Rookie Scouting Profile: Zay Flowers

FullTime Fantasy Rookie Scouting Profile: Zay Flowers (WR)

Zay Flowers (WR) Boston College

Height	Weight	40-Time	DOB	NFL Draft	Dynasty ADP	NFL Comp
5-9	182	4.42	09/11/2000	Round 1-2	1.07	Steve Smith

College Production

Xavien Flowers was a three-star recruit out of University High in Fort Lauderdale, Florida who chose Boston College over Kansas State, Nebraska, and South Carolina. Played in 13 games as a true freshman with two starts. Blossomed in 2020, leading the Eagles with 892 receiving yards and nine TD grabs and being named to the All-ACC First-Team squad. Was named to the preseason Biletnikoff Award watch list in 2021 and earned third-team All-ACC honors after a 44/746/5 stat line. His final season at BC was his best, resulting in a team-high 78/1,077/12 campaign, resulting in several regional awards, another All-ACC First-Team honor, being named and being named a Biltetnikoff Award semifinalist.

Strengths

• Ran a 4.42 40-yard dash (88th percentile) in Indianapolis.

• Dangerous open-field runner who plays far bigger than his size indicates. Uses very good footwork and route-running to force missed tackles.

• Shows extremely well in traffic and posted a solid 58% contested catch rate in 2022. Although Flowers is projected to be a slot receiver, that’s indicative of a player who can hold his own on the perimeter.

• High football IQ receiver who knows how to consistently get open with leverage and good route skills. Pass blocks well for his size.

• Boston College’s all-time leader in receptions (200), receiving yards (3,056), and TD grabs (29) and set a school record in 2022 with 78 catches and a dozen scores.

Areas for Improvement

• Undersized (5-9, 182) with small (9 1/4″, 43rd percentile) hands and very short arms (29 1/4″, 8th percentile).

• 90.1 Speed Score was only in the 37th percentile.

• Not very adept at exploiting holes in zone coverage.

• 10.3% drop rate in 2022 is a concern.

Fantasy Outlook

Zay Flowers is a fun player to watch. He plays far bigger than his size and draws a lot of comparisons to Antonio Brown. Physically, he’s very similar to former Carolina great Steve Smith, but I don’t think Flowers has that kind of upside. However, he can be a solid slot receiver with enough big-play and downfield ability to warrant first-round rookie draft attention.