2022 Prospect Profile: Calvin Austin

Today, we continue our 2022 Prospect Profile series where we break down each prospect’s outlook for their potential rookie campaign in the NFL by assessing their individual strengths and weaknesses, reviewing potential landing spots, and giving our assessment of their potential fantasy relevance in the coming season.

The next player to continue our 2022 Prospect Profile series is a wide receiver that I believe has the biggest “boom or bust” potential of any receiver in the 2022 draft class. I am, of course, speaking about Calvin Austin III, Wide Receiver, University of Memphis.

Projected Draft Spot

Late 2nd to 3rd Round

Potential Suitors

Eagles, Packers, Steelers, Browns, Chiefs, Jets, Patriots, Saints, 49ers

Strengths

Austin has great hands and the ability to catch the ball in traffic. He is an electric athlete who was an all-American in track and field at Memphis, excelling in the 4 x 100 relay race. He ran a blazing 4.32 40 yard dash at the combine. Originally a walk-on at Memphis, he led the team in receptions (137), yards (over 2,200), and touchdowns (19) the last two seasons. Austin finished 4th in college football in receiving touchdowns in 2020 with 11, scoring on an absurd 17% of his receptions. He followed that up in 2021 by finishing 15th in college football in receiving touchdowns, scoring on 10.8 % of his receptions. Austin has a knack for finding the endzone, which was evident by him taking his only rushing attempt in 2021 69 yards to the house. Austin is a threat anytime the ball is in his hands, evident by his 7.2 yards after the catch per reception average.

Tyreek Hill Pro Day #'s:
4.29 40
40.5" vert
129" broad
8" hands
30.5" arms
4.1 20 yd shuttle
6.5 3 cone

Calvin Austin III combine #'s:
4.32 40
39" vert
135" broad
9.25" hands
30" arms
4.0 20 yd shuttle
6.6 3 cone

Same height, similar weight.

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He was largely asked to run stick (or comeback) routes or vertical routes, with little in between. He lined up in the slot, X, and Flanker, as well as showing great skills as a punt and kick returner. He uses his quickness to beat defenders covering him man to man and uses a quick stutter step against tight man to man coverage. He explodes off the line against zone defenses and his speed causes defenders to flip their hips early and constantly be on their heels trying to prevent him from getting by. Austin is a good deep ball receiver for someone his size which isn’t surprising when you consider he has a 39 inch vertical and broad jump of over 11 feet. His leaping ability and athleticism can make up for the size mismatch in one on one coverage down the field. What Austin lacks in size he makes up in heart. He doesn’t back down against larger defenders, and always fights for the ball

Weaknesses

Austin is undersized and needs to put more muscle on his small frame. He is not a good blocker, he can be outmuscled at times, and can struggle trying to high point a pass against larger/longer defenders. As you can see all of his legit weaknesses boil down to his size, which unfortunately he can not change his height, but he can add muscle which should improve his blocking and him being bullied by larger defenders off the line or when making a catch in traffic. Austin has the toolbox to be a dangerous route runner, however, the Memphis offense didn’t ask him to run a large variety of routes. He also dealt with inconsistent quarterback play (that’s putting it nicely), which makes it difficult to evaluate how good of a route runner he is as well as determine whether his issues with timing were predominantly due to poor QB play and not his inability to time his routes correctly. He will have a learning curve on timed and more technical routes, but I personally don’t blame him for this. I believe with better QB play he will improve on this quickly.

Player Comparisons

Current Player: (Isaiah Mackenzie) Similar size and speed, they share so many attributes, including their electric speed, ability to be a force in the kick/punt return facet of the game and both originally were looked at as gimmick players. Mackenzie proved last year when given the opportunity at Buffalo, that he could be a true force at receiver, so much so that Buffalo let Cole Beasley go this offseason. I hope the team that drafts Austin doesn’t plan to use him strictly as a gimmick player/weapon because there is so much more potential in him than that with his skill set.

Old School: (Steve Smith) Austin, like Smith, plays the game as if he is much bigger than his actual size. Both are great at high-pointing the football on downfield passes using their unreal athleticism and are not afraid to fight for contested passes versus bigger defenders. Neither is afraid of contact and will not back down from a fight. Smith was slightly taller and much stronger, but Austin is so much more explosive and a better all-around athlete.

Best Case Drafted By: (Pittsburgh Steelers 2nd or 3rd round)

The Steelers for decades have found talented receivers outside of the 1st round and developed them into stars at that position. I am high on Austin and if a team like the Steelers with their track record, drafted Calvin, it would only reaffirm my opinion on him. Not to mention he would be a perfect third receiver to pair with Diontae Johnson and Chase Claypool. Someone who can stretch the field for their offense and assist Mitch Trubisky in his first year as a starter for the Steelers. Trubisky is not going to sling the ball all over the field and will need his receivers to gain yardage after the catch. Other than Jameson Williams, Austin might be the best receiver in this class when it comes to yards after the catch, averaging 7.2 YAC in 2021.

Worst Case Drafted By: (Packers 2nd or 3rd round)

The Packers need help at receiver as bad as any team in the NFL, but I worry for Austin if he is drafted by them. As mentioned above there is going to be a learning curve and I worry the Packers would either ask him to do too much too soon or make him a gimmick weapon only, which would be a worst-case scenario for the rookie receiver. Calvin needs time to get physically stronger and develop. I worry in Green Bay he would not get that opportunity and struggle being asked to do so much during his rookie season.

Fantasy Relevant Next Season?

The short answer is no. I think it will be a couple of years before Austin becomes a consistent offensive threat in the NFL no matter where he is drafted. However, in dynasty leagues and daily fantasy he would be someone I would take a long look at. I think Austin’s potential ceiling is higher than any receiver not projected to go in the 1st round. He has world-class speed and athletic ability that could make him a real weapon in today’s NFL. Depending on his landing spot, in daily fantasy, Calvin will be someone I watch closely, looking for matchups against bad secondaries, particularly those who struggle with tackling. Austin has the speed and quickness to go over 100 yards and find the endzone on only 3 or 4 touches. Not bad for a boom or bust player!