Johnny Wilson scouting report: Exploring the Florida State WR's strengths and weaknesses

Slightly outside the top-100 overall recruits in 2020, Wilson barely got to see the field through his first two years (18 combined catches for 243 yards), but really made a name for himself as a junior, when he hauled in 43 passes for 897 yards (20.7 per) and five touchdown, which earned him second-team All-ACC accolades.

This past season, he played nearly 100 snaps fewer due to a lower-body injury, but only caught two passes less for 617 yards and two TDs.

Details: 6-foot-6, 230 pounds; RS JR.

Breaking down Johnny Wilson's scouting report

Releases & route-running:

• Measured in with the longest wingspan ever recorded by a wide receiver at the combine at 84.5 inches, along running better than anticipated with a 4.53 in the 40 and posting the sixth-best time in the short shuttle among all players in Indy at 4.11
• For a guy with his size, Wilson doesn’t need much time to get that big body moving
• Doesn’t lose really any speed as he bends his routes or incorporates some trigger steps down the field before committing to the break
• The efficiency at which this guy snaps off curl/swirl routes by reducing his height and presents himself as a target is excellent for such a massive frame
• Uses his arms pretty well to swat away the hands of ancillary defenders as he’s evading them in space
• A huge 72 of his 84 receptions over the past two seasons went for either first downs or touchdowns, while in 2022 he hauled in 12 of 22 targets of 20+ air yards
• Averaged a massive 3.37 yards per route run as a junior (fourth-highest among WRs with 50+ targets)

Ball-tracking, positioning & catching:

• Has some impressive fingertip catches on tape, where he can just reach passes over his shoulder on fade routes
• Nearly unguardable if the ball is placed correctly on back-shoulder fades and comebacks, with the way he positions himself and makes use of his gigantic frame
• You see some passes thrown short of him by a little bit, inviting a defender into the catch-point, yet Wilson snatches it over their head and pulls it into his frame
• Fearless going over the middle and elevating between linebackers and safeties converging on him
• Aggressively works back down the stem and is able to pluck some low passes as he lays out for them
• Uses his body very well to shield the ball, hauling in 21 of 44 contested targets since the start of 2022 (47.7%)
• Quickly secures and wraps the ball tightly, in order to not allow nearby defenders to punch it out of there, even if he has to fully extend for it initially

Run after catch & blocking:

• Instantly puts the ball away, takes the direct route up the field and lowers the pads into oncoming defenders
• Regularly bounces or spins off big hits, where the defender ends up on the turf
• Possesses the powerful frame to clear arm-tackles and bounce off glancing shots from the side
• Overwhelming presence as a blocker and tosses cornerbacks to the ground with authority on several occasions (PFF run-blocking grades of 74.8 in each of the past three seasons
• Was asked to crack back on safety as the boundary receivers, where he was able to swallow them up and dig them out of the lane on off-tackle runs
• His long arms allow Wilson to sustain blocks longer than most guys could at challenging angles and ride defenders off track

Weaknesses:

• While having the play-strength to power through press-attempts, Wilson lacks the foot quickness off the line to cleanly release off the line
• Ran a somewhat limited route tree, with a lot of slants, curls, digs/glances and goes
• Lacks the top-end speed to detach on vertical routes, even if he establishes stack-position early on during the rep
• Tends to body-catch quite a bit and his hands aren’t perfectly aligned all the time
• His 10.9% drop rate in 2023 was actually the lowest of his career (12.8% overall)

Johnny Wilson's 2024 NFL Draft projection

Watching those two big Florida State receivers, it’s somewhat funny to see the guy with tight-end size actually run much cleaner routes, yet the other guy be more of the designated jump-ball option.

Wilson does an exceptional job of counter-acting his height when he has to be compact at the break-point but then also make use of it when the ball is in the air. Unfortunately, he lacks suddenness out of his stance, a pull-away gear and he doesn’t always position his hands optimally to catch the ball.

Therefore, many people considered his as a transition candidate to tight-end. However, watching him run better than expected and then his field workout in direct comparison to the rest of the receiver class, I think a big slot role and some work on the outside in two-WR sets are definitely in his future.

If his future position coach can work with in order to maximize that insane wingspan to defeat press and when the ball is in the air, he could be a long-term starter in the league.

Grade: Early third round