The 2021 NFL Draft is full of players with family ties throughout the draft. The big names come via Patrick Surtain II, Jaycee Horn, Asante Samuel Jr. and more. A player that also has family ties is Blake Proehl. Proehl is the son of former receiver Ricky Proehl. His brother Austin Proehl was a seventh-round pick in 2018 by the Bills and is now on the 49ers roster. The younger brother offers a different skill set than his brother and father and isn’t getting much talk as a day three steal.
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Player Bio
Name: Blake Proehl
Jersey: #11
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Eastern Carolina
Class: Redshirt Junior
Height: 6’1”
Weight: 186 lbs
Route Tree (8.5/10)
Proehl is a technician in the short to intermediate areas. He has played in the slot and on the outside. He was electrifying in the middle of the field. Proehl can sink his hips quick in his breaks. The only reason this trait isn’t higher is that he has issues separating quickly, due to his marginal speed and physicality.
Hands (9.75/10)
Proehl has some of the best hands in the draft. He has one of the lowest drop rates of any receiver in the class and seems to have strong hands to hold onto passes where he gets blasted by a defender over the middle of the field.
Contested Catch (5/10)
While Proehl has some of the best hands in the league, he doesn’t go up and get the ball in contested catch situations. He isn’t a great contested catch player by any means and lacks the strength to come down with the ball in these situations.
RAC (5.75/10)
Proehl isn’t a player that is going to be electrifying after the catch. He can get you the needed yards and get a few more yards before ultimately getting tackled.
Speed (7/10)
The unofficial time that Proehl ran at his pro day was in the high 4.3s and low 4.4s. The official time ended up being a 4.47. He seems to be a bit slower on tape and was much better at using his technique and football IQ instead of his pure speed.
Fluidity (7.5/10)
Proehl has to be out in space to get him any chance of getting open and completing the catch. If he gets into any sort of traffic in the middle of the field, he slows up, and it messes up the timing between him and the quarterback.
Release (5.5/10)
Proehl uses his hands to help him against press coverage, but he seems to be a bit delayed in this regard to get a release against press coverage.
Vertical Receiving (4/10)
Proehl is a technician in the short to intermediate game that didn’t have much production in the deeper parts of the field. He is more of a timing-based receiver than a downfield threat.
Athleticism (8/10)
An 8.58 RAS score was pretty significant for Proehl. That includes his 4.47 40-yard dash time while also taking into account his 5.46 three-cone time and 7.03 short shuttle.
Blocking (4.25/5)
Despite his smaller frame, Proehl is a willing and able blocker and can block second and third-level defenders.
Injury (4.5/5)
Proehl had a torn ACL before he stepped foot onto campus. There are no other injury concerns.
Player Summary
Proehl projects best as a slot receiver in the NFL. While he isn’t limited to only being a slot receiver, his physicality and lack of contested catch production could limit him to being a slot-only player. He has strong hands and can catch anything over the middle of the field with an incoming defender ready to make a big hit. Proehl uses precision in and out of his breaks and can make defenders look foolish. While many have him as an undrafted free agent, Proehl should be drafted in this stacked receiver class.
Final Grade (69.75/100): Mid Sixth Round
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One Response
Proehl should have been told to join his school’s track team to work on the obvious his footspeed which is impressive already running in the 4.3/4.4 range.