Kayshon Boutte

	A	B	C	D	E
1	Kayshon Boutte	LSU	Junior
2
3	Positional Rank:	Grade:	Height:	Weight:	Notes:
4	NA	Pick 100-150	6'	205	Potential first round talent before the surgeries, but 2022 tape is abysmal.
5
6	Career Stats:
7	2022	48-538-2
8	2021	38-509-9
9	2020	45-735-5
10
11	Overview:
12	Strengths:	Notes:
13	Improvisation	If he has no separation when sitting underneath, he will consistently ad lib a route to provide a moving target for his quarterback. Doing this effectively is a unique skill not often seen in college receivers.
14	RAC [in Stride]	He is not a typical gadget guy or remotely shifty, but he is a strong runner who has a good stiff arm and knows how to navigate defenders. He will likely not be a RAC guy, but he typically makes the most of plays from stride.
15	Stance	Rarely wasted movements on his release.
16
17	Weaknesses:	Notes:
18	Separation in Man	Whether it is press or off man coverage, Boutte cannot manufacture his own separation.
19	Route Pacing	Most routes are run with similar speeds. Aside from his lack of urgency, knowing when to accelerate and when to slow down or sit is a skill he will need to develop.
20	Acceleration	Boutte plays with high hips and rarely steps on the gas unless the ball is in his hands.
21
22	Film:
23	Game:	Statline:	Takeaways:
24	Alabama (11/05/2022)	7-51-0	Efficient stance. Poor block attempt. Promptly picked up underneath. Looks consistently slow off the line. Kept moving for scrambling quarterback. Slightly angled route. Really not gaining separation from slot, where he plays nearly every snap. Great slight angle on deep route to then gain separation over the top against safeties. Lost balance crossing behind laterally. Great stance, but lacking pure acceleration. Strong stiff arm. Good catch through contact on comeback. Good mid route acceleration. Provided target on ad lib route. Dropped pass slightly behind him. Slower releases, and not gaining much separation on any route, man or zone. Unsure hands. No separation downfield in man. Poor play speed on crossing routes. Slot only, and really showed nothing whatsoever on tape that would be worthy of even a day two pick.
25	Georgia (12/03/2022)	6-107-1	Cannot gain separation against off man. No suddenness in routes. Tall pivots. Keeps feet moving in shallow zone. Maximizes space. Physical on the outside. Decent blocks, but consistently leans to the point of losing balance if the opponent rips. Does not appear remotely athletic out on the field. Strong run after catch for the long touchdown. Route was nothing special, but playstyle is effective in the right situation. Simply cannot create separation in man coverage. Great second move. Consistently shows ability to improvise. Good catch with a guy on him. Great footwork on pivot. Improvised successfully again. Lacks separation on cross. Route to flat run as expected. Poor pacing in front of linebackers. Does not pull away downfield.
26	Ole Miss (10/22/2022)	4-43-0	Extension on block with appropriate lean and decent hand placement. Efficient releases. Hips stayed high on stutter resulting in weaker lateral burst. Great footwork behind the LOS. Another great block, with appropriate angle. Uses length well on blocks. Slow play speed, could have sat behind linebackers wide open if he ran with a bit more urgency. Good decision to sit. Good extra gear after catch. Ran into linebacker on route. Route from outside. Lacks strong hands at the catch point. Another effective block. Strong runs after catch. Picked up quickly on crossing route.
27
28	Attributes (at a glance):		Grade / 10:	Notes:
29	Separation	Short	2	Does not manufacture his own separation. The only reason this is not a 1/10 is because his release is efficient.
30		Medium	4	Crossing patterns often cause him to be in open space, but his pacing throughout those routes can still improve. If someone is tagging him throughout the route, then he will not pull away.
31		Deep	5	As a slot receiver, he occasionally will find himself with some room to work downfield over the middle. Again, if there is a man directly on him, then it is unlikely that he creates much distance between them.
32	Release	Stance	10	Typically no wasted movements on release.
33		Acceleration	3	Rarely displays much of a burst in any direction from the line.
34		Hip control	4	He plays high most of the time, but occasionally drops lower when coming laterally off the line.
35	Hands	Catch reliability	3	Drops too many passes for comfort.
36		Catch radius	6	He is able to make catches away from his body at 6' with decent length.
37		Contested catch	2	Does not demonstrate strong hands at the catch point. This was his biggest knock coming out of his true freshman season as well.
38	RAC	Athleticism	6	This is completely incorrect regarding measurables and previous tape. He reportedly ran a 4.37 40 coming out of high school, and is a strong runner. Throughout his 2022 tape, he displays poor body control at the catch point, little play strength or speed, and completely lacks burst. There is nothing he does on tape in 2022 to indicate that he is the athlete he was in previous years at the position aside from some stronger runs.
39		Agility	5.5	While his hips stay high and he has no suddenness to his game, he takes great angles in the open field.
40		Contact balance	7.5	Strong runner with the ball in his hands. Typically must be wrapped up in order to be taken down.
41	Blocking	Technique	9.5	While his balance and overall technique could be cleaned up a bit, he is an extremely effective blocker at the second level.
42	Blocking	Willingness	10	Boutte is always looking for the block.
43	Coverage	Press	2	Simply cannot pull away in man coverage. He occasionally will gain favorable positioning, which is why this is not a 1/10.
44	Coverage	Off	3	Decent footwork on pivots and route tree over middle increase this to a 3/10. If he is picked up, then he will not pull away from any corner or safety.
45
46	Final Scouting Report:
47	With all of the first round hype surrounding Boutte coming out of 2021, he has failed to live up to expectations. Whether it is the ankle injury or combination of some other reasons, he is clearly not the same player as he was in 2021. There is little throughout his 2022 tape to suggest that he will return value on a day one or even day two pick. Teams that believe that he can return to form may take a shot on him in an early round, but anyone spending an early pick on him will be terrified given this last season. The biggest difference from 2021 to 2022 were cuts out of his route breaks. In 2022, he showed almost no burst in the open field with very little route pacing. He simply failed to pull away from defenders in nearly all circumstances. While he plays mostly from the slot, his ability to find the soft spot in the zone is severely lacking as well. He almost always has someone near him on any given play regardless of where he lines up unless it is a blown coverage. He is poor in contested catch situations, and already does not have the most reliable hands. This combination of poor separation and contested catch ability will be a major issue at the next level. His strengths will make him a good fit in certain systems. He is a great blocker, and is good at improvising to help a scrambling quarterback. His run after the catch is still excellent, despite his apparent lack of burst from the line and throughout his routes. He has little wasted movement throughout his release as well as his routes, and has great footwork from behind the line of scrimmage. With as much production he had through only six games in 2021, this last season will have plummeted his draft stock. There were reps in 2021 where he cleanly won from the outside, where in 2022 he failed to separate even as a slot only player. It is completely understandable if a team wants to take a shot on him day two, but do not be surprised if many teams put a day three grade on him.
48
49	Projections:
50	Likely	Boutte will likely get taken in the second round due to what he did over his first two seasons at LSU. If he does not return to his pre-surgery form, then he will likely wind up a bust by NFL standards.
51	Optimal	If he returns to form and gets drafted into the right system, then he could still have a great NFL career.
52	Pro Comp	JuJu Smith-Schuster. Boutte is a similar prospect, but a bit smaller which limits some of his strengths from the slot. JuJu was the 62nd overall pick, so a similar yet slightly smaller prospect with significantly less production who will be older on draft day going closer to picks 100-150 is logical.
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