'Why Kayshon Boutte?'
Height & Weight
5'11 -- 195lbs
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Ascension grade
Primary receiver ceiling
54.74 -- WR#6
High-end traits (80th percentile & up)
Acceleration
Top-end speed
Linear fluidity
Creating yards post-catch
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Low-end traits (30th percentile & down)
Catch concentration
Playmaking consistency
Stylistic comparison
Juju Smith - Schuster meshed with Christian Kirk
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Projected role comparison
Primary slot receiver with high target upside/high volatility (DJ Moore)
Pre-injury Kayshon Boutte was fluid, confident and ascending towards being the next unstoppable LSU receiver after Jefferson, and Chase.
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"Confidence" is the key word there - do not think he had this level of it coming back from injury.
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Once it clicks again for him his post-catch ability from all over the field makes him a threat to score on any touch with his top-of-the-class long speed.
Good accelerator who will regularly run away from Safeties if you give him an alley.
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Ran sub 20.90 in the 200m back in high school, which puts him in a rare class of speed maintenance. Curious to where that trait stacks up now due to the multiple ankle procedures, if he gets close to 100% healthy again he is a threat to take it the distance from anywhere on the field.
A healthy Boutte is a tough assignment for boundary corners because you have to respect his top-end speed, and how fluidity he carries it.
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Playing off leaves you vulnerable to 30-40 + yard chunk gains - pressing could be a blow-by if no safety help.
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His best physical trait again, is how well he carries his speed over distance.
Boutte's post catch solutions are an area that is NFL starter caliber. Reminds me a lot of Juju here.
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Not overly abrupt or sudden, but extremely hard to bring down in open space and plays with deceptive linear speed.
There is a question for me on if he still has this type of lower-limb stability post-surgery.
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Lots of "if's" in his game, however these are some of the traits that made Boutte a potential top ten pick.
Effortlessly combines the track & contort phases with regularity and makes difficult boundary-side receptions look fairly routine.
Again, has the three-level capabilities in spades, just needs to get back to being the type of playmaker we saw two years ago.
Boutte is a great late separator on vertical patterns.
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Doesn't panic when spaces condense, eerily calm in these situations. I've always liked the non-chalantness with which he plays vertically.
Expectations & Range of outcomes
Probably the greatest variance in terms of the range of outcomes within this 2023 Draft Cycle. Has the talent of a Pro-bowl caliber playmaker, but will he put it all together?
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Multiple ankle surgeries and consistent off-the-field concerns are reasons why we may see his stock slip.
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How far it slips will be the difference between him being a late first-round selection in Rookie Drafts or someone I am heavily in the second.