Tylan Wallace WR Oklahoma State 2021 NFL Draft Profile
Tylan Wallace is an under-looked prospect in this year’s class. This is mostly due to the historical incoming crop of wide receivers leaving Wallace behind. While he may not be a Ja’Marr Chase or Jaylen Waddle, he will still be a difference-maker at the next level.
Tylan Wallace is a senior receiver out of Oklahoma State. He excels in the vertical game, taking the top off a defense while being a safety’s nightmare. He exploded onto the scene in 2018 to the tune of 1,489 yards and 12 touchdowns on 86 receptions. His monstrous season was followed up by consecutive injury-riddled seasons. However, when he was on the field he remained just as dominant never tallying less than 900 yards in a season.
At the Senior Bowl, Wallace looked like one of the best receivers out there. He demonstrated the verticality in his route-tree getting behind the defense. What was very intriguing was some quickness in other routes. He wasn’t used in the short or intermediate at Oklahoma State, but showed some promise on those routes in Mobile.
He is not a burner, but his 4.48 speed keeps defenses honest. The former track and basketball star not only gets past the defense but is physical at the catch point. Evident in his 43 contested catches (an FBS high in the past three seasons), Wallace can still operate if cornerbacks can keep up with him.
Wallace’s lack of a route tree is discouraging. At Oklahoma State, if he wasn’t catching screen passes, he was going downfield. While it may be due to the system, Wallace doesn’t display the agility to be a nuanced route-runner in the NFL.
A true deep threat such as Wallace will have a multitude of teams looking to acquire his talent come draft night. Likely a day two pick means teams such as the Cincinnati Bengals or Green Bay Packers may add Wallace to their offenses. The Bengals just lost a deep threat in John Ross and may look to Wallace as a more consistent option. The Packers on the other hand must scramble to get Aaron Rodgers a new pass-catcher ASAP. Regardless of where Tylan Wallace suits up next season, expect an early impact.
