Scouting Report: Devin Duvernay, WR Texas

Texas wide receiver Devin Duvernay offers sprinter's speed in a running back's body that could be great in the NFL if he finishes his development and could be of interest to the Cleveland Browns.

Devin Duvernay comes from an extremely athletic family, including his twin brother, Donovan, who also went to Texas for football. Devin is also a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. He's a high school state champion sprinter, having won the 100 meters in 2015 with a time of 10.27. Duvernay was a breakout star as a senior after Lil'Jordan Humphrey declared for the NFL and Collin Johnson missed half of the 2019 season.

Athletic Profile

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Age: 22 (September 12th, 1998)

Height: 5'10 1/2"

Weight: 200

40-Yard Dash: 4.39

Broad Jump: 10'3"

Vertical Jump: 35.5"

3-Cone Drill: 7.13

20-Yard Shuttle: 4.2

Bench Press: DNP

Duvernay's built like a running back with thick legs and possesses world class speed, good explosion and agility. His athleticism and body control is apparent in his play. He demonstrates good balance and play strength as well. Speed is primarily his game, but the rest of his testing is more than good enough.

Production

2019

Receiving Yards: 1,386 (36.8%)

Duvernay posted elite production for the Longhorns in 2019, catching 106 passes for 1,386 yards and nine touchdowns. Not only was he the team's leader in receiving yards, but he led the team in total yardage and touchdowns. The next closest player was running back Keontay Graham with 1,095 total yards.

Game Tape

Duvernay's game is predicated on speed and his ability with the ball in his hands. He can beat defenses over the top as well as running through them with explosive strength. The Longhorns offense utilized a lot of concepts that simply found a way to get the ball into the hands of Duvernay and let him be a creator.

As a pass catcher, Duvernay demonstrates an outstanding ability to track passes, concentrate through contact and then secure passes with his hands. He has excellent hands, uses effective positioning, has good body control and functional strength. Duvernay is also excellent at the catch point and plays bigger than his size would suggest. He makes some incredible catches look routine.

His balance and ability to set up his body position enable him to make a smooth transition from catching passes to running after catches and is a homerun threat. Duvernay will catch passes and take what seems like a few steps before getting tackled and it turns out to be another eight to ten yards. He's fearless going to get the ball and isn't afraid to take on contact like a running back, running through arm tackles or lower his shoulder and drag tacklers down the field with him.

The biggest issue for Duvernay is his route running. Too often, it's almost non-existent as he just runs past opponents and makes plays despite it. There are plenty of times when he creates zero separation and works much harder than necessary or makes it so he can't be utilized by the quarterback.

His route tree is relatively simple, utilizing a lot of fades and screens. There are some slants, corner routes and some comebacks, but few where he shows much nuance in his approach, rarely setting up defenders or keeping them off balance. When he does, it's a welcome surprise and he can make it look easy, showing off his remarkable athleticism and creating explosive plays easily.

Fit, Usage and Projection for the Browns

Duvernay profiles as an NFL slot receiver with some added options. He can do things like take jet sweeps or some creative options, putting the ball in his hands. Offering ability to stretch the field or attack underneath, Duvernay can be a player that forces defenses to play honestly. The Browns ran screens to Odell Beckham and Jarvis Landry in 2019. Duvernay is far more suited for that role.

The potential fatal flaw for Duvernay is his route running. If he can really make it important to him and get better at it, he can be a full service threat in the NFL, working any number of places on the field. If not, then he becomes a gadget player that might be a threat going deep occasionally, but largely requires touches to be generated for him, either handing him the ball or throwing it to him on screens. 

Even with as fast as Duvernay is, he didn't create a ton of separation against college opponents, so NFL players with more size, strength and speed will be able to counter him if he can't become more effective. As a result, Duvernay is a player that could be a boom or bust prospect that could go late day two, but warrants a pick early on day three of the draft.