Physical tools matter when scouting wide receiver prospects, and in the 2024 NFL Draft, Michigan Wolverines WR Roman Wilson has the scouting report upside to garner mass appeal in the proper range. He’s always had uncommon dynamic ability, but in 2023, his production matched the profile.
Roman Wilson Draft Profile and Measurements
- Height: 6’0″
- Weight: 192 pounds
- Position: Wide Receiver
- School: Michigan
- Current Year: Senior
Elite athleticism can separate players, and that’s been the case for Wilson since high school. As a four-star recruit, he had a documented 4.37 40-yard dash, 37″ vertical jump, and a 4.09 shuttle time even before joining Michigan’s esteemed training program.
Wilson signed with the Wolverines in 2020 and immediately provided a spark in the receiving room, but it took some time for him to achieve a true statistical breakout.
In 2021, Wilson caught 25 passes for 420 yards and three scores. In 2022, he added 25 catches, 376 yards, and four touchdowns to his career totals.
Michigan WR Roman Wilson could see his name called sooner than expected. He’s a sure-handed WR with under 4.4 speed who can line up anywhere while posting a 20% target share in 2023. pic.twitter.com/d32VU8KsCk
— Kyle Lindemann (@LuckIsMadeFF) April 21, 2024
Wilson established himself as a respectable receiver over those two seasons, but in 2023, he finally emerged as the playmaking threat that was promised.
Through the Rose Bowl, Wilson amassed 45 catches for 735 yards and 12 touchdowns — good for a score on over 25% of his receptions.
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Against Alabama in the Rose Bowl, Wilson caught four passes for 73 yards and a score, including a high-flying reception that helped lead to Michigan’s game-tying TD in regulation — and, by extension, their overtime win.
The moment rose to Wilson in 2023, and he rose to it. Now, with a year of quality production under his belt, Wilson may have all he needs to make the leap to the 2024 NFL Draft.
Roman Wilson Scouting Report
Strengths
- Turbocharged athlete with rare raw explosiveness, speed, and dynamism.
- Can use his hyper-elite explosiveness to throttle up and attack open zones.
- Has the long-strider acceleration to rocket into the open field and elongate space.
- Can destroy zone defender leverage in the deep third with his blistering speed.
- Stack specialist who forces DBs to respect his speed and consistently gets a step.
- Has shown he can use slight bends when tracking vertically to tie up defenders.
- Can pinch tight angles out of stems and break suddenly after pressing upfield.
- Can use explosive throttle control and efficient footwork to separate on out routes.
- Uber-flexible runner who can suddenly curve, flatten, and accelerate through breaks.
- Spry and active lateral athlete who causes defenders to lurch with quick cuts.
- Flashes exceptional ball-tracking ability on deep passes, even with DBs underneath.
- Can make low, sliding adjustments for deep passes and corral them in-stride.
- Flashes absurd verticality, body control, and hand-eye coordination on 50/50 balls.
- Able to catch passes away from his frame and maintain possession amidst contact.
- Able to quickly reset his feet with his agility to capitalize on RAC opportunities.
Weaknesses
- Has a relatively lean frame, which correlates with lacking play strength after the catch.
- Can be easily obstructed by jams and struggles to fight through physicality at stems.
- Sometimes clap-catches while corralling passes in-stride, potentially sourcing instability.
- Occasionally bobbles catch attempts when adjusting for short passes.
- Doesn’t have consistent elite coordination and strength in high-difficulty situations.
- At times, can be a bit more deliberate pressing upfield and sinking on quick hitches.
- Could be more disciplined with initial leveraging on wheels and vertical routes.
- Has improved route urgency and sharpness but has room for greater consistency.
- Zone instincts and spatial awareness are inconsistent over the middle.
- Sometimes inexplicably stops running on deep routes when trying to track the ball.
- Generally lacks contact balance and often brought down on first contact.
- Struggles to sustain anchor and leverage as a blocker and can be prone to penalties.
- Has struggled to stay healthy, and durability is a concern with his frame.
Current Draft Projection and Summary
Wilson grades out as an early Day 3 WR prospect in the 2024 NFL Draft, with the physical tools to potentially rise up the board and break into the top 100.
Wilson finally achieved the production he’s been striving for in 2023, and his athletic skill set is extremely translatable at the NFL level.
At 6’0″, 192 pounds, Wilson has hyper-elite explosiveness, angle-destroying long speed, hyperactive short-area agility, and twitch to go along with smooth flexibility and sink as a route runner.
Purely looking at his instant acceleration and effortless bend on out routes and digs, Wilson’s mobility profile isn’t dissimilar to 2022 first-round pick Chris Olave — but with even more top-end speed.
To be sure, Olave was a much more polished and reliable prospect than Wilson coming out. Wilson still has room to keep expanding his route tree and refining his footwork at breaks.
At the catch point, while Wilson has exceptional instincts, he can experience lapses in coordination and tracking, and he can shore up his catch technique. His general lack of durability across his career is also concerning.
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Between his medical history, age as a 23-year-old rookie, and below-average blocking utility, Wilson could fall to Day 3 in spite of elite testing. But in that range, he could be a gem in the 2024 NFL Draft WR class.
If he can be consistent and consistently available at the next level, Wilson has the game-breaking explosiveness, dynamism, and usage versatility to be a valuable rotational weapon in the NFL — and he could grow to become an even better pro.
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