Tylan Wallace NFL Draft Overview
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 5’-11”
Weight: 185 pounds
School: Oklahoma State
2021 NFL Draft: Tylan Wallace Player Profile
After a successful collegiate career at Oklahoma State, wide receiver Tylan Wallace hopes to take his game to the next level in the 2021 NFL Draft. After tearing his ACL in 2019, Wallace returned to the field and proved that the knee injury didn’t take away his deep speed. Overall, the Texas native recorded 59 receptions on 92 targets for 922 yards and six touchdowns.
Wallace initially entered the college football landscape as a four-star recruit. A track star in high school, Wallace decided to sign with Oklahoma State after receiving offers from several big-name programs throughout the country. After a relatively pedestrian true freshman campaign, Wallace blew up with a dominant 2018. Playing in 941 snaps, the receiver finished his sophomore campaign with 86 receptions on 149 targets for 1,489 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Wallace proved his sophomore season wasn’t a one-year fluke during the first half of the 2019 season. While he wasn’t quite able to match his per-game efficiency numbers from a season ago, he still managed to end the year with 53 receptions for 895 yards and eight touchdowns. Unfortunately, Wallace tore his ACL midway through the campaign, limiting him to just 575 snaps on the year.
Strengths
- Great downfield threat with the speed to threaten any defensive back;
- Fantastic after the catch, capable of speeding past safeties and breaking cornerback tackles;
- Great in contested catch situations – knows how to high point the ball;
- Soft, reliable hands;
- Played well against press coverage against Oklahoma;
- 93rd percentile college dominator, 84th percentile breakout age.
Weaknesses
- Almost always aligned outside right – not much positional versatility;
- Limited route tree and nothing special as a route runner;
- Didn’t face that much man coverage at the collegiate level – unclear how he’ll fare against NFL corners;
- Might need to add more muscle to handle next level of competition;
- Not as quick east-west as he is north-south.
NFL Comparison: Santana Moss
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: Late 2nd – Early 3rd
Bottom Line on Tylan Wallace
Tylan Wallace should be a good receiver in the NFL, although he probably won’t ever become a great one. The Oklahoma State product is one of the most dangerous prospects in the NFL Draft, as he has the speed to break open a game any time he touches the ball. Defenses have to respect his speed, which helps open up the rest of the field for the other options in the passing attack.
He’s more than just a vertical threat, as he’s fantastic with the ball in his hands and always finds a way to win in contested catch situations, despite his small build. From an analytic standpoint, Wallace crushed his college dominator and breakout age percentiles, and those do have a decently strong correlation to NFL success.
There’s a lot to like with Wallace, but there are also some underwhelming traits surrounding his game. Wallace always aligned on the outside right of the formation, which implies he doesn’t have much positional versatility. To be fair, there is a chance he could’ve succeeded in other roles if coaches had given him a chance, but the uncertainty is definitely there. Additionally, he’s nothing special as a route runner and has struggled against press coverage, although he showed some signs of life against Oklahoma. Ultimately, Wallace profiles as a great big-play threat that is best suited as a complementary part of the offense, rather than a true number one.
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