No two college football players had a better on-field relationship this season than Miami’s Xavier Restrepo and Cam Ward. But does Restrepo have the physical capabilities to mimic that outstanding production at the NFL level?
Xavier Restrepo Profile and Measurements
Height: 5097
Weight: 202 pounds
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Miami
Current Year: Redshirt Senior
Xavier Restrepo Scouting Report
Strengths
- Can’t help but find open space.
- Literally his QB’s best friend
- Dependable
- Very low drop rate throughout college career.
- Effortless sink and impressive drive back to the ball on stopping routes.
- Puts together multi-layered routes with efficiency and violence in his change of direction.
- Feet and flexibility allow him to drive in and out of route breaks to separate underneath.
- Suspiciously effective in the intermediate areas of the field despite lackluster size.
- Good frame density that can absorb contact and be a weapon in the run game.
- Takes pride in his blocking.
- Gets to speed quickly.
- Head swivels around quickly and he finds the football.
- A little bit of creativity after the catch.
Weaknesses
- Short receiver lacking adequate length.
- Better than expected in aerial situations because of physicality but lack of length lowers contested-catch ceiling.
- Quicker than he is fast.
- Doesn’t have the juice to be a consistent downfield threat.
- Knocked off course of his stem by physical apex defenders.
- Struggles to finish outside of his frame through contact.
Summary and Draft Projection
Restrepo was far from an unknown commodity heading into the 2024 college football season. However, his legend grew with Miami’s run toward the top of the ACC standings.
Ward’s arrival brought a different opportunity for Restrepo. He remained primarily a slot weapon, but his ADOT rose by two yards and he proved to be a natural for feeling out space when Ward started playing backyard football.
Although Restrepo sports a sawed-off build, his frame density makes him a weapon akin to the way that Sean McVay has used Cooper Kupp throughout the years. Kupp often motions around the tackle box to be used as a battering ram against backside defensive ends and linebackers on split-zone action.
Restrepo’s pride and effectiveness in the run game should get him on the field immediately at the NFL level. He produces devastating crack-back blocks on short motions while handling himself well in one-on-one situations from the slot against apex defenders.
However, receivers are drafted and paid to catch the football, and in that respect, Restrepo is a quarterback’s best friend. He is a natural separator with efficient, explosive feet in tight spaces while providing at least a marginal threat to the field’s intermediate and deep areas because of his hands’ consistency.
It’s not easy to know how the league will value his skill set, but no matter where he ends up in April, a team will almost certainly believe they found great value for him.
