Recognition report for Boston College WR

Zay Flowers, Boston College: 5’9″, 180 lbs.

A three-star rookie in 2019, Zay Flowers carried the ball more than he caught as a true rookie (22 to 27) for just over 500 yards and four total touchdowns.

Although he still involved himself in sweeping and ending plays, he mainly focused on damage in the air starting in the second year. He had 178 passes for 2,715 yards and 27 touchdowns over the next three seasons. Flowers earned first-team All-ACC accolades in the latter and now leaves Boston College as the all-time leader in receiving yards (3,056).

Zay Flowers deserves a ton of credit for sticking with a BC program that went 3-9 and had very inconsistent quarterback play during Flowers’ time there.

Zay Flowers Scout Report: Highlights

+ Shows great acceleration off the line and that extra juice to get away from safeties when paired with them on the post. You’ve seen him run away from top athletes like Clemson’s Andrew Booth in 2021, even though the ball wasn’t quite there for him in that game.

+ Ran a bunch of post routes and deep crossings, where he could run away from whoever ended up paired with him. Matching him with a safety as the No. 3 in trips is a recipe for failure, because of the way he can put them on their heels with a vertical rod and then hit another gear as he s flattened on the ground.

+ You can clearly see the defensive coordinators circling this guy on the whiteboard, when you watch the DBs place him vertically with leverage on both sides. There are so many rooms where he’s used as a decoy, opening up space below – his conditioning/stamina must be off the charts.

+ Also has good times using head nods and body tilts to set up and spin defenders as a route technician.

+ Extremely sneaky out of his stance to avoid jams in press and reduce the near shoulder, so as not to be hampered in his fairway rod.

+ Does a great job of really pushing the corner vertically and then creating separation as he sits down to step back on the ladder (deep loops and comebacks), where he regularly gets guys past that point.

+ Bend either foot in no time and can eat on those easy-to-reach throws on inclines or accelerations after putting your head down for a few steps, to get turns in rescue mode.

+ Was open all the time, but the quarterback didn’t have enough time or could get the ball where it needed to be.

+ Shows some pretty impressive late adjustments to the ball in the air.

+ Makes a lot of tough catches where he has to dive for low balls on returns and deep outs.

+ For a guy his size, he does great body positioning and attacks the ball in the air, which resulted in a disputed catch rate of 58.3% last year.

+ Has gained 11 pounds since the end of the season and looks muscular at 183 pounds.

+ Once he catches the ball deep in the field, he can take breaks and make the safeties stupid if they charge him.

+ Can stick his foot into the ground and juke around defenders in the flats after quick completions to turn them into long wins.

+ Yet he also slips into the arms of outstretched defenders and has the strength in his lower body to bounce back from shots, when he catches the ball on the run.

+ Don’t fool yourself with a lack of effort as a blocker, throwing his body into defenders and finding ways to wall them in.

+ Only participated in one Shrine Bowl practice, but he just looked different from the rest of the group, slipping and breaking a solid DB group.

Zay Flowers Recon Report: Weaknesses

– Tends to want to beat his man fast on the road and because of this allows defenders to re-enter the picture with the way he breaks later on the pitch.

– There is a lack of forward handling and some excessive stepping at the breakpoint versus out of coverage, trying to set up routes against DBs able to stay square with him as he makes contact .

– His limited catch radius appears sometimes, when it looks like he’s going to jump for high passes, but he’s barely able to get his fingertips on it (only 29 and ¼ inches).

– Had nine drops and four fumbles in 2022.

Report from scout Zay Flowers: Note

Zay Flowers has some crazy fast moves to beat defenders in every direction. I truly believe he can play inside and out, win at all three levels and has the speed to get away from anyone before or after the ball is in his hands.

Flowers has already flashed some very impressive moments leaving defenders in the dust as a road runner. If he can do that more consistently, he’ll be extremely difficult cover at the next level.

Now, with his height and arm length being in the lower eighth percentile, there are some limitations in terms of catching radius and ability to protect the ball with his body. But as he continues to work on his craft, defenders won’t be able to get their hands on him and he can strike fear into the hearts of opposing coaches (if he actually has someone who can deliver the ball to him with accuracy).

Grade: Top 15 overall.

You might like other 2023 NFL scouting reports: Jaxon Smith-Njigba (WR), Ohio; Noah Sewell (LB), Oregon; Drew Sander (LB), Arkansas; Zach CharbonnetRB, UCLA; Bijan Robinson (RB), Texas.

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