2018 NFL Draft: Equanimeous St. Brown can break out in NFL
After a less than stellar collegiate career at Notre Dame, Equanimeous St. Brown has his eyes set on the 2018 NFL Draft. Can he break out at the next level?
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A former 4-star recruit from Anaheim, California, Equanimeous St. Brown was expected to continue the tradition of elite pass catchers at Notre Dame. After playing extremely sparingly during his freshman season he turned in a pair of decent, albeit not overwhelming impressive seasons and now he’s off to the NFL.
St. Brown leaves Notre Dame with 1,484 career receiving yards and 13 touchdowns. Having a run-first quarterback like Brandon Wimbush at the helm of the Irish offense in 2017 did St. Brown no favors, but stats alone aren’t what makes St. Brown an intriguing NFL prospect.
Strengths
The same things that made St. Brown a top recruit will get the attention of NFL scouts and general managers. St. Brown is a 6-foot-5 burner. He didn’t wow with his 40-yard dash time at the NFL Combine quite like D.J. Chark, but his combination of size and athleticism is hard to come by.
Every touchdown by Equanimeous St. Brown for Notre Dame right here. pic.twitter.com/xZ8bgQuBZE
— James Simpson (@JS_Football) March 5, 2018
St. Brown knows how to maneuver his body with the ball in the air. He reads the ball well and has a knack for making catches that seem out of reach or too challenging to haul in. He’s a home run hitter, and if he connects on the one play that matters, he can win a game with his legs.
Weaknesses
St. Brown isn’t polished to the same degree as some of the best wide receiver prospects in this draft. Outside of his athleticism, he’s very much so a project player.
A below-average route runner, St. Brown easily gets pushed off of his path by physical corners. Even when given space to work he moves somewhat lazily across the field, lacking effort when the play doesn’t involve him. While he can make the circus catches, his attention on routine passes is hit or miss.
Effort and focus are something that can’t be coached, and are understandably huge red flags. St. Brown does not play at 100 percent nearly close enough to 100 percent of the time.
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Draft expectations
St. Brown is everything that NFL teams look for in a late round flier. He has the raw talent to become a productive NFL starter down the line, if given the proper coaching. There will be at least one team that decides to pull the trigger, but it won’t be until Day 3.