NFL Draft Profile: Erik Ezukanma, Wide Receiver, Texas Tech Red Raiders

NFL draft profile scouting report for Texas Tech wide receiver, Erik Ezukanma

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#13
Pos: WR
Ht: 6017
Wt: 209
Hand: 0928
Arm: 3348
Wing: 7828
40: N/A
Bench: N/A
3-Cone: N/A
Shuttle: 4.38
Vert: 36.5"
Broad: 10'06"
DOB: 1/25/_
Eligible: 2022
Fort Worth, TX
Timber Creek High School

Erik Ezukanma
Texas Tech Red Raiders

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Pros:

Pun: Erik Ezukanma has a great blend of skills for a wide receiver of his size and has a chance to increase his production with Tech’s new QB situation. For a guy who’s 6’3, Ezukanma flashes nuanced releases to beat press coverage, using his feet as a serious weapon. His go-to is a stutter release and he does great to gain ground and close space on the CB, rather than just staying sedentary and not creating an advantage. For a changeup, Ezukanma uses a glide step and will vary the pace+cadence of his footwork to keep cornerbacks guessing. He’s got deceptive deep speed due to rolling-build-up acceleration which accompanied with calculated hand fighting throughout the phase leads to Ezukanma being an adept deep threat. He will leverage the respect defenses give his deep prowess to open up the underneath game - selling outside-releasing go routes to open up space for hitches and use a subtle push-off at the break to separate. When the ball is in the air, Ezukanma’s body control is fascinating to watch as he can contort his long frame to snag errant throws above, in front and behind him. Furthermore, sticky hands are his expertise, he knows how to attack and high point the ball - especially on post routes - and displays astute concentration during contested scenarios. This is especially apparent in the red zone, where he can win jump balls with ease - even when cornerbacks are in good position - due to boxing out and good vertical. Once the ball is in his hands, Ezukanma is a physical runner who, if schemed into space, earns YAC via his competitive toughness and will to fight for every extra yard.

Cons:

Pun: Ezukanma will certainly garner plenty of intrigue over the next year, however, there are some flaws in his game that require magnification. Firstly, he’s a solid but not great athlete, specifically lacking in the agility, elusiveness and explosiveness areas. This hurts Ezukanma most when getting in and out of his breaks, it’s tough for guys his size to get low and explode to separate, a skill that will be more necessary at the NFL level. In addition, he shouldn’t be depended upon to generate YAC without help from the offensive scheme to give him space to work with as his below-average change of direction makes it difficult to juke the first defender in his path even semi-consistently. Furthermore, Ezukanma ran a limited route tree for the Red Raiders that consisted of a diet filled with Go routes, posts, curls and slants. It’s not to say he can never add more diversity to his tree, but other routes are simply inexperienced and more of an unknown. Finally, coaches will like to see better blocking consistency out of Ezukanma, a guy his size should be a clear advantage blocking on the boundary and he just isn’t there yet with his technique and consistent effort.

Summary:

Pun: Tall, long wide receiver with elite body control and plucky hands to consistently win contested scenarios. Flashes of nuanced release package with a changeup to beat press coverage and calculated use of push-offs and hand fighting to separate at the catch point. Solid, but not great athlete limits his YAC, explosiveness out of breaks and the Raiders offense limited his route tree. In the right system - not West Coast heavy - Ezukanma can bring big plays on Go’s and Posts, plus red zone prowess as a complementary wide receiver who shows the nuanced footwork to potentially expand his route tree.

Background:

Erik Ezukanma, one of seven siblings, was raised in Keller, TX where he attended Timber Creek High School, tallying 2,471 yards and 32 touchdowns in his three-year career. After high school, 247Sports ranked him as a 4-Star recruit, the 304th-best recruit nationally, the 49th-ranked wide receiver recruit in the country and the 39th recruit in the state of Texas. Ezukanma redshirted his 2018 season where he appeared in just two games and had 2 catches, 48 yards and 1 touchdown. In 2019, he appeared in 12 games and started 6, becoming the first Red Raider freshman since Michael Crabtree in 2007 to lead the team in receiving yards. He finished with 42 catches for 664 yards and 4 touchdowns. Ezukanma built on that success in 2020, where he started all 10 games and tallied 46 catches for 748 yards and 6 touchdowns. He led the team in receiving yards, receiving touchdowns, receiving yards per game and yards per catch. For his impressive season, Ezukanma was an All-Big 12 first-team honoree by the conference coaches, the Associated Press and Phil Steele Magazine. He was recognized on Dave Campbell’s All-Texas first team and named to the Biletnikoff Award watch list late in the season. Ezukanma suffered a broken arm in April which required immediate surgery but luckily the junior receiver is 100% fully recovered and ready for camp. Ezukanma is also impressive off the field, with coaches being repeatedly impressed with his work ethic. Texas Tech Head Coach, Matt Wells says of Ezukanma, “The guy grinds — off-season, spring ball, summer, daily during practice. He's tough. He's physically tough. He plays through hurts. He's mentally tough. I think his skill set has gotten a lot better, and out of breaks at the top of the route. That's harder for a taller guy. He's physical, makes competitive catches, enjoys playing the game. He's fun to coach.”

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One-Liners

Pun: Tall, long wide receiver with elite body control, plucky hands and flashes of nuanced releases to beat press but his limited route tree, below average YAC and lack of explosiveness out of breaks will confine his versatility among different offensive systems.

Grades

Current Player Value/Potential Player Value

Pun: 7.4 / 8.7