Omar Bayless Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6’-1”
Weight: 212 pounds
School: Arkansas State
NFL Combine Performance Data
40 Yard Dash: 4.62 seconds (unofficial)
Bench Press: 11 reps
Vertical Jump: 36.0”
Broad Jump: 123.0”
3 Cone Drill: 7.35 seconds
20 Yard Shuttle: 4.50 seconds
Omar Bayless 2020 NFL Draft Profile
After spending the past four seasons catching passes for Arkansas State, wide receiver Omar Bayless is hoping to take his talents to the NFL level. The Mississippi native had a breakout campaign in 2019, recording 93 receptions on 141 targets for 1,654 yards and 17 touchdowns. These were all easily career highs for the redshirt senior.
Bayless initially began his college football journey as a three-star recruit. A Mississippi native, Bayless received four offers before finally settling on Arkansas State. After redshirting in 2015, Bayless spent the majority of the 2016 season on the bench. In 2017, Bayless recorded 32 receptions on 55 targets for 439 yards and six touchdowns. One year later, he followed it up with 39 receptions on 58 targets for 439 yards and two touchdowns.
Strengths
- Fantastic on-field production in 2019;
- Isn’t afraid of contact and gets to the football no matter what;
- Good double move guy with above-average start/stop ability;
- Impressive ability to locate passes and haul in targets at the high point;
- Had multiple long touchdowns in 2019;
- Film shows more athleticism than testing numbers suggest.
Weaknesses
- Even if you believe Combine results were a fluke, he’s nothing special as an athlete;
- Most of his production came from one move against weak competition;
- One-year wonder;
- Didn’t match up well against top-level competition;
- Struggles to beat press coverage;
- Lacks necessary play strength to overcome NFL-caliber defensive backs;
- Struggles to get open when not running a double move.
NFL Comparison: Aaron Mellette
Teams With Need at Position: Buffalo Bills, Denver Broncos, Green Bay Packers, Indianapolis Colts, Jacksonville Jaguars, Las Vegas Raiders, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles
Projection: 7th Round/Priority UDFA
Bottom Line on Omar Bayless
Omar Bayless put up some fantastic numbers during his final season at Arkansas State, but the way in which he did it doesn’t bode well for his NFL future. Bayless didn’t exactly face the best competition, and typically won because everyone else was terrible. A sizable portion of his production came on an admittedly solid double move, but cornerbacks kept biting on it time after time. NFL cornerbacks are going to figure this out, and he’ll need to bring something else to the table. He couldn’t do it against Georgia, as he struggled to do much of anything against the best competition he faced all season. He’s not a great route runner or athlete, doesn’t have great play strength, and is one-year wonder.
There’s a lot going against Bayless, but there is a chance he surprises everyone. His double move is legitimately dangerous and could fool cornerbacks if he adds something else to his toolbox. Additionally, he’s not afraid to go over the middle or take a big hit in order to make a play. That’s certainly worth something, even if it might not be enough to get him a job at the NFL level.
Main photo:
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