Tyler Boyd, WR Pitt
Height: 6-2 (unofficial)
Weight: 200 (unofficial)
40-time: 4.49 (projected)

NFL Comparison: Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen

– Just a complete statistical monster at Pitt, broke nearly every team record in receiving categories; not bad considering Larry Fitzgerald went to Pitt.

– Left school early after junior season to pursue NFL career.

– Is used in all sorts of ways to get the ball in his hands; kickoff-returns, slip-screens, end-arounds, reverses, rushes out of the backfield, etc. at the college level like a taller, bigger Percy Harvin; clearly a weapon who can line up for you anywhere on the field.

– A legitimate option not only for outside stock-blocks on CBs, but strong enough to get his nose dirty cracking inside from a flexed alignment to bigger overhang-players like OLBs and safeties.

– Quick feet off of his release; finds separation naturally in numerous ways; at times looks like a running back playing wide receiver in a way sort of reminiscent of Bruce Ellington out of college, except his routes are more polished and Boyd is a much better prospect than Ellington was.

– Not an Odell Beckham or Antonio Brown-precision-explosive route runner out of cuts, but smooth enough and fast; more on the Amari Cooper-end of the route-running spectrum which is not as impressive physically but nearly every bit as productive, and, at the end of the day, still elite.

– Possesses rare trait of elite suddenness that you don’t see often, it’s the one that pops off maybe the most in Boyd; smooth and sudden and elusive with the football in his hands; reminds you in this way of a Keenan Allen or a slightly less-explosive Sammy Watkins.

– Elite hands with a soft, sticky feel to them that reminds you of Deandre Hopkins coming out of college; frames the football beautifully and never gets upfield before seeing it in.

– Was able to generate the production he did in college despite constant double-teams and over-the-top bracketing of his routes with safety help; a player opposing staffs would need to account for every single play.

– In contrast to Rashard Higgins, who is around the same height but about 20 pounds lighter, Boyd is much beastlier than you would imagine at the catch-point at times; plays with the confidence of a taller player; he won’t win every jump-ball, but he’ll win a bunch.

– Exhibits elite body control and spatial understanding to exploit voided areas of zone shells and to keep his feet in bounds for sideline catches.

Fantasy Outlook

There’s a lot of “elite” when evaluating Tyler Boyd in-depth based on film alone. We know after all these years that when this happens, we could have something special on our hands. We don’t use the “e”-word lightly around here. He’s among the players we’re most interested to see live running routes in Indy later this month to compare his sticking, driving and explosive ability out of cuts up against the best players in the class.

For now, and until we see otherwise, it’s safe to say that Boyd is certainly in the conversation as the best wide receiver available in the 2016 NFL draft. He has a terrific shot to be selected in the first round and for early dynasty-league purposes, a player we see as being worth a Top 5 pick in rookie drafts, especially in PPR formats.

Much will depend on the team-fit and the club that selects him. If given the snaps, routes and opportunity to make an early impact with an NFL club as a rookie, Boyd will be redraft-relevant in his first season as a pro with upside to be an eventual fantasy WR1. Too many elite traits and too much ridiculous production.

From the Pitt Athletic Department:

Declared for the NFL Draft following his junior season…finished his collegiate career as Pitt’s all-time leader in both receptions (254) and receiving yards (3,361)…finished second at Pitt in career all-purpose yards (5,243), trailing only the legendary Tony Dorsett (7,117 from 1973-76)…named a first-team All-ACC wide receiver by the coaches and media for the second consecutive year…finished his junior year with 91 catches for 926 yards (10.2 avg.) and six touchdowns in 12 games…also was Pitt’s second-leading rusher with 349 yards on 40 carries (8.7 avg.)…Boyd’s 91 catches rank second on Pitt’s single-season list, one shy of the school record held by all-time great Larry Fitzgerald (who had 92 in 2003)…Boyd led the ACC and ranked seventh nationally with 7.6 receptions per game…he was second in the ACC (39th nationally) with 77.2 receiving yards per game…ranked second in the ACC and 28th nationally in all-purpose yards (128.25 avg.)…was twice named the ACC Receiver of the Week (Iowa and Syracuse games)…at Iowa, Boyd had 10 receptions for a season-high 131 yards (13.1 avg.) and the game-tying touchdown catch with 52 seconds left…on the game-tying drive, Boyd had three catches for 32 yards, including grabs that converted a 4th-and-3 (five yards) and the TD (eight yards)…in a 23-20 win at Syracuse, Boyd threw a 38-yard completion, rushed six times for 34 yards (5.7 avg.) and had a career-high 12 receptions for 93 yards…he accounted for nearly 40% of Pitt’s total yards (165 of 427) against the Orange, while also adding 75 kickoff return yards…per ESPN.com, Boyd became the first player to record 20 yards passing, rushing and receiving in consecutive games since UTEP’s Lorne Sam in 2007 (a week prior against Georgia Tech, Boyd threw for 29 yards, rushed for 26 and had 68 receiving)…had 103 yards on 11 catches and a 35-yard touchdown in a 45-34 win over Louisville…Boyd compiled 13 career 100-yard receiving games, second at Pitt only to Larry Fitzgerald (who had 14 from 2002-03).