Joe Petro/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
HEIGHT: 6’6″
WEIGHT: 237
HAND: 9 1/2″
ARM: 35 1/4″
WINGSPAN: 84 3/8″
40-YARD DASH:
3-CONE:
SHUTTLE:
VERTICAL:
BROAD:
POSITIVES
— Rare size and length for the position.
— Above-average long speed. Can be useful down the field when he really gets to stride out.
— Good foot speed and change of direction for his size. Surprisingly smooth.
— Great route-running technique and intelligence. Understands how to attack DBs and use length to his advantage.
— Above-average blocker. Plays with some energy.
— Flashes outstanding ability to snag throws well outside his frame.
NEGATIVES
— Below-average stop/start explosiveness. Too lanky to be twitchy.
— Inconsistent ability to finish acrobatic catches.
— Below-average ability to work tight spaces may limit him to outside WR alignments only.
2023 STATISTICS
— 10 G, 41 REC, 617 YDS (15.0 AVG), 2 TD
NOTES
— Born Apr. 3, 2001
— 4-star recruit in Arizona State’s 2020 class, per 247Sports
— Transferred from Arizona State to Florida State in 2022
— 26 career starts
— 2022 second-team All-ACC, 2023 third-team All-ACC
— Missed four games in 2023 with undisclosed injuries
OVERALL
Johnny Wilson is a skyscraper-sized wide receiver with surprising movement ability and impressive polish.
Wilson is 6’7″ and 237 pounds, and he sports outrageously long arms. His size alone makes him difficult to bully at the line or throughout his routes, but he supplements that with crafty use of his length and impressive power to run through physical defensive backs.
As a route-runner, Wilson has much more to him than his ball-winner frame suggests. He plays with surprisingly quick feet and smooth hips. Wilson is able to throttle down and burst out of his route breaks with relative ease for a player his size.
Wilson is also an exceptionally smart route-runner. He does an awesome job of setting up his route breaks by attacking defensive backs’ shoulders and making them open up one way before cutting back the other. Wilson also generally does well to make himself friendly to the quarterback.
The drawbacks with Wilson are mostly related to him being too big for his own good at times.
For example, Wilson does not have much immediate stop/start ability. He takes a few steps to get rolling off the line of scrimmage, and he does not have the shiftiness in space to make defenders miss consistently. Wilson’s limited ability to quickly function in tight spaces will likely exclude him from playing in the slot very much.
Wilson is also inconsistent on high-difficulty catches. He flashes incredible ability to snag the ball outside his frame, but he sometimes struggles to maintain coordination while attacking the ball. It’s more of an inconsistency than something he just can’t do, but it’s worth noting.
Wilson is a standard X receiver with one-of-a-kind size. His combination of length, relative mobility and advanced route-running ability could make him an immediate contributor. Wilson would fit best in an offense that emphasizes true dropback concepts and allows him to work the 8-to-20-yard range outside the numbers.
GRADE: 7.0 (High-Level Backup/Potential Starter — 3rd Round)
OVERALL RANK: 81
POSITION RANK: WR14
PRO COMPARISON: Plaxico Burress
