Dynasty HeatSeekers

Carson Strong is a 22-year-old quarterback prospect from the University of Nevada. He played his high school ball in Vacaville, CA at Will C. Wood High School where he compiled nearly 3,000 yards passing with a 69.2% completion percentage as a junior. That same season, he had over a 6/1 TD/INT ratio.

He was not a highly touted recruit coming out of high school as 247 Sports had him as a three-star prospect and was the 76th rated pro-style QB. According to Strong himself in his NFL declaration letter, he only had one offer out of high school and that was from Nevada. According to Rivals, Iowa State had expressed interest, but it does not appear that he had received an offer. He was a relatively unknown prospect with little expectations for the Nevada Wolfpack.

Strong had a chance to sit as a freshman, but took over as a Sophomore. Over his three seasons of starting quarterback play, Carson displayed outstanding accuracy with the football. He ended his career with the Wolfpack with a career completion percentage of 68.1% and a 74/19 TD/INT ratio. He had a career passer rating of 147.5 and nearly a 6% TD passing percentage.

In regards to personal red flags, there were no notable concerns and he has been praised by coaches at Nevada for his leadership and toughness. Strong does have a negative narrative surrounding a knee injury he sustained last year that required him to have knee surgery in February of 2021. From various reports from the Senior Bowl, some scouts and draft pundits reported concerns that he rushed back too quickly from this injury. It is unclear from my research of the severity of his injury or if this will cause any prolonged damage that would adversely impact his NFL career.

From a more optimistic view, the fact that he had his best statistical season this year would suggest he is still rising as a prospect with further potential to be tapped into.

Is Garrett Wilson the Best Route Runner of Any Rookie Wide Receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft?

Bio

Garrett Wilson began his career at Lake Travis High School in Texas where he broke multiple wide receiver records to the tune of 204 receptions for 3,359 receiving yards and 55 total touchdowns.

After high school, Wilson committed to playing college football for the Buckeyes at Ohio State University as a four-star recruit.

College

Wilson made an impact immediately after arriving at OSU, playing in all of the team’s 14 games his freshman year. Since then, Garrett Wilson has accrued 143 receptions, 2,213 receiving yards and 23 TDs in 3 seasons for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He’s added 6 rushes for 143 rush yards and a single rushing score.

Now, Wilson is entering the 2022 NFL Draft as one of the top rookie wide receiver prospects in the country.

Is Garrett Wilson the Best Route Runner of any Rookie Wide Receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft?

NFL Outlook

When it comes to Garrett Wilson’s outlook at the NFL level, fans should be excited.

Wilson is clearly an explosive and very agile player with short-area quickness. Besides good athleticism and body control, his best traits are his route-running and his ability to make things happen after the catch. Due to his short-area burst and quickness, Garrett Wilson can get DBs turned around in coverage, allowing him to get open. If Wilson hones his craft even more once he gets into the NFL, he could become one of the premier route-runners out there. He is already one of, if not, the best route runners in this 2022 NFL Draft class.

Overall, Wilson has a lot of good traits for being a rookie wide receiver–mainly his very good route-running and great body control. However, Garrett Wilson is not going to run with blazing speed. He is a craftsman at the WR position more than a size/speed player. He is going to win with finesse and quickness to shake his defenders and create separation to collect yards after the catch. Wilson’s burst also provides him with a very good release off the line of scrimmage, while he is also able to win jump balls in single coverage.

Wilson has good hands but suffers from concentration drops more than a top rookie wide receiver prospect probably should.

The potential and ceiling for Garrett Wilson are both high. He could develop into a player akin to Stefon Diggs, albeit slightly slower. As for his draft stock, Wilson should be solidified as a first-round draft pick in the 2022 NFL Draft, and he very well could be the first rookie wide receiver selected.

In terms of fantasy football, Garrett Wilson could be a WR who is ready to produce as a rookie due to his good release and strong route-running.

Thank you for reading this breakdown of Garrett Wilson. Where do you have him ranked amongst rookie wide receivers in the 2022 NFL draft?

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Garrett Wilson began his career at Lake Travis High School in Texas where he broke multiple wide receiver records to the tune of 204 receptions for 3,359 receiving yards and 55 total touchdowns.

After high school, Wilson committed to playing college football for the Buckeyes at Ohio State University as a four-star recruit.

Wilson made an impact immediately after arriving at OSU, playing in all of the team’s 14 games his freshman year. Since then, Garrett Wilson has accrued 143 receptions, 2,213 receiving yards and 23 TDs in 3 seasons for the Ohio State Buckeyes. He’s added 6 rushes for 143 rush yards and a single rushing score.

Now, Wilson is entering the 2022 NFL Draft as one of the top rookie wide receiver prospects in the country.

Jameson Williams started his football career attending Cardinal Ritter College Prep High School in St. Louis, Missouri. In High School, Williams was able to catch 104 passes for 2,688 yards and 37 touchdowns in two seasons. He also added 3 touchdowns on kickoff returns.

Beyond football Jameson Williams ran track in high school, winning multiple state titles.

After finishing high school, Jameson Williams chose to commit to Ohio State as a four-star recruit, passing on offers from the likes of Nebraska, Oregon, UCLA, and, most notably, Alabama.

After joining Ohio State in 2019, Jameson Williams only started six games in two seasons with the Buckeyes. He caught just 15 passes for 266 yards and 3 touchdowns.

Clearly not being a part of the starting core of wide receivers at OSU, Jameson Williams decided to transfer to the Alabama Crimson Tide for his junior season in 2021. This was a good choice by Williams, who amassed 79 catches for 1572 receiving yards and 15 receiving TDs.

Sam Howell began his football career at Sun Valley High School in North Carolina, where he threw for 13,415 yards and 145 touchdowns, adding 3,621 rushing yards and 60 rushing touchdowns. After originally committing to Florida State University, Howell ended up flipping his choice and attending the University of North Carolina.

At the collegiate level, Sam Howell has achieved a lot. He became the first true freshman in Tar Heel history to start a season-opening game. Sam Howell has thrown for 10,283 passing yards, 92 passing touchdowns, and completed 63.8% of his passes in college. In terms of rushing, he has amassed 1,009 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns.

Beyond that stats, Sam Howell also holds the records for most passing yards in a career, most total touchdowns, most touchdown passes, and most passing touchdowns in a single season for the North Carolina Tar Heels.

Drake London attended Moorpark High School in Moorpark, California. He played football and basketball in high school. As a senior on the football team, he had 62 receptions for 1,089 yards and 12 touchdowns. Upon completion of High School, Drake London committed to the University of Southern California (USC) to play both college football and college basketball.

London appeared in 22 games for the Trojans over three seasons. In those 22 contests, London totaled 2,153 yards on 160 career receptions. London found the end zone a total of 15 times at USC.  His best season came in his 2021 junior season in which he totaled 1,086 scrimmage yards, and scored 7 times. London has his junior season cut short after breaking his ankle in late October in a game against the Arizona Wildcats.  Despite the injury, Drake still won the PAC-12 offensive player of the year, an honor that never has gone to a player who missed as much of a season as London.

David Bell grew up in Indianapolis, Indiana, and played football at Central Warren High School earning first-team all-state honors as a senior. Bell was named Marion County Athlete of the Year and Male Athlete of the Year and finished runner-up as Indiana’s Mr. Football. In his senior season,  he reeled in 85 receptions for 1,542 yards and 22 touchdowns. His individual success was paramount for the Central Warren Warrior's as they went on to win their class 6A state title that season as well.

Bell played in the All-American Bowl and shined brightly which resulted in several offers from Penn State, Auburn, Ohio State, Michigan and Michigan State, Notre Dame, and Tennessee to name a few. The four star recruit selected Purdue and it turned out to be an excellent decision for his career development.

At Purdue, Bell played in 29 games over the course of three seasons. He amassed 232 receptions for 2,946 receiving yards with 21 touchdowns. As a freshman, he broke out at age 18.7 with 86 receptions for 1,035 yards, and 7 touchdowns. That early production put him on the map as a future NFL prospect with immense upside.

Bell earned First Team All-Big Ten honors in 2020 and 2021. The 2020 recognition was impressive as he only played in 6 games due to a COVID shortened season. He was well on his way to another dominant season posting 53 receptions for 625 years. In 2021, Bell continued his torrid pace and led the Boilermakers in receptions and receiving yards. For some fun perspective on how active Bell was over his three seasons at Purdue, he had only 57 fewer receptions than Treylon Burks (32 games) and Garrett Wilson (32 games) combined in their 64 career games played.

In 2020, Bell earned Academic All-Big Ten honors which I appreciate in a prospect's profile. His major is Financial Counseling and Planning. Besides being reliable in the classroom, he only missed one game due to injury and that was after taking a massive hit from star Safety, Kyle Hamilton from Notre Dame. Bell sustained a concussion and there were no other notable injuries.

Treylon Burks has maintained privacy for his personal affairs throughout his ascension as a star wide receiver. I can appreciate his low profile, but what we do know is that this kid can play football at a high level. Burks attended Warren High School in the small town of Warren, Arkansas where he amassed 151 receptions for 3,403 yards and 43 touchdowns. When a player is catching a touchdown on approximately 28.5% of his receptions, he is bound to be noticed at the collegiate level. According to 247 Sports, he was a four-star recruit that had offers from Clemson, Florida State, and Michigan before choosing to play for the Razorbacks.

At the University of Arkansas, Burks played in 32 games over the course of three years. A quick, high-level overview of his stats reveals 147 receptions for 2,418 yards and 18 touchdowns. That is an average of 16.4 yards per reception; for context, that would have ranked 5th in the NFL this season, just ahead of Tyler Lockett. He chipped in an additional 222 rushing yards and 1 rushing touchdown. Burks exceeded several key analytical thresholds such as hitting that elite 45% dominator rating and a breakout age of 20.5, per PlayerProfiler. Lastly, there were no notable red flags in his profile that I could find in regards to off-the-field concerns, academics (made the Dean’s list in the Spring of 2020 with a 4.0 GPA), or significant/recurring injuries.  The only notable injury reported was an ACL tear he sustained in an October game in 2018 as a senior in high school.

Brian Robinson Jr. attended Hillcrest High School in Alabama. He didn’t get to play until his senior year when he rushed for 990 yards and 18 touchdowns. After High School, Robinson stayed close to home and committed to the University of Alabama as a four-star recruit (ranked as the eighth-best running back)

Brian Robinson Jr. played for the Alabama Crimson Tide for five seasons (extra year of eligibility because of COVID). In those five seasons, he was the starter for only his last season. He totaled 2,697 rushing yards and 29 rushing touchdowns in 55 games. He added 446 receiving yards and 2 receiving touchdowns on 53 catches.

In his only season as a starter for the Crimson Tide, Brian Robinson Jr. had 306 touches, 1,632 scrimmage yards, and 16 touchdowns. As such he was clearly a big part of the Alabama offense in the 2021 NCAA football season.

In the CFP semi-finals against the Cincinnati Bearcats, Brian Robinson Jr. might have seen his draft stock rise for the 2022 NFL Draft after he rushed for a career-high 204 yards on 26 carries.

Kenny Pickett attended Ocean Township High School in Oakhurst, New Jersey. He led the Ocean Township Spartans to the New Jersey Central Group III semifinal game as a junior, leading his team to a 9-2 record. During his high school career, Kenny Pickett passed for 4,670 yards with 43 touchdowns and rushed for 873 yards and 17 touchdowns. Upon completion of high school, Pickett originally committed to play college football at Temple University, but later changed the commitment to the University of Pittsburgh.

Kenny Pickett appeared in 52 games for the Panthers over five seasons. In those 52 contests, Pickett totaled 12,303 passing yards on 1,674 career pass attempts. He completed 1,045 of those attempts (62.4%), and threw 81 touchdown passes in his college career.  In addition to the work with his arm, Pickett totaled 801 yards with 21 touchdowns on 417 career rushing attempts.  His best season came in his 2021 senior season in which he threw for 4,319 yards and 42 touchdowns along with 233 yards and 5 more scores on the ground.