Notre Dame’s leading receiver from 2021, Kevin Austin enters the 2022 NFL Draft. He offers NFL teams a speedy outside receiver, albeit one with only one full season of college production. How do his strengths and weaknesses mesh with the NFL game? And where does he ultimately end up?
Kevin Austin Strengths
By far, Kevin Austin had the most impressive NFL combine of any Irish prospect. After a very respectable 4.42 in the 40-yard dash, Austin showed out. He placed second among receivers in the three-cone drill and 20-yard shuttle. He delivered a fifth-place showing in the broad jump and a third-place vertical. So at the very least, Austin is toolsy and physical.
Austin was also the most impressive as a deep-ball receiver at Notre Dame – easily the Irish’s best deep threat. In that, Austin featured a lot of his strengths. His ability to create separation, particularly late in routes, and his ball skills were equally impressive.
Kevin Austin Weaknesses
Due largely to a lack of experience (54 career catches), Austin is not very well-rounded yet. He lacks sharpness in shorter routes, largely emphasized by a struggle to create separation at the line. Austin has the physical tools to improve his ability to beat corners off the line of scrimmage, but he must improve on that quickly.
Best 2022 Game Film: Wisconsin
There are a few games to choose from. This was one of four games that Austin notched six catches. However, picking from a variety of games where Austin outclassed corners en route to deep catches doesn’t feel like the best film to feature. Rather, look to the Wisconsin game. Here, against an elite defense, Austin had to help a struggling offense manufacture yards and points. Austin got open on intermediate routes and helped the Irish move the chains. He reeled in six catches for 76 yards and scored twice. His touchdowns were the only offensive scores of the day for the Irish.
Worst 2022 Game Film: North Carolina
There are much fewer options to choose from in this category. Cincinnati is the obvious choice after one catch for 17 yards. But going up against potential top-15 pick Sauce Gardner, Austin struggled. But so did most wide receivers against Gardner. So instead, look to this UNC game. Austin had a 21-yard touchdown catch but otherwise didn’t impact a high-scoring game much. He mustered just 36 yards and couldn’t find much separation against the Tar Heels.
Best Draft Fit: Buffalo Bills
Talk about a quarterback who can deliver the deep ball. Josh Allen can sling it with the best of them, and Austin can go as deep as his heart’s delight. The Bills have Stefon Diggs anchoring the receiving corps, and they’ve got a handful of other impact receivers that excel in the intermediate game. That allows Kevin Austin to develop that skill set and impact the game where he thrives for a Super Bowl contender.
Draft Prediction: San Francisco 49ers, Round 3, Pick 41
This has Austin going a little earlier than projected. But the ceiling is really high with Austin, and the 49ers can still stay in a win-now mode even if they lose Deebo Samuel. At the very end of the third round, with the final day 2 pick, the 49ers grab Austin who is athletic enough to do a little bit of what Samuel does and provides potential first-round upside.
