For Grading Score explanation, click here

Overview:

HT: 6’2″ WT: 220

Laviska Shenault is one of the most polarizing college football players in the country. If I had to describe him in one word it would be playmaker. He lines up all over the field, including in the backfield as a running back and wildcat quarterback. He has as much potential as, if not more than, any player in this upcoming draft simply because of his raw athleticism. For coaches he could be like a shiny toy with endless possibilities, but only if they coach him up mechanically and iron out some of the flaws in his game.

Critical Factors:

• Athletic Ability (7)
  • Athletic ability is off the charts. Shenault consistently shows that he, despite being one of the bigger receivers in the NCAA, has elite speed and above average wiggle in his hips. Not to mention his impressive vertical often shows up on tape.
  • You can also see his athleticism in the way he creates space, or more aptly, finds space when the ball is in the air. He is quick off the line of scrimmage during his routes and needs very little space to accelerate quickly both during his routes and once he has the ball.
  • He has outstanding body control, especially for his size. He is able to use his size to post up the defensive back during one-on-one balls.
• Mental Processing (4)
  • He sometimes loses the ball and can cut off his own route early or give up on plays.
  • He knows and excels when the corner is giving him space. He uses the extra space to find the soft spots in the defense during his routes.
• Competitive Toughness (5)
  • He is extremely physical, the first tackler in on him more often than not fails to bring him down in the open field.
  • He welcomes contact, extending the play with his balance and strength.
• Play Speed (6)
  • He has the elite play speed NFL teams covet, especially for his size.
  • We often do not see him utilize his maximum burst/speed until after he has the ball in his hands.
• Play Strength (6)
  • Uses his strength well of the line of scrimmage, particularly against press coverages. Uses his raw strength to create leverage against the defensive back. He also uses his strength to fight through would-be tacklers in the open field and during contested catches.

Position Specific Traits:

• Route Running (3)
  • Easily Shenault’s biggest weakness, he runs a very unique route tree because of his versatile usage, but they are simple or basic routes for the most part. Even on these he struggles to run a crisp and clean route.
  • He excels at short yardage routes that allow him to make plays after the catch, but struggles on deep routes.
  • Has the ability to explode in-and-out of his breaks, he has only above average hips so he sometimes allows the defender to anticipate his route by slowing down at the apex of his route.
  • He is used in unique packages, sometimes as a running back so while his route tree might be somewhat simplistic, he does have a deep arsenal of plays he runs.
• Release (5)
  • When releasing against press coverage, he wins with his hands as opposed to his feet. He uses his raw strength to overpower the DB, but struggles when lined up in the slot against a bigger DB or a LB.
  • He can win with his feet, but if the defender gets his hands on him, he relies on his hands and physicality.
  • When facing off-coverage, he shows good burst off the line.
  • Often wins with effort, as opposed to technique.
• Catching (6)
  • Has very good hands, very few of his incompletions are due to drops.
  • He catches the ball extremely well over his shoulder, as well as outside his body.
• Blocking (4)
  • As far as his run and downfield blocking goes, he is hesitant to engage with the defender, most often when he is lined up in the slot on run plays and has multiple defenders he could pick up.
  • When he is on the outside, he does not attempt to sell a route on run plays, coming off the line much slower, but he does pick up his block better.
  • He is adept at holding his block once he is engaged.
  • He often makes no attempt to block when he is on the back-side of the play.
  • Needs to work on his technique, can get lazy with his blocks and simply try to hit the player with his shoulder instead of setting up a sustainable block. This also sets himself up for injury.

Scheme/Fit: Shenault would do well in most schemes, but his role will absolutely depend on what scheme his offense runs. He would be optimally suited for a spread, or even air raid offense. However, he could also find a role in a west coast offense. As a jack of all trades, he should be utilized in a Robert Woods-esque (Los Angeles Rams) role where he has a lot of pre-snap motion and carries. One could even compare his role to a Tarik Cohen (Chicago Bears) where he can line up in the backfield or split out wide (although he’ll be out wide much more than Cohen), and is utilized heavily on screens.

Negatives: The negatives we already touched on, but just to sum up, Shenault needs to work on his route running and using his feet at the line to create separation as well as downfield during routes. He needs to clean up his routes with tighter, more explosive cuts. As it stands a defensive coordinator would manage to slow him down by having a linebacker jam him at the line before passing him off to a defensive back. He also needs to work on his blocking technique.

Combine Report:

Relevant Numbers: 40 Yard Dash – 4.58

Shenault is viewed by many to have had one of the more disappointing combine performances. He ran the 40 and then was shut down for the day. His time, while not problematic per say, was not ideal. He is a player who many are hoping to be this year’s Deebo Samuel, an athletic playmaker who thrives after the catch. Deebo Samuel ran a 4.48, but sure he a smaller player. A former first rounder who is the same size with similar college careers is Cordarrelle Patterson, who ran a 4.42.

The bottom line with Shenault’s combine, is it did not answer any questions. We didn’t get to see him run through drills side-by-side other top talent; we didn’t see the elite speed that evaluators were hoping for; and with Shenault undergoing surgery after the combine there are still injury/health question marks.

NFL Player Comparison/Projected Round: Cordarrelle Patterson/Breshad Perriman — Round 2

I compare Shenault to Chicago Bears WR Patterson and/or Tampa Bay Buccaneers WR Perriman. This may be disappointing to Shenault fans, but it doesn’t have to be. The physical comparison speaks for itself, both Shenault and Patterson are currently listed at 6’2″ and about 220 pounds. Patterson and Perriman are both similarly sized to Shenault and both came into the league with extremely high expectations based on their athleticism. Both former first round picks, they have struggled to translate their playmaking abilities to the next level and I expect Shenault to have similar struggles. Shenault could be the one of these three to break that trend, hone his craft and work on some of the WR mechanics to improve his all around game. Route running is a not a skill that should be overlooked and Shenault looks to me like someone that coaches could have a fun time putting all over the field, but not someone who will be a game-breaker or a super star.

I expect him to go in the second round because of the combination of his impressive numbers and tape, however, I would not take him before the late second round, preferably in the third round because there are multiple receivers I see as less risky that I would take first.

As always, we end on a high note, check out Shenault’s highlights!