PRO 2025 Rookie Spotlight: Tai Felton, WR Maryland
Rookie Spotlight: Tai Felton, Maryland
Height: 6-2
Weight: 186
Hands:
Arm:
2025 Age: 22 – (3/15/03)
NFL Play-Style Comparison: Ryan Grant, Khalil Shakir
Draft Grade: 6th Round
Projected 40: 4.58
Breakout Age: 21 (Senior)
Event: Senior Bowl
Offensive Market Share Metrics (Final Season)
Receptions: 30%
Receiving Yards: 34%
Receiving TDs: 43%
High School: Stone Bridge HS (Ashburn, Virginia)
As a high school prospect: Class of 2021; 3-star (5.5)
Honors: Captain, 2024 AP Third Team All-American, First Team All-Big Ten
College Attended: Maryland
Pros
– Set School Record for Most Receptions in a single season (96), extremely productive
– Intentional route runner
– 6+ receptions in 10 of 12 games in 2024
– Asset and willing participant in the run game
– Grinder
– 5th in the nation among qualifiers in forced missed tackles by PFF
– 57 of his 2024 completions resulted in first downs (tied for 3rd in all of CFB)
– 2nd most targeted player in College Football (143), 4th in total YAC (590)
– Team Captain
Cons
– Slight frame, lower half leaves a bit to be desired
– Short strider
– 8 drops in 2024 (7.7%), 4 total in previous 3 seasons.
– Contested catch-ability is underwhelming
– Lacks ability to separate downfield, middle quadrant merchant
– Had his least productive games against the toughest opponents on the schedule (Penn State, Oregon, Indiana)
Highlight/Film
Scouting Notes:
Tai Felton’s career began at Maryland in 2021 with a receiving room consisting of Chig Okonkwo (Tennessee Titans), Rakim Jarrett (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), and Dontay Demus (UFL), he finished that true freshman season with just 5 receptions for 51 yards. The following season with Okonkwo off to the NFL, he out-produced Demus, finishing 6th on the team in receiving. Felton finished his career at Maryland in style, breaking the team record for receptions in a season (96) while earning All-Big Ten first-team honors and AP third-team All-American honors. As a player, Felton brings a lot to the table, his frame is a bit slight through the lower half on film. I’m looking forward to seeing Felton most in Mobile for the Senior Bowl at the end of the month, he is a player who could gain a ton of ground if he takes advantage of opportunities in 1-on-1 and team drills. Over the past few years we have watched guys like Roman Wilson and Michael Wilson gain some ground that week due to their knack for getting open consistently in Mobile, and I believe Tai Felton could be that guy this year.
I’d love to see Felton improve in the contested catch category, a place he really struggled with at Maryland, he had 32 contested opportunities over the last two seasons, catching just 10, according to PFF. One of Felton’s best traits is finding the soft spots against zone defense, predominantly on 10-15 yard corner routes and deep slants – he finished 2024 with 57 first downs on 96 receptions, the third most in college football. Felton has time to improve but at the time of publishing, I have a 5th-6th round grade on him, however with a great week in Mobile, stamping a ticket into the 4th round of the NFL Draft is well within his range of outcomes. At time of posting, he’s a guy you could take a flier on in the final picks of deep dynasty rookie league drafts given his excellent production in college and his command of gotta-have-it situations for his college offense.
