Northwestern (12/19/2020): 4-49-0

Willing blocker with poor technique. Played almost exclusively from the slot. More rounded routes overall, breaks are not as clean, and did nothing noteworthy nearly all game besides an impressive fourth quarter sideline catch. Very unimpressive performance, especially after just having watched his 2021 film.

Indiana (11/21/2020): 7-169-2

Decisive cuts on routes of 10+ yards. Excellent sell on block in early third quarter to accelerate into a deep route. A better pass would have resulted in a bigger play. Clean breaks overall, but better at finding the zone in 2021. Solid game with a limited route tree.

Film review ends here. Analyzing more 2020 games or going back to 2019 seems like a waste of time since Wilson clearly took a massive step forward in 2021. He even improved throughout 2021, and is a completely different prospect now than he was in years past despite entering college as a five star prospect.

Notable Film:

Oregon (09/11/21) - 3rd Quarter 7:38 (Second game of the season) vs. Michigan (11/27/21) - 3rd Quarter 11:04 (Last game of regular season)

Wilson is lined up on opposite sides of the field, but that is irrelevant. Corners are in press with parallel feet and comparable postures. Wilson tries to sell the outside on both before cutting back inside. He actually gets the target on both routes, but the Michigan route is cleaner across the board.

First, there is a very slight false step in Oregon game, but that is something Wilson can improve on in every game. Next, in the Oregon game, Wilson plants his outside foot on the fifth step, and derives almost no power from the plant foot causing him to accelerate entirely using his inside foot on the sixth step. This slows down the route, resulting in giving the corner enough time to flip his hips inside and follow the route and make the immediate tackle.

In the Michigan game, Wilson sells the outside lean and hard plants on his fifth step. When he plants the outside foot on the fifth step, the corner steps back with his outside foot to cover the sideline, allowing Wilson to gain an extra step, and gaining three extra yards before first contact with the corner in coverage. These small differences in body position and route precision can make a massive difference at the NFL level.

Coverage:

Press

Wilson can get off of press coverage quite easily with his release if it is then followed by another break within the next 5-10 yards. He can leverage positioning gained from his quick release to use the next cut more effectively.

Jam Response (in Press)

Very good response to college corners. Uses body control and agility to gain separation, but could be slightly more efficient with more overall strength. This could be an issue against outside NFL corners, but his mechanics are sound.

Soft Press

This is where Wilson excels. His quickness allows him to either run right at the defender and throw their balance with a move, or accelerate laterally quickly enough to gain immediate separation and cause the defender's momentum to fall towards the LOS before breaking into a different route. When the DB has parallel feet, Wilson frequently using the same move with a false step one way, followed by a larger step the other way to get the DB to step that foot backwards, then pushes off that leg making the DB flip his hips after stepping back the wrong way. He will switch moves depending on the route, but has a great feel for what to do against soft press.

Squat

Wilson cannot outsprint most corners on a go route from this position. He can get open for chunk gains reliably by cutting soon after the defender turns his hips when he sells the go route hard enough. This coverage type can he difficult if his route is 10+ yards because his deep separation against squat coverage is subpar, along with his lack of size and contested catch ability. He is willing to go up and get physical, but this will not translate to much success at the NFL level.

Off

Wilson is fine against off defenders, but he has room for improvement. While he does not have elite speed, he has plenty of raw speed frequently left underutilized. His breaks are great once he gets there, but threatening a different route at full speed is much more misleading than gliding up to a corner and breaking. He can still turn his opponents' hips, but he has more room to get wide open if he threatens go routes against off coverage with greater conviction.

Inside Zone

Wilson slows down to spend as much time open in zone coverage as possible. He is not overly eager to finish his route, and uses intelligence to find the holes and work them. Very good awareness in 2021 season with regard to where he should be.

Route Distance:

Behind LOS

Ohio State loved getting Wilson the ball behind the LOS. He did well overall, but is no gadget superstar.

0-5 yards

Wilson has incredible moves off the line, but lacks a little pop that could get him more separation. He generally uses this area to gain an advantage before using his route breaks to exploit said advantage, but is rarely wide open in the first five yards. Very few current NFL receivers have this ability, but Wilson has good enough body control to take a step forward and improve his already impressive short distance route running.

5-10 yards

Very distinct moves at this level. Debatably best in class between 5-10 yards out.

10-15 yards

Extremely strong in this range if given time. College corners generally cannot cover him if his route has more than one break after the initial release. Great comeback route in this range as well.

15-20 yards

Back shoulder and difficult low catches are strong, but clearly more limited in options here than between 5-15.

20+ yards

This is the weakest part of Wilson's game. He does not possess the linear speed to reliably gain separation, and lacks physicality and size for contested catches. He is willing to go up for jump balls, just does not frequently win. Undercutting the DB on deep routes is also rarely observed, albeit the opportunity did not frequently present itself at Ohio State.

Blocking:

Willingness

Extremely willing blocker. Frequently makes key blocks on screens and outside runs.

Technique

Posture is subpar. Does not think about base. Frequently pushes outside shoulder with one hand while punching the other up in the upper chest area to get the defender to rotate the opposite direction or fight through it. It does the job verses most corners, and he usually maintains balance, so overall above average blocking technique for a college receiver who likely has not been taught as much technique as he will learn in the NFL.

Attributes:

Attributes		Grade (/10)	Notes
Separation	Short	8	Excellent release, but could still be more explosive off of the inside foot on short slants. Comfortable catching the ball behind the LOS with the footwork to prove it.
	Medium	9	Elite separation between 5-15 yards due to sudden route breaks. Selling moves with the upper body along with hip fluidity allows Wilson to gain a step reliably. He can make this a 10/10 if he corrects his stumbling issues, sells deep routes harder with the upper body, and gains lower body power.
	Deep	5.5	Clean cuts when given time, but this is the weakest part of Wilson's game. He has the opportunity to improve in this area, but it will be difficult with a clear current lack of size and speed.
Release	Stance	7.5	No drop step, but an occasional false step. Stance is overall solid, and the false step can be fixed easily with proper coaching. It likely has more to do with posture and weight distribution from muscle memory than anything too significant otherwise.
	Acceleration	8.5	Fantastic initial acceleration from the first real step, but the power behind the second step can still improve.
	Hip Control	9	Body shiftiness and hip control at the line may be Wilson's best attributes.
Hands	Catch Reliability	8	Better overall in 2021, but room for improvement still. I do not give much merit to hands in scouting reports because drops can generally be fixed unless it has been completely detrimental to college production, which it has not.
Hands	Catch Radius	7.5	Smaller prospect who lacks physicality, but is able to contort his body to make difficult catches. The knock is mainly on his strength and length rather than his hands, although his hands still have room for improvement.
Versatility	Starting Position	8.5	He can start from anywhere on the field, but may currently be better suited for the slot in the NFL until he has time to develop a bit more.
Versatility	Overall Skill Set	8.5	Wilson can run many routes effectively. The one aspect of his game that will not be as effective at the next level is as a deep threat. He can grow into filling virtually every other role in an offense effectively.
RAC	Athleticism	8	Clearly very athletic with a diverse skillset, solid route tree, ability to make a man miss in the open field, make difficult catches, and have great body control, but he is no athletic freak. On top of being slightly undersized to play on the outside and lacking linear speed, he does not have that pop that is seen in many NFL gadget guys. While he could develop into an elite NFL receiver, it will not be exclusively due to raw athleticism.
	Agility	8.5	Excellent agility overall and can frequently make the first man miss. It does not always amount to significantly more yardage as his cuts with the ball can be inefficient knowing that contact may bring him down, but his change of direction and open field agility are impressive attributes.
	Contact Balance	3	Rarely runs through extended arms, much less breaking full tackles. He lacks physicality, and gets knocked and pulled down rather easily.
Awareness	Sideline	9.5	Always knows where he is on the field.
	Defensive Scheme	8.5	Wilson adjusts to the defensive scheme very well on his own. He uses what the defense gives him to get open. This is not higher because he frequently uses the same move on two yard breaks which elite corners will notice throughout a game. This is very nitpicky, but he has the tendency to dance too much unnecessarily.
	Improvisation	4.5	Wilson rarely moves with a scrambling quarterback to ad lib a play. He has not had to much in 2021 without Fields, but the lack of recent practice may show if he goes to a team with a quarterback who frequently scrambles outside of the pocket.

Full Report:

Wilson can accelerate laterally as easily as he can linearly. This allows him to get open in zone and soft coverage with ease. The best part of his game is using a quick release to gain an advantage at the line, then breaking cleanly to gain a step from that initial advantage. While it cannot be seen in all of his tape, the most recent games show that this area has developed and can be implemented consistently. In the NFL, he can be used all over the field, but the majority of his routes should rest between 5-15 yards out. This is where he is generally able to gain the most separation. He can also be targeted behind the LOS as he was frequently at Ohio State, but it is certainly not the best part of his game. He is a very complete receiver with no glaring weaknesses, but there are parts of his game that may not translate well at the NFL level. His size and speed are worrisome when against NFL outside corners. His RAC is also reliant on making defenders miss entirely. He will likely be used mostly as a slot receiver initially, then can be moved around once he develops and gains some muscle mass. He also stumbles or trips at least once in almost every game, which can lead to interceptions in a quick timing NFL offense. While these are worrisome attributes and Wilson may even be the third best receiver on his current team, his weaknesses are mostly solvable and the star potential is there. Very few prospects have his body control and release, and he is a very intelligent football player. His blocking and line release steadily improved throughout the 2021 season, which indicates that there is yet more room for improvement. Wilson is deserved of a mid-first-round pick, and can be a multi-purpose weapon in any offense. The ability to get open between the 5-15 could make him a hyper-targeted option in a West Coast offense. He may never be an NFL deep threat, but in the right system, he will not have to be.

NFL Projection:

Wilson will most likely begin his NFL career as a slot receiver who sees some outside looks. He has the potential to play outside, but still has the skillset to be a reliable option from the slot if he does not show much improvement at the next level. Wilson has a high floor as a prospect who should thrive in the right system.

Ideally, Wilson puts on a bit of muscle to improve physicality and contact balance, drop issues disappear (very likely already), and Wilson is put into a Davante Adams-type role where he can move all over the field and get hyper-targeted as a team's first read. YAC would likely be excellent if he was a bit stronger, and his release and route breaks would allow him him to reliably get open from seeing different looks by moving around so much. I see too much of Davante Adams in his release to pass up on the potential, but he currently weighs roughly 25lbs less than Adams. Receivers frequently gain weight if needed between ages 21-25, and I think this may be the case with Wilson. Note: I am not saying that Wilson will be Davante Adams 2.0. They just have similar body movements off of the line, which generally translates into reliably getting open between 0-15 yards downfield.

2022 NFL Draft: Wide Receiver Deep Dive - Garrett Wilson