{"id":205640,"date":"2024-12-20T13:00:42","date_gmt":"2024-12-20T18:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/?p=205640"},"modified":"2024-12-20T11:07:20","modified_gmt":"2024-12-20T16:07:20","slug":"2025-nfl-draft-early-scouting-report-pat-bryant-illinois","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/20\/2025-nfl-draft-early-scouting-report-pat-bryant-illinois\/","title":{"rendered":"2025 NFL Draft Early Scouting Report: Pat Bryant, Illinois"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pat Bryant just finished off an elite season for Illinois, earning him All-Big 10 honors for the first time in his career. Here is a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/11\/defensive-nfl-draft-risers-in-2024-conference-championships\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2025 NFL Draft<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Early <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/2024\/12\/18\/2025-nfl-draft-early-scouting-report-tommi-hill-nebraska\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Scouting Report <\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">and film analysis on him.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2>Overview, Film Analysis, and Early 2025 NFL Draft Scouting Report of <b>Illinois WR Pat Bryant<\/b><\/h2>\n<h3><b>Measurables:<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">6\u20193\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">200 lbs<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Player Background:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Barely ranked within the top-150 receiver recruits in the 2021 class, Pat Bryant committed to Illinois as a <a  href=\"https:\/\/247sports.com\/player\/pat-bryant-46049780\/\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">three-star prospect<\/a>. The Florida native made his first career start against Purdue and saw some quick action as a freshman. In limited time, he snagged six passes for just under 100 yards. His insertion into the offense expanded the following season, starting 11 games and playing in 12.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bryant caught 34 passes, picked up 453 yards, and reached the endzone twice in said games. He became a big producer once again the following season, recording a reception in every game he played in. His season totals ended as 43 catches, 560 receiving yards, and seven scores. His best season was also his last, racking up 984 yards and 10 touchdowns on 54 snags in 2024.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Accolades:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">First Team All-Big 10 (2024)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Strengths\/Pros:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bryant is a fantastic jump ball receiver who uses his size well to reel in catches away from his frame. His hands really flash when extending outward, especially when high-pointing passes. He snaps his hips with a level of savviness that holds some smoothness when working downfield. He takes advantage of defensive backs&#8217; leverage well on outside cuts, holding forward momentum until very late in the route when he attacks the ball.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">His understanding of positioning creates initial space easily, making him available for some short-game outlet passes. Bryant is a very forward-looking player, always trying to maximize his total yardage. He seems extremely comfortable working to the sideline with solid awareness and body control to secure catches and keep going downfield. He\u2019s shifty after the catch with long strides and is willing to engage in contact as a ball carrier and blocker.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Weaknesses\/Cons:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There are some concerns with his vertical successes at the next level because of a less-than-top-end speed. Bryant also gets off the line a bit slower than most deep-threat receivers, bringing some downfield separation issues. He telegraphs his routes at all levels too often, bringing little deception to his cuts. There\u2019s way too much variation between his shorter routes and vertical flys, adding to his predictability issues.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bryant\u2019s slimmer frame does cause some struggles against physical coverages in the middle of his routes. He needs to utilize his hands much more frequently and effectively on his cuts and often leaves them in vulnerable positions. His hips and feet are too slow on comeback routes, not having enough whip to create space. He has to find the quarterback quicker when he opens up into space, missing some easy pitch-and-catch opportunities.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Potential Team Fits:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/cowboys\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dallas Cowboys<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/panthers\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Carolina Panthers<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/category\/nfl-teams\/patriots\/\" target=\"_self\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">New England Patriots<\/span><\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>NFL Projection:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bryant is your natural lanky, big-body receiver who can win on the outside and over the top against NFL defensive backs. He\u2019s not going to consistently dominate but has enough tools to be a solid Day 3 pick and decent contributor. His route running and general inside-working skill set leaves a lot to be desired but he has the flashes to work as a supplementary option. He\u2019ll likely be the most effective in smaller, momentum-changing doses as a \u201cgo ball\u201d or sideline-dominant threat.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><b>Prospect Grade:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Mid 4th Round<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Film Exposures:\u00a0<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 vs. Nebraska<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 vs. Michigan<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">2024 vs. Penn State<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Main Image: Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Overview And Film Analysis Of 2025 NFL Draft Prospect And Illinois WR Pat Bryant, A Lanky Jump Ball Specialist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5364,"featured_media":205693,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1647],"tags":[32605,33093,33092,33010,27083],"class_list":["post-205640","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-nfl-draft","tag-2025-nfl-draft","tag-illinois-fighting-illini","tag-illinois-football","tag-pat-bryant","tag-scouting-report"],"modified_by":"Drew Crabtree","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205640","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5364"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=205640"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205640\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":205694,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/205640\/revisions\/205694"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/205693"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=205640"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=205640"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=205640"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}