Sage Surratt 2021 NFL Draft Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6’-3”
Weight: 215 pounds
School: Wake Forest
2021 NFL Draft: Sage Surratt Player Profile
After spending three years at Wake Forest, wide receiver Sage Surratt is taking his talents to the next level in the 2021 NFL Draft. The redshirt Junior opted out of the 2020 season, but had a year to remember in 2019. Last time we saw him Surratt was the entire Wake Forest offense, recording 65 receptions on 95 targets for 1,006 yards and 11 touchdowns. According to Pro Football Focus, Surratt spent 148 snaps in the slot and 529 snaps as an outside receiver.
Surratt finished his high school career on the highest of notes, recording 129 catches for 2,104 yards and 28 touchdowns as a Senior. This fantastic campaign made him a three-star recruit and earned him a scholarship with Wake Forest. After redshirting through his true freshman year, Surratt earned a big role in the offense in 2018. Playing in 704 snaps, Surratt finished his redshirt Freshman season with 41 receptions for 581 yards and four touchdowns.
Strengths
- Excels at contested catches, always outmuscles his defender;
- Arguably the most physical wide receiver in this class – smaller cornerbacks won’t be able to handle him;
- Great at identifying the high point and timing his jump so that the cornerback can’t make a play on the ball;
- Incredibly hard to take down in the open field – sheds tackles like it’s nothing;
- 90th percentile college dominator ranking – entire offense ran through him;
Weaknesses
- Can only use his size to make plays – never gets open on his own;
- Might be the slowest open-field runner in the entire class;
- Below-average route runner with a limited tree;
- Got away with offensive pass interference in college – won’t be the case in the NFL;
- Might have to move into the slot full-time to succeed in the NFL.
NFL Comparison: Quintez Cephus
Teams With Need at Position: New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, New York Jets, Baltimore Ravens, Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, New York Giants, Philadelphia Eagles, Green Bay Packers
Projection: 4th-5th Round
Bottom Line on Sage Surratt
Sage Surratt is really good at the things that do not translate to NFL success. The 6’-3”, 215-pound receiver plays with a rare ferocity that allows him to overpower cornerbacks with ease. According to Pro Football Focus, Surratt caught 18 of his 30 contested targets, which is a fantastic rate. This physicality translates to the open field, as cornerbacks and safeties alike struggle to take him down with the ball in his hands.
Unfortunately for Surratt, this is all he can really do. Outmuscling cornerbacks is a lot easier to do in college than it is in the pros, as the base level of competition is just so much higher. Contested catches are naturally a low-probability throw, and even the best jump-ball specialist will probably have a pretty low catch rate. In order to succeed in the NFL, you need to be able to get open on your own or threaten a defense deep.
Sadly, Surratt is not good at either one of those things. The NFL Combine isn’t happening this year, but there is a very real chance he’d have the slowest time among wide receivers if it was. Nobody is going to worry about him taking the top off a defense, and he isn’t a big-play threat after the catch. While he can shed some tackles, it’s only a matter of time before a linebacker catches up to him and takes him down.
Surratt excels at tight-window catches, but that’s only out of necessity. The redshirt Junior is one of the worst separators in the class and simply will not be able to get open against NFL-caliber competition. This could mean a full-time move to the slot, which isn’t a great fit for someone as slow as he is. Ultimately, Surratt is probably best as a situational red zone threat, and nothing else.
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