Draft Profile: Zay Flowers
Boston College's best and brightest
Creator: Maddie Malhotra | Credit: Getty Images
Details:
2x First Team All-ACC (2020, 2022), 1x Third Team All-ACC (2021); 2022 Biletnikoff Semifinalist
Checked in at 5’9” and 182lbs to the East/West Shrine Bowl
Born 9/11/2000 (23 in rookie season)
Career Stats (48 GM): 200 CTH - 3056 - YDS - 15.3 AVG - 29 TD
2022 Stats (12 GM): 78 CTH - 1077 YDS - 13.8 AVG - 12 TD
Zay Flowers is a dynamo; he’s an exceptional athlete with the ability to seemingly create big plays on a whim.
Flowers is almost certainly the biggest riser from the wide receiver position in this draft class - despite being among the smaller players. There’s good reason for this though, Flowers is an exceptional athlete with solid hands (4.4% drop rate). As an added bones, I really like Flowers’ track record of high level production - he’s put up three straight seasons of 700+ yards and one 1k season; all while doing so on awful Boston College teams with some questionable quarterback play.
However, I found it extremely disappointing that he only has 7 career punt returns for 43 yards, all this last season. Really expected him to bring more in that category.
Also, I dug through his high school track team’s old records and could not find any record of Zay Flowers competing in track and field events, nor could I find any verified times for him on any recruiting database (if you find one, let me know). That certainly raises an eyebrow for me but I think that his overall speed in-game indicates that he’ll still run well at the combine. I think we can expect him to score anywhere from the low 8s to the low 9s on his RAS Card. I’m predicting he’ll run around a ~4.36 while having exceptional short shuttle and 3-cone times. Flowers has elite change of direction and top speed - but his height, weight and disappointing wingspan (29”) are going to bring that score down.
Similarly to Parker Washington, Flowers played the slot and outside receiver at Boston College. However, unlike Washington, I think that Flowers has the ability to play outside as well, despite his diminutive build. He shows good hands and feet vs. press coverage, a rare trait in this class.
So clearly, Flowers is a bit of a mixed bag when it comes to his size, athleticism and ability.
Let’s check what the eye in the sky says.
Immediately, I would be doing him and you a disservice if I didn’t address his exceptional athleticism and ability in the open field.
This basically turns into a punt return - he’s schemed into open space on a sort of return/glance route off motion (he runs this route a LOT actually) and just starts cutting up in open space. Again, it is extremely disappointing that he was not more prolific as a punt returner given this ability.
This is a pretty great example of what I think is going to be some top-end speed as well as a nice feel for manipulating a double team (however, I have no idea what tech the corner and safety are playing so…). Love that he was able to flip eyes, hips and shoulders to sell his double move, shows some really nice body control in doing so. For those who have not played the position - to be able to sell your whole body going one way and then snap to the other while being at close to top speed (~85%) is incredible, top end there.
He executes the same route the same way here, awesome. Thing to note is how fast he’s moving when he knows it’s time to go, we’ll circle back to that. Another thing to note is if you can, stop the clip right when he passes the linebacker. What you’ll see is that his hips are pointing forward and he’s gaining ground while his spine and back is rotated perpendicular to his hip. That is exceptional and it’s a phenomenal example of being able to ‘dip’ under a second level defender’s attempt at re-routing you; coincidentally it is also my most taught way of getting by slot defenders.
Here (in the slot) he does it again - but it’s a little more obvious and not quite as textbook as he bends and leans forward (chest way too far over toes) too much. Still an efficient movement though. Clearly an important part of his bag.
This is basically an uncontested throw here (thanks, L’ville) but it shows a good understanding of attacking the ball downhill on a deep crosser (a la Jaxon Smith-Njigba). What this does (and on any digs or similar routes) is it protects your quarterback’s throw from being undercut or from falling short. It’s a very small detail but a very important one to the success of any offense.
So let’s talk about the parts that aren’t quite as pretty. Watch that clip (he’s the WR at the bottom) and think about what it is that you see before continuing to read.
Go on.
For me, I see someone who is not interested in taking the top off of a defense and who is not interested in running routes where he is not the primary target. They’re running a classic two receiver play action game here - that post is usually going to attract both safeties and the deep curl should be standing there with his hands up all alone. But, the safety triggers on the curl and Flowers should be running free to the endzone. Or he would be if that route wasn’t ran at about 65% speed. And I KNOW it’s 65% because look how much faster he gets when the ball is in the air. This shows up on tape a LOT for a guy who is going to be asked to take the top off of defenses in the NFL.
WR to the bottom here.
Kollman posted this clip, so let’s talk about it. Yes, he beats the bad corner down the field, woohoo. But he completely fails to ‘restack’ (meaning get back to his landmark inside the field while also getting in front of the DB). Had he done that, he would have given his quarterback tons more space to throw the ball - and it could have gone to his outside shoulder or out in front of him for some catch and run ability.
Same thing here, he makes his quarterback give him a perfect ball.
I suspect this is due to a few things:
Firstly, he’s tiny. His 29” arms are not great for hand fighting and staying on his line through contact while his weight and height also put him at a competitive disadvantage. (Quick explanation: longer arms, just like for boxers, are advantageous in this situations because it gives a receiver the ability to keep a DB further away from him while also letting him stay closer to his landmarks. If Flowers were to attempt this, a DB with 33” arms might be able to pull Flowers into his body and cover him up).
Obviously, Flowers is successful despite these limitations but I do worry about his ability to succeed in the NFL as a top end #1 receiver with them.
The Grade
His strengths are abundantly clear: He possesses a truly special ability to change directions on a whim while also having good hands. Flowers also has extremely nice top end speed with an ability to ‘meter’ and ‘tempo’ his sprints to create burst and separation in his routes. Shows an ability to plan and react to both press, off and catch technique DBs. All of these traits translate to the NFL.
His weaknesses are also clear: His physical measurements are a problem and they do effect how he plays the game. He lacks an ability to ward off defenders when they are in phase with him and forces his quarterback to make perfect throws. Does not win 50/50 balls and shows no room for improvement on tape. Questionable effort on a few plays.
So, Zay Flowers is an incredibly dynamic athlete and a receiver with good feel for route running. Flowers also demonstrates inefficiencies and room for improvement in his game. The question then becomes, how much can Flowers improve his game while being capped by his physical abilities?
The answer, by the way, is not by him becoming Antonio Brown. Please stop saying that. Anyway:
I’m going to grade Zay Flowers out at a 6.7
His Best Fit: A team looking to add electricity +speed to their offense and someone who can and will be a good to great #2 in an offense.
Player Comparison: Brandin Cooks with some more juice in open space.
I can't help but picture him in a Chargers uniform... the fit seems too good. Great breakdown