Rookie Spotlight: Kevin Austin Jr., Notre Dame
Height: 6’ 2”
Weight: 200 lbs
Hands: 9”
Arm: 32 7/8”
40 yard dash: 4.43(official)
NFL Comparison: DJ Chark, CeeDee Lamb

College Production (Final Season)
17% team receptions
24% team receiving yards
23% team receiving TDs

Breakout Age: 22

Pros
Prototypical build
Explosive off the line
Good tackle breaking ability
Agile
Adjusts well to the ball
Can play at all levels of the field
Sinks hips well for his size
Physical blocker

Cons
Disciplinary issues caused him to miss 2019
Two foot surgeries caused him to miss most of 2020
Only 54 catches in college career
Let’s too many balls into chest

Scouting Notes:
Austin is an athletic specimen who literally jumped off the field at the Combine – 39” vertical – and pulled off a 4.43 forty. It was his blazing 3-cone drill (6.71 sec) though that really turned heads in Indy – For reference, the average WR 3-cone drill time is 6.94 seconds. To accomplish all this at 6’2”, 200 lbs is quite a feat and shows just how explosive Austin is – he’s in the 88th percentile among WRs per PlayerProfiler.com when his agility scores are size-adjusted. Able to play inside and out on the perimeter, Austin possesses a wide catch radius and wins contested watches easily with his physicality and leaping ability. After the catch, Austin is quick to get up to speed and is powerful enough to break tackles with regularity. He’s also pretty agile for someone of his size, showing wiggle and flexibility. Austin brings his athleticism to his blocking as well, where he can stand up most corners consistently. A bit raw as a route runner, Austin only caught 54 balls his entire career, but he’s a quick learner, as evidenced by the fact that 23 of those catches came over his last 5 games – He missed his 2019 season due to undisclosed disciplinary issues and he missed all but 2 games in 2020 due to 2 surgeries he had on his left foot. Austin didn’t have the most consistent college career, but he led the Irish in receiving his senior year (48 rec, 888 yards, 7 TDs), and he has room to grow.

Fantasy Outlook:
Austin’s elite athleticism displayed at the Combine should give him a boost in the draft, as well as the recent emergence of do-it-all receivers in the NFL. The fact that Austin has no special teams experience does hurt his stock a bit, but that’s also something he can learn. As a fantasy prospect, the sky is the limit for Austin. A player of his size, speed, and explosiveness could develop into a team’s no.1 option, but his checkered past as far as his character issues and injury history could potentially derail his chances. His rawness as a prospect means that it could be a season or two before we see what he really brings to the table. In dynasty, he makes for a boom-or-bust flier in rookie drafts until we see clear evidence to suggest otherwise in rookie minicamps or coming into NFL training camps.