Rookie Spotlight: Kadarius Toney, Florida
Height: 5’11 1/8”
Weight: 189
Hands: 9 1/2″
Arm: 30 1/2″
40 yard dash: 4.42
NFL Comparison: Curtis Samuel, KJ Hamler, Antwan Randle El

Pros
– extraordinary explosiveness
– extremely shifty and elusive
– gets in and out of breaks smoothly
– elite contact balance
– willing blocker
– excellent kick-returner
– experience at QB, RB, and WR
– explosive week at the Senior Bowl

Cons
– only one productive season
– some injury history
– could be relegated to a weapon instead of an every down player
– had a few bad drops in Senior Bowl practices

College Production Score: .23

2020 Market Share Team Receptions: 24%
2020 Market Share Team Receiving Yards: 23%
2020 Market Share Team Receiving TDs: 22%

Scouting Notes: There’s really only one full season of Toney’s work to go off of (70-984-10), but it’s a highlight reel of a senior year – it earned him a Biletnikoff nomination, as Toney is among the most electrifying playmakers to enter the draft in 2021. This first thing one notices about him is his sheer explosiveness in his movements downfield. Toney is as dynamic a player as you can come across in football, ever hurling himself forward with his pads low – Reminiscent of Kareem Hunt a few years ago. What’s so startling about his momentum is that he doesn’t lose any getting in and out of breaks. Toney played QB in highschool, and started out at Florida as an “athlete” so he played RB and some WR in addition to being a proficient kick-returner. He manages himself on the field like all of those positions at different times. He’ll run his route as a WR, see the field like a scrambling QB after the catch and move through defenders like the shiftiest of RBs. He really is a pleasure to watch with the ball in his hands. His contact balance is freakish, as he will careen off of a group of defenders to regain his footing and keep plowing downfield – That is if he actually meets any resistance. As profound as Toney’s play is, he has a scattered history at Florida. He suffered injury early on, and for a couple seasons he languished in the WR corps behind more pure receivers like Antonio Callaway. For those first three seasons Toney was mainly used as a situational playmaker. It wasn’t until his breakout 2020 campaign that he was a regular contributor to the offense. And by contributor I mean that comprehensively, as his presence is felt on the field whether he’s getting the ball or not. His movement draws attention and he’s a more than willing blocker, though he’s a tad undersized.

Fantasy Outlook: It’s a shame Toney only found his stride in his senior year, as a more consistent body of work would likely propel him to the top of draft boards. Perhaps a blazing Senior performance will be able to bolster his already rising stock. If the right team finds Toney he could be an every down playmaker, in the mold of Curtis Samuel – always one play away from fantasy relevance. But as with Samuel, it will take the right situation and perhaps a season or two before he finds his role in the NFL. In any case, he’s an easy addition to dynasty rosters as a 3rd WR at worst. We envision him being a cinch pick if he’s available in the late-second round of pre-NFL draft dynasty rookie drafts with potential to move up from there

From the Florida Athletic Department

2020: Appeared and started in all 10 games… Led team with new career highs in catches (62), receiving yards (831) and all-purpose yards (1,228)… Helped Florida become the only team in the nation with three players with at least eight touchdown receptions (Kyle Pitts and Trevon Grimes) after scoring a new career-best nine receiving scores… Joined teammate Kyle Pitts (11 touchdowns) as the fifth duo in Gators history (and first since 2001) with at least nine touchdown catches apiece and the first Gators since Taylor Jacobs (Sept.21-28, 2002) with multiple touchdown catches in consecutive games (Texas A&M and Missouri)… Finished the regular season ranked ninth in the SEC with an average of 122.8 all-purpose yards per game, and he is one of six SEC players with 11 total touchdowns this season and just one of three FBS players with a rushing, receiving and punt return touchdown this season (nine receiving, one rushing, one punt return vs Kentucky)… Registered a touchdown catch in four straight games this season, joining teammate Trevon Grimes (four straight), Percy Harvin (six games from Sept. 20-Nov. 1, 2008), and Dallas Baker (five games – the final two of 2005, and first three of 2006) as the only Gators since 2002 with touchdown catches in four straight games… Became the first Gator with three 100-yard receiving games in a season since Antonio Callaway in 2015… Logged a career-high 249 all-purpose yards (182 receiving, 56 rushing, 11 punt return) against LSU… Recorded his first career 100-yard receiving game (six catches, 107 yards, TD), and a career-high 81 return yards (74 kickoff, 7 punt) at Vanderbilt to become the first Gator since Reidel Anthony (Sept. 28, 1996 against Kentucky) with 100-plus receiving yards and 75-plus return yards… Posted a career high for receptions each of the last two games of the regular season (nine against LSU, eight at Tennessee)… Finished regular season as one of four FBS players this year with two receiving touchdowns and a rushing touchdown in a game (two receiving and one rushing touchdown at Missouri)… 2019: Played in seven games and missed six due to injury… Recorded 59 rushing yards on 12 carries (4.9 avg.), caught 10 passes for 194 yards (19.4 avg.) and returned for 33 yards on special teams, finishing the season with a total 286 all-purpose yards and one touchdown… Found the endzone during Florida’s season opener against Miami on a 66-yard touchdown pass, which is the longest catch of his career… Recorded a 48-yard reception at Missouri and a 47-yard catch versus Florida State … Overall, Toney made his impact with six explosive plays throughout his junior season… 2018: Played in 12 games and saw time at wide receiver and as the team’s wildcat quarterback… Finished the season with 629 all-purpose yards as he totaled 25 receptions for 260 receiving yards and one touchdown, 21 rushes for 240 yards, six kickoff returns for 133 yards, one punt return and a 20-yard touchdown pass as he completed one pass on a trick play… Overall for the season, Toney recorded 12 explosive plays between rushing, receiving, passing and returns… Led the team in receiving against Missouri (2 receptions, 72 yards) and Idaho (6 receptions, 54 yards)… Recorded his touchdown pass in the third quarter at Mississippi State when QB Feleipe Franks flared a lateral pass to Toney, for what looked like a screen pass that UF ran earlier in the game, where he squared his shoulders and feathered a perfect pass to TE Moral Stephens, who beat a pair of MSU defenders into the left corner of the end zone to give the Gators their first lead of the game… Had a career-long 51-yard kickoff return against Georgia… Notched his season-long rushing attempt of 34 yards in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Michigan… Named Preseason Second Team All-SEC as an athlete by the league’s coaches… 2017: Played in eight games as he battled a myriad of injuries throughout the season… Started two contests, one at running back (Vanderbilt) and one at wide receiver (LSU)… Split time with Dre Massey as the team’s wildcat quarterback… Finished the season with 287 all-purpose yards as he totaled 14 receptions for 121 receiving yards and one touchdown, 15 rushes for 152 yards, one kickoff return for 15 yards and 50 passing yards as he completed one pass on two attempts… Recorded his only touchdown of the season at Kentucky on a career-long 36-yard run… Also in that game, Toney completed a 50-yard pass to Tyrie Cleveland… Recorded season-highs against Tennessee with four receptions and 40 yards receiving… He notched a season-long reception of 23 yards against South Carolina… Registered a season-best 52 yards on a season-best six rushes against LSU.

PRIOR TO FLORIDA:
Finished his senior season with 2,894 yards and 32 touchdowns through the air and also ran for 894 yards and 15 touchdowns… Named the 2016 Class 6A Back of the Year… Made the 2016 AL.com Super All-State team… Played in the 2016 Alabama-Mississippi All-Star Classic… Named Offensive MVP of the 2016 AL.com All-Coastal Alabama team… Passed for 3,604 yards and 37 touchdowns and rushed for 896 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2015… Selected to the AL.com Coastal Alabama first team and Class 6A All-State second team during his junior season… Helped Blount to a 20-5 record in his last two seasons… Played for Coach Lev Holly.