Connor Neal | April 16th, 2020
Laviska Shenault Jr., WR, Colorado #2
Height: 6’0”
Weight: 227 lbs
Year: Junior
Games Watched: USC (2019), Colorado State (2019), and Nebraska (2019)
Shenault is a polarizing wide receiver prospect as he is a running back in a wide receiver’s body. For some that causes concern, to me, I like it. Shenault is the best receiver after the catch. He gets a lot of hate for running a slow 40-time at the combine (4.55). Aside from collegiate stats and size, Shenault has every tool you could want in a wide receiver.
As you can see below, my grading scale is out of 100 and is graded based on 10 skills: hands, contested catch, route running, release/separation, athleticism, speed, quickness/agility, yards after the catch, red zone threat, and blocking.
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| Hands 14/15 | Shenault has very good hands with very few drops. He does a very good job tracking the ball across the field and adjusts well with his hips. |
| Contested Catch 13.5/15 | Shenault may not seem like a jump ball receiver because of his YAC ability. However, his athleticism allows him to contort his body and jump very well in order to high point the ball. |
| Route Running 8/10 | Shenault is a pretty good route runner, from what he ran at Colorado. Their scheme limited his route tree. |
| Release/Separation 9/10 | Does well at getting off of press coverage. He also has a very quick first step and due to his ability to flip his hips on a dime makes him able to get separation easily. |
| Athleticism 8.5/10 | Shenault is a very athletic wide receiver who I expected to perform well at the combine. His initial results spooked me a bit until the report came out that he needed surgery for a nagging core injury and inflammation of the pubic bone. |
| Speed 9/10 | Shenault is very quick on tape. Through all the games I watched, there were very few times he didn’t outrun the cornerback. |
| Quickness/Agility 9/10 | As I said earlier, Shenault is very agile. His hips are some of the most fluid hips you will see from a wide receiver. |
| Yards after the Catch 9.5/10 | Shenault may be the best receiver for yards after the catch. This is what truly makes him an elite prospect. The amount of defensive backs that he will force to completely whiff is absurd. |
| Red Zone Threat 4/5 | Due to Shenaults athleticism and contested catch ability, Shenault is very good in the red zone. He can catch goal-line fades over cornerbacks or quick slants in the middle of the end zone. |
| Blocking 3.5/5 | This is by far Shenaults worst skill. He’s got the size and strength to be a good blocker but he leaves blocks way too early during plays. It’s not so much that he can’t block, its that he doesn’t want to. |
Total: 88/100
Round Grade: First Round
Projected Round: Second Round
Positional Rank: WR3
As you can tell from my report, I am far higher on Shenault than most are. Shenault is the exact form of receiver that I fall in love with, a receiver that can flip his hips fluidly and quickly then go on to force the rest of the defense to miss him.
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