Measurables
UNIVERSITY- Ohio State AGE- 21 CLASS- JR
HEIGHT- 6’0” WEIGHT- 192 ARM LENGTH-
40 Time- 3 CONE- VERTICAL- BROAD JUMP- BENCH PRESS-
Overview
Garrett Wilson was an extremely highly-rated recruit in his senior class of 2018 as he earned 5-star prospect ratings by many publications. Wilson played his high school ball for perennial football powerhouse Lake Travis High School in Austin, TX. He also competed in track as well as starred as a basketball player (averaged 21 PPG as a Sr), which earned him D1 offers in that sport as well. His father, Kenny Wilson played basketball at Davidson. Garrett Wilson also earned the honors of the 2018 All-American Bowl Man of the Year for his community service, academics and athletic accomplishments. In 2019 as a true freshman Wilson played in all 14 games, making an instant impact as a WR. He finished the season with 30 catches for 432 yards and 5 TDs. In 2020 Wilson saw a prominent role in all 8 games and totaled 723 yards, 6 TDs on 43 receptions, he also added 67 yards on 2 rushes. He earned First-team All-Big Ten honors for his efforts in 2020. In 2021 as a junior Garrett Wilson started in 11 games, finishing with 70 catches, 1058 yards and 12 TDs, he also added 76 yards on 4 carries. Wilson earned Second-team All-Big Ten for his 2021 campaign.
Strengths
Garrett Wilson is a highlight play waiting to happen. What Wilson really excels at more than anything else is his sudden movements in a phonebooth. This helps to create separation in his routes as well as help him gain extra yards after the catch. If you’re planning on covering Wilson in off-coverage, don’t. He does a great job of pressing a defender and at the last moment he will peel off either back towards the ball, towards the middle of the field or towards the sideline. I wouldn’t necessarily call him an explosive athlete but he uses explosive movements in his routes to create separation. He shows good short area quickness. Once the ball is in his hands he often makes the first defender miss. Mostly because of that ability to stop on the dime that I alluded to earlier. He has a great understanding of taking advantage of a defender’s momentum/angle and using it against them to force a miss. Wilson shows the ability to pluck the ball out of the air away from his body in all areas of the field. He has above-average speed to keep you honest but not burner speed. Wilson’s leaping ability is otherworldly, he springs off the floor too quick and high for any normal oxygen breathing human to react. He shows the ability to contort his body in all sorts of various ways to make tough catches over the top of a defender or away from his body. His herky-jerky movements as a route-runner allow him to separate underneath. He works well on endarounds, bubble screens and underneath passes to produce extra yardage after the catch. You see some flashes of developed route-running that gets you excited. A sell-inside then fade to the corner of the endzone, hesitation moves on routes down the seam. I believe his best chance to be a consistent separator at the next level is from the slot though.
Weaknesses/Room for Improvement
I really don’t enjoy bashing players but WR #1 talk for Garrett Wilson is just confusing. The only time you see Garrett Wilson truly separate on routes is when they’re either playing off-coverage or on a blown defensive assignment. Wilson isn’t fast nor do I believe he is naturally explosive out of his breaks most of the time. He really relies heavily on full body swings in his breaks to gain separation, this creates the illusion that he’s an explosive athlete. Don’t get me wrong he does get separation at times but he also falls down a lot in these attempts and he seems to lack overall contact balance. He’s extremely leggy as a route runner and lacks developed footwork. With the true explosive separators, you’ll see that lower body snap and hip flexibility but with Wilson it feels labored. He is hardly a factor in the intermediate area of the field as he has no consistent way to get open. There are many factors that lead me to believe he won’t be successful as an outside WR. He doesn’t have great size, strength, athleticism(other than his leaping ability) or length and he struggles to play through contact that comes from press coverage off the line. Although Wilson shows the ability to make outstanding catches away from his body he also showed several concentration drops. His hands are very inconsistent when he is forced to make a catch in-traffic. Wilson didn’t show much of any understanding in finding open pockets of a zone coverage. He isn’t particularly physical after the catch and he is downright uninterested as a run blocker. Wilson doesn’t show breakaway speed with the ball in his hands either, despite his long plays in college. He is able to make the first guy miss after the catch but he doesn’t string broken tackles together because he lacks great stop/start acceleration. Wilson also lacks physicality to break tackles after the catch. This isn’t really too big of an issue regarding his ability to play at the next level but he seemed to often be the last person off the ball, almost like he thought the cadence was different or something. I truly hope he improves his footwork/balance and therefore improves as a route runner. As of right now though, I can’t even say he’s a high level slot WR, the big play ability is there and undeniable but he will have games where he will disappear and that’s because he lacks true polish.
Scheme Fit
Underneath yac slot WR in a vertical attacking offense
Round Grade
Late Second Round ( I really hope he proves me wrong)