Tyler Scott, WR Cincinnati: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Scott was a three-star athlete recruit from Norton High School in Norton, Ohio in the class of 2020

Cincinnati wide receivers Tyler Scott and Tre Tucker are two of the fastest skill players in the 2023 NFL Draft. Tucker will go on the draft’s third day, but Scott has a chance to sneak into the back end of the top 100 selections.

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Tyler Scott, WR Cincinnati: 2023 NFL Draft Profile

Classification: Junior outside receiver from Norton, Ohio

Background: Scott was a three-star athlete recruit from Norton High School in Norton, Ohio in the class of 2020. He was the No. 1,092 recruit according to 247Sports and No. 990 for On3.com. Scott was an unranked three-star recruit for Rivals and an unranked three-star recruit for ESPN with a 75 grade out of 100. He rushed for 1,337 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior. Scott scored 27 touchdowns as a junior, including 23 rushing, three kick returns, and one receiving. He finished the year with 1,512 rushing yards on 243 carries. Scott earned special mention 2019 Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association Division III All-Ohio and OPSWA First-Team All-Northeast Inland District honors as a senior. He lettered in three sports: basketball, football, and track. Scott competed in track at the Junior Olympics along with Cincinnati Bearcat teammate Tre Tucker.

Injuries & Off-Field: Missed SMU (2022) game with a sprained ankle

Awards: 2022 Second-Team All-American Athletic Conference

Pros: Special teams experience on the kick return, punt return, and punt coverage units, half a dozen career special teams tackles, played out wide despite his size, explosive athlete, speed to stress defenses vertically and stack corners, generates separation with speed and sharp cuts, maintains speed going into and coming out of sharp cuts, sells defender on his route before suddenly breaking off in another direction, widens DBs before cutting back inside, quick and choppy footwork at the top of his route, quick to stop and show the QB his chest, tracks the ball over his shoulder, high points the ball and makes hands catches outside of his frame, adjusts well to high passes, some nice examples of maintaining concentration at the catch point in a crowd, YAC upside with his speed, agility, and elusiveness, elusiveness and shifty to make defenders miss in space, impressive stop-start acceleration and agility, acceleration and burst to erase angles

Cons: Minimal experience in the slot, small receiver by NFL standards, doesn’t have elite deep speed, not truly twitchy, needs to vary route speed more often, route pacing and landmarks aren’t always accurate, limited catch radius, seven drops in 2022, doesn’t maintain catches through contact consistently, struggles to catch low throws, limited play strength, becomes unbalanced by press coverage, struggles to play through contact early in the route, won’t offer much as a blocker

Overview: Scott took official measurements at the NFL Combine. He’s 5095 and weighs 177 lbs. He has 9-inch hands, 30 7/8-inch arms, and a 72 6/8-inch wingspan. Scott is a dynamic and explosive athlete with the speed to threaten defenses vertically. He has special teams experience on the kick return, punt return, and punt coverage units along with half a dozen career special teams tackles. Scott played out wide at Cincinnati and only gained minimal exposure to the slot. The pace of his route running and accuracy hitting landmarks need further development, but he generates separation with speed and sharp cuts. Scott maintains speed going into and coming out of sharp cuts. He sells defenders on routes before suddenly breaking off in another direction. This salesmanship includes widening defensive backs on deep post routes before cutting back inside to open space. The Ohio native’s quick and choppy footwork at the top of his route allows him to change directions quickly. He tracks the ball over his shoulder and high points the ball to make catches above the rim. Scott adjusts well to high passes, and there are examples of him maintaining concentration at the catch point in a crowd. He has a history of drops and doesn’t always survive contact at the catch point, but the high-end flashes exist. Scott generates yards after the catch with his speed, agility, and elusiveness. He’s shifty enough to make defenders miss in space. The former three-star recruit’s impressive stop-start acceleration and agility also help generate YAC. Scott’s burst and acceleration combine to make him a big play threat in catch-and-run situations. Unfortunately, Scott is a smaller receiver who struggles with play strength and catch radius. He gets bumped off his routes by aggressive coverage and will need to adapt against press at the next level. While he is elusive and fast, Scott lacks elite deep speed and true twitch. He doesn’t offer much as a blocker.

Overall, Scott is a fast, dynamic athlete who has the potential to be a threat at all layers of the field. His size limits his NFL projection to a slot-only role and prevents him from being an elite YAC threat. However, Scott could still be a team’s second-best receiving option by the end of his rookie contract.

Role & Scheme Fit: Slot receiver (Y) in a spread-heavy offense

Round Projection: Late Third to Early Fourth

Player Comparison: N/A

Submitted: 04-04-23