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 Garrett Wilson, Wide Receiver, Ohio State University
Projected Draft Spot
Garrett Wilson will be a “lottery pick” to use the NBA term that references teams that did not make the playoffs.
Potential Suitors
Texans, Jets, Falcons, Commanders, Vikings, Eagles, Saints, Chargers, Patriots, Packers, Cardinals
Strengths
Garrett Wilson proved he had some serious speed when he ran his 4.38 40 time in addition to his 36” vert and 123” broad Wilson has all the athleticism necessary to be a WR1 at the professional level. He has a great natural feel during his route steam with how to set up a break with a very pretty long-striding move that allows him to move in any direction but gives the appearance of going vertical every time. He is not as refined a route runner as some of his peers in this class, but he showed a good feel for getting open and finding space in zones where his quarterback was able to get him the ball. Wilson showed on multiple occasions that he will use every bit of his 36” vert and go up and get the ball with a very nice ability to high point the ball. Wilson is always in control when running his routes and has the athletic burst and concentration to get turned upfield after he catches the ball and earns some yards after the catch.
Weaknesses
Garrett Wilson and the Ohio State offense had very few weaknesses to show all season. However, the main issue I saw is that when teams were brave enough to press Wilson and had a cornerback capable of doing so, he had a hard time getting off the line. Wilson has good height at 6’ tall but he lacks sand in his pants at a meager 183 pounds having him tip the charts (? Sure why not) at 25 BMI. Once he gets on the NFL field with professional-level defensive backs that know how to press a receiver he is going to have to come up with some strategies to beat press that aren’t straight speed.
Player Comps
New School: Rashod Bateman
Think Rashod Bateman at Minnesota rather than the guy who ran a bunch of stop routes on the Ravens. Bateman and Wilson have quite a similar size and speed profile with Bateman being only half an inch taller and 7 pounds heavier at 6003 and 190 pounds. Bateman and Wilson are both similarly gifted route runners with the ability to high point and catch the ball away from their bodies. I look forward to seeing these two develop over the next several years.
Old School: Santonio Holmes
Maybe a little too old school for some, but Holmes and Wilson not only have a similar physical profile, but both starred at Ohio State in College. Both are shifty route runners who have juice after the catch if you can get them in the open field. If Garrett Wilson can one day be named Super Bowl MVP like Holmes I’d call his career quite a success.
Best Case Drafted By
The best-case scenario for Garrett Wilson would have to be landing in New Orleans with the Saints. The Saints offense is being run by the same offensive coordinator in Pete Carmichael for the 14th season now, which will be his first calling plays after the departure of Sean Payton. This is a seasoned coaching staff, with one of the better bridge quarterbacks in the NFL in Jameis Winston, with a very good offensive line, one of the best running backs in the league, and like it or not one of the best slot receivers in the league in Michael Thomas. Pairing Garrett Wilson, who took 82.9% (over 300) of his snaps lined up out wide with Michael Thomas and the rest of that offense is a dream come true for the Saints in an extremely weak NFC.
Worst Case Drafted by
The worst-case for Garrett Wilson and a whole lot of the receivers in this class would have to be the Washington Commanders. This is a team that has lost only 2 of its top 10 targeted players in Adam Humphries and Ricky Seals-Jones. The Commanders will hope to have Curtis Samuel and Logan Thomas healthy for an entire season so their newly acquired quarterback, Carson Wentz, whom they just spent multiple day 2 draft picks on, who isn’t a significant enough upgrade over Taylor Heinicke, can lead this offense to true mediocrity. Did I mention that they lost their best offensive lineman to the Jags in Brandon Scherff?
Fantasy Relevant in 2022?
Garrett Wilson is an extremely good wide receiver and is trending to be the top pass-catcher off the board come April 28th. Barring a disastrous landing spot or an unforeseen fall in the draft Wilson should not only be fantasy relevant in 2022 but in my opinion, should be the top receiver drafted in your rookie drafts.
