2023 NFL Draft: Zay Flowers - Boston College Wide Receiver

Zay Flowers - Boston College

Strengths:

1. Subtle Route Breaks - Flowers does not lose speed through his route breaks, making him a downfield threat. He also uses slight angles well to get the safeties moving where he wants them. This works particularly well on double moves back out to the flats.

2. Release - His burst in any direction and fluid hips may just give him the best line release in class.

3. Effortless Runner - He can sprint at full speed and look like he is gliding, then change direction without unnecessary steps. His footwork is typically excellent, and he appears smooth and in control throughout the duration of most routes.

Weaknesses:

1. Size - The most obvious weakness is that Flowers is 5'10, 172lbs.

2. Hands - Drops are riddled throughout his tape.

3. Separation in Man - His 59.6 PFF grade versus man coverage in 2022 is apparent on tape. He struggles to pull away when there is a man on him, especially when starting from the outside as he so frequently did at Boston.

Grade: Early Third

Pro Comparison: K.J. Hamler

Hamler is the better route runner and overall separator, but Flowers has more experience from the outside.

Film Notes:

Clemson (10/08/2022): 8-75-0

Excellent hip fluidity. Slight dropstep, but quick off the line. Gave target on QB scramble. Incredible lateral agility, and great burst in any direction. Sprints at high speeds effortlessly. Great subtle change of direction on route. Not gaining much separation in man. Bullet off the line. Not the strongest blocker. Could be more patient on crossing routes. Instant lateral burst on slant. Picked up from zone and off frequently. Appropriate footwork on screen. Incredible play speed. Good agility on RAC. Great deceleration. Not gaining much separation on the outside.

Wake Forest (10/22/2022): 10-135-1

Fainting upfield helped separate from safeties. Great double. Cut upfield to take first instead of trying to win outside. Occasional dropstep. Great route working back to sideline to get separation. Frustrated that his quarterback misses him for an easy first down. Burst and speed combination is next level. Two or three steps of deep separation straight down sideline. Perfect footwork on cutback. Drop. Great subtle moves on deep routes. Small effective catch radius to go along with shorter arms. Frequently in open space, especially in the flats, but quarterback is completely incompetent. Another drop. Inconsistent separation from outside. Knows how to work to the flats. Creative on release. Great one handed catch.

NC State (11/12/2022): 7-130-2

Very slight dropstep, but no concern. Good tip toe down sideline to gain extra yardage. Took path to maximize yardage instead of trying to shake multiple defenders. Faints upfield mid-route before crossing, which he does effectively so often. Effortless sprinter. Good navigation through open field. Great vision as a runner. Has excellent balance and field awareness after the catch. Good hands catch up over his head on clean route back to the sideline.

Attributes (Grade/10):

Separation	Short	5.5
	Medium	9
	Deep	8.5

Short: With how much burst there is in his game, Flowers oddly does not separate much from short routes. He is often covered in man from the outside, lacks patience over the middle underneath the linebackers, and even gets picked up from the slot on cutbacks. He could improve drastically in his short routes from the slot with his burst if he had a better understanding of zone coverage.

Medium: From the outside, Flowers shows inconsistent separation. From the slot, there are few better. His subtle route moves along with his varied speeds along the route stem make him practically unguardable at times, especially when working to the flats. His ability to burst off the line, get 10-15 yards downfield almost instantly, then stop on a dime is uncanny. If grading out every snap on his ability to separate, then this would be lower. Because he will be working primarily from the slot in the NFL, this is comfortably a 9/10.

Deep: Twelve deep catches on the season, but could have had more with even mediocre quarterback play. He does not lose speed on route breaks, and can gain separation downfield from both the outside and from the slot. Can improve consistency, but flashes unteachable downfield separation.

Release	Stance	9.5
	Acceleration	10
	Hip Control	10

Stance: Occasional drop step, but does not often effect speed of release.

Acceleration: Elite acceleration from the line with equally impressive speed to follow.

Hip Control: Acceleration and deceleration are his biggest strengths. He can stay low and easily rotate his hips in any direction to accelerate. His lateral and linear acceleration are both elite, and his hips are always fluid off the line.

Hands	Catch Reliability	3
	Catch Radius	3
	Contested Catch	7

Catch Reliability: Lots of drops scattered throughout his tape. 10.3% drop rate is concerning.

Catch Radius: Short arms in combination with drops away from his body are not conducive to having a good catch radius. This is only not lower because he flashes impressive catches, so his effective catch radius should be able to at least slightly increase once he shows better catch reliability.

Contested Catch: For his size, Flowers is good at catching in traffic with a 58.3% contested catch rate in 2022.

RAC	Athleticism	9
	Agility	8
	Contact Balance	2.5

Athleticism: Speed and shiftiness are his most enticing attributes.

Agility: He only has 15 missed tackles forced in 2022, but that is due to a lack of contact balance. His open field agility is a strength, and could be even better if he gained some lower body strength.

Contact Balance: He is not frequently breaking arm tackles at the NFL level with his current build.

Coverage	Press	5
	Off	8.5

Press: This could be higher with his ability to vary his route speeds, but he has not shown a consistent ability to separate from press on the outside.

Off: Give him room to work, and he will find himself in open space. Off-man coverage is a strength of his, but he still must improve at reading the zone.

Full Report:

Zay Flowers is a player who will be more highly coveted by some teams than others because of his combine performance. He has incredible burst, and will likely show out in all of the combine drills. His line release may be the best in class with fluid hips that allow him to accelerate effortlessly in any direction. He is a smooth route runner and does not lose speed on his breaks. He can vary his speed effectively along the route stem, and knows how to gain separation downfield. Flowers is an enticing prospect with his release and athletic traits, but he is by no means a refined receiver. With all his burst, he does not gain separation underneath reliably. Separating in short areas from man and reading shallow zone are two areas that need significant improvement. He is great downfield if he gains a step or runs crossing patterns, but does not always pull away from his man. His route running verses tight coverage is incredibly inconsistent, despite showing time and time again that he should be able to do so with his speed and route subtleties. With his size limitations, he is likely never going to succeed from the outside given his lack of consistency against press coverage. Flowers may not be an outside receiver, but he is more than just a slot guy. He is a great gadget player who can take screens to the house, and has experience as a punt returner. His ability to maintain deep separation in combination with his explosiveness off the line is giving him first round buzz. Realistically, Flowers has a skillset that will be more difficult to utilize successfully in the NFL. Jurkovec may have hindered his production at Boston College, but his lack of consistency separating from man will only get exploited more in the NFL if anyone tries to play him on the outside where he spent the majority of his snaps in 2022. While he may be drafted ahead of this, his early third round grade is a representation of what he has shown on tape more than it is a projection of what he could be with his special burst and speed. Any slot receiver who struggles with drops and fails to maximize space in zone is not the dependable option many teams will want in the slot. That said, his explosiveness cannot be taught, and he is a uniquely gifted weapon who can be utilized by a good coach to help an offense.

NFL Projection:

Flowers will likely go day two and become a good punt returner and rotational weapon on screens and deep passes. If he can improve his hands and earn a full time role from the slot, then his ability to separate on intermediate routes as well as downfield will make him a special weapon with multiple highlight-reel worthy plays throughout his rookie season.