Overview
Position: Wide receiver
Height: 6’3″
Weight: 188 pounds
School: Boise State Broncos
Combine Performance Data
40-yard dash: 4.55 seconds
Bench press: 9 reps
Vertical jump: 37 inches
Broad jump: 10 feet, 1 inch
Three-cone drill: 6.89 seconds
20-yard shuttle: 4.23 seconds
60-yard shuttle: 11.48 seconds
Cedrick Wilson 2018 NFL Draft Profile
Some prospects’ path to the NFL Draft involves them following in the footsteps of family members who played in the NFL. That’s definitely the case with Cedrick Wilson. His father of the same name was drafted in the sixth round of the 2001 draft by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent his first four seasons in the league with San Fran before moving to the Pittsburgh Steelers and caught one pass for 20 yards in the team’s Super Bowl XL win.
The younger Wilson actually played quarterback in high school, leading his team to the Tennessee 6A state semifinals as a senior. But the Memphis, TN native transitioned to wide receiver afterward, using two seasons at Coffeyville Community College in Kansas to hone his craft. After earning junior college All-American honors as a sophomore, Wilson made the move north to the blue turf in Boise. It didn’t take long for him to make his presence felt in a Broncos uniform.
Wilson caught 56 passes for 1,129 yards and 11 touchdowns during his junior season. His 20.16 yards per reception led the nation among players who finished with a minimum of 50 catches on the year. His previous background as a quarterback was also on full display. He completed a 61-yard touchdown pass in a 21-10 win over Utah State on October 1, 2016. The following year, he finished second nationally with 1,511 receiving yards and was one of just eight players in FBS to average over 100 yards per game.
Strengths
- lengthy receiver with decent wingspan;
- made catches in all three phases of the passing game;
- ran a fairly extensive array of routes at Boise State;
- reactive to the ball in the air and able to adjust to make the tough catches;
- can beat boundary corners down the sidelines and make plays vertically;
- exhibits solid change of pace and can make defenders bite on his double move;
- turns on an extra gear after the catch;
- has the ability to contribute on special teams.
Weaknesses
- bit of a gangly frame that might need some added bulk;
- not the most effective at releasing against press coverage;
- route transition points need to be sharper;
- lets corners in off-man hover over him at the top of his routes;
- too often lets balls come to him rather than going up and high-pointing it;
- doesn’t show enough on tape in the way of downfield blocking;
NFL Comparison: Tyler Boyd
Teams With Need at Position: Arizona Cardinals, Atlanta Falcons, Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Oakland Raiders, San Francisco 49ers, Tennessee Titans, Washington Redskins
Projection: Fourth round
Bottom Line
Wilson blossomed into one of the more impressive high impact receivers in FBS. He used the junior college ranks to get his start at the position after impressing as a quarterback in high school. From there, he put together two campaigns of 1,000+ receiving yards for Boise State. It included the most prolific season from a yardage standpoint in school history as a senior. Wilson has the size, speed, and playmaking ability to translate what he accomplished collegiately to the pros and many of his flaws can be rectified with coaching. However, he’ll need to bulk up while also proving he can consistently separate at the line of scrimmage and against off-man coverage. Add it all together and Wilson might have the highest ceiling among the wideouts expected to go on day three of the draft.
