Minnesota’s Rashod Bateman is a receiver who doesn’t completely excel at any one thing but he’s very good at a lot of different things which makes him have a pretty safe floor at the NFL. He’s going to probably project as a slot guy with the ability to play outside and he’s going to be a solid pick for some team. 

Strengths: 

  • Amazing Route Runner

Rashod Bateman is a great route runner with many nuances in his route running. His footwork and body placement are great when running routes and he really understands how to manipulate corners to create separation.

  • Ideal Size

Rashod Bateman has the most ideal size for a wide receiver out of all the top guys in this year’s class. At 6’2 210 he has good height and decent play strength.

  • Decent Catch Radius

Rashod Bateman provides quarterbacks with the ability to misplace balls because of his catch radius. He’s not a guy who’s going to contort his body every which way but his adequate size and leaping ability.

  • Good After the Catch

Once Rashod Bateman gets the ball in his hands he’s pretty good out in the open field and he can run past guys as well as use finesse moves to make them miss.

  • Destroys Zone Coverage

Rashod Bateman is great against zone coverage because of the way he’s just able to slide perfectly underneath the coverage and his great route running allows him to not tip off his routes too early.

  • High Football IQ

Rashod Bateman just has a great feel for the receiver position. He knows how to get open and what cornerbacks are thinking which is why I think he has a really high floor.

Weaknesses: 

  • Has a Leap to Make From College to NFL

Even though Bateman played at Minnesota, a decent Big 10 school I think he might have a tougher jump than others from college to the pros. He wasn’t pressed at all in college which is a big concern if he doesn’t have any technique for that, he also didn’t run a very diverse route tree at Minnesota with a lot of slants, hitches, and goes. 

  • Average Play Speed/Quickness

Bateman is rumored to run under a 4.4 in the 40 yard dash but watching him on tape he doesn’t play that fast. He’s not slow but he has pretty average long speed as well as average quickness. He’s not twitchy or very smooth either.

  • Inconsistent Hands

Rashod Bateman has some plays on tape where he makes spectacular catches away from his frame but oftentimes when attempting to catch in traffic he wouldn’t be aggressive and attack the ball, leading to incompletions. Sometimes going over the middle would be scared by being hit over the middle and there were a couple of drops that occurred that way. I think he needs to improve his hands and increase their consistency if he wants to be a good receiver at the NFL level. 

Player Comp: I don’t think that Rashod Bateman is going to quite develop into the Michael Thomas we know today but coming out of college both guys had similar strengths and weaknesses. They have similar frames and both guys have great route running, understanding of how to beat zone, wide catch radius, and ability after the catch. They also both had concerns about their ability to win against the press and their speed, although Bateman is faster than Thomas. Thomas is however, a more physical player with better hands. 

Final Thoughts: Overall I think that I’m a bit lower on Bateman then everyone else is. He had a lot of easy manufactured yards in college and he didn’t face press at all which really concerns me since he won’t be getting 8 yards of cushion every snap in the NFL. He’s also a slot guy which is easier to produce which means he has less value. With all that being said however, I still think that his route running, football IQ, and size still warrant a late 1st to early 2nd round pick for Rashod Bateman, with the 25-35 range being solid. He has a pretty high floor and will probably produce in the NFL even if it’s easy to. I think some solid team fits would be the WFT to get someone who completes Terry McLaurin well or the Ravens to get Lamar a weapon to make the offense less one dimensional.