Miles Boykin, Notre Dame
Position: Wide Receiver Height: 6-foot-4 Weight: 220lbs
Combine Results
40 Time: 4.42secs Bench Press: 12reps Vertical Jump: 43.5in Broad Jump: 140in 3 cone: 6.77secs 20yd Shuttle: 4.07secs
Strengths
- Strong hands and excels at catching the ball away from his body
- Catch radius is huge
- Great body control on back shoulder catches and 5050 balls
- Devastating blocker for a wide receiver, not afraid to target linebackers in the run game
- 6-foot-4 frame, coupled with hand strength and body control make him an excellent red zone threat
- A good initial burst of the LOS
- Faster and more agile then his tape suggested, and his 43.5in vertical is impressive
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Weaknesses
- Very raw in his route running ability
- Does not play as physical as he could/should for a receiver his size
- Struggled to beat press-man coverage off the LOS
- Lacks a “second-gear” at least on film, his combine would suggest otherwise
- His combine numbers are impressive, but it didn’t seem to translate to the field
NFL Player Comparision | A faster, bigger Anquan Boldin
2019 Rookie Draft Projection | Mid-to-high 3rd round pick
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Bottom Line
Watching Boykins on tape pre-combine, never did I look at him and think “fast”. He was frequently caught from behind and never seemed to be able to “hit a second gear” when pulling away from defenders — either while the ball was in the air or while the ball was in his hand.
This made his combine numbers baffling as he put up a very respectable 4.42 in the 40, the third best 20-yard shuttle (4.07secs) and the best 3-cone (6.77secs) in the WR group. Those number never seemed to translate to the field, however, the thing that jumped out to me in my film review were his hands — more specifically his hand strength.
Numerous times in my review I saw him make a catch away from his body, and, despite the DB slapping at the ball or pulling down on his arms, the ball never moved. His hands were like vice-grips once he got his mitts on the ball, and, when you combined that with his 6-foot-4 220lbs frame, he is a prototypical red zone option despite being on a run-first team.
And, speaking of being a run-first team, another thing that popped when watching him was his blocking ability — especially in the run game. He was a head hunter on run plays, routinely seeking out linebackers, not defensive backs, and delivering devastating blocks to help spring the running back to the next level. This will help him see more playing time at the next level, especially if he ends up on a run-first team like the Ravens or Seahawks.
He is still a very raw receiver and will be considered a “project” as he relied upon being bigger and stronger than his opponent, something that he won’t be able to do as often in the Pros, but Boykins’ combine results have raised his floor and his ceiling as a fantasy prospect and could be a steal in rookie drafts.
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