New York Giants Draft Prospect: WR Johnny Wilson

Johnny Wilson is a tall, big-bodied receiver whose height should make him an asset in any offense's passing game.

Johnny Wilson, WR

Height: 6’7
Weight: 237 lbs.
Class: RS- Junior
School: Florida State
College Stats

He is a former four-star recruit out of the revered Calabasas High School in Calabasas, California, where he was the 18th Californian recruit and the 36th wide receiver during the 2019 cycle. Wilson initially attended Arizona State and entered the transfer portal as a three-star after only 18 catches in two seasons in Tempe. Wilson transferred to Florida State and put together two solid seasons.

In high school, Wilson ran his 40-yard dash at just over 4.5. Bruce Feldman listed Wilson as 28th on his Freak List heading into the 2023 season. This is an excerpt from Feldman’s work:

At almost 6 feet 7, 239 pounds, he has 36-inch arms, 10 1/4 inch hands, and a standing reach of 8-10. He also has a 35.5-inch vertical and a 10-5 broad jump. In games, he’s topped out at 21.23 MPH with a maximum acceleration of 5.26 m/s and a maximum deceleration of -7.21 m/s.

Wilson’s top recorded speed was 20.9 MPH in 2023. He is a rare type of athlete who aligned outside on over 90% of his snaps. He caught 9 of 22(40.9%) contested catches in 2023. Wilson will be in attendance at the 2024 Reese’s Senior Bowl.

Strengths

• Massive size/frame - RARE for a WR
• Insanely long catch radius with gigantic hands
• Solid acceleration and speed - did stack CBs a few times
• Good body contol
• Smooth for his size - quick feet on one cut moves
• Nimble in short-areas for a big guy
• Surprisingly quick release when he did face press - only faced press on 13% of snaps
• Florida Q3 54 sec 2nd & 10)
• Clemson Q3 15:00 1st & 10; Q4 1:45 1st & 10
• LSU Q1 11:14 3rd & 5; Q3 10:07 3rd & 13
• Understood how to bail his QB out when the play was extended
• Knew zone coverage weakness and was a savvy route runner
• Uses his frame well to box out defenders
• Great in back shoulder situations - good sideline awareness
• Good use of hands with his release
• Elite extension away from his frame
• Soft hands to pluck and quickly secure the pass
• Good concentration and tracking
• Will thrive as a red zone threat
• Excellent play strength at the catch point and will fall forward through contact
• Creates YAC with physicality
• Will block you into the dirt

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Weaknesses

• Lacks top-end speed
• Size naturally hinders his ability to decelerate and break, although an argument can be made that his ability to do so is impressive, given his size
• May struggle to create separation at the next level
• Isn’t nuanced as a route runner, but does have quality cuts on his tape
• Most of his routes ran stayed outside the numbers
• PFF had him dropping only five passes - it seemed like a lot more
• Although his hands were soft, locating the football on a turn out of the break did not always go smoothly
• Could have hung onto a few contested passes vs. Miami that went incomplete
• Will some teams try and make him a TE?

Overview

Johnny Wilson is an excellent size-adjusted athlete with good short-area burst, balance, and rare size. His elite catch radius and ability to pluck the football away from his frame provide quarterbacks with a necessary safety blanket and red zone threat. He’s a strong player who may struggle to consistently separate at the NFL level.

Comparisons to Mike Evans are made, which seem unfair, but Wilson is a more natural athlete than Kelvin Benjamin, who was selected in the first round. Wilson will be a huge mismatch nightmare for defenses on the outside. Still, he’ll have to maximize his ability to win contested catches while using his body as a weapon against smaller defensive backs.

GRADE: 6.25

Nick Falato

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