Draft Analysis: Danny Gray

April 21, 2022 /
  • Height: 5’11”
  • Weight: 186
  • College: Southern Methodist University
  • Tape watched: Houston, Tulane, Memphis
  • NFL Comparison: Jarius Wright

Pros

  • Speed
    Gray shreds yards quickly with his powerful 4.33s strides. He eats up off-coverage and often times draws safety attention. Gray is one open seam, or one missed tackle away from six points every catch.
  • Hands/Body Control
    While he may not be the best true hand-catcher, Gray rarely lets the ball hit the ground. It is impressive to watch Gray’s ability to track back to a football and fight away defenders. Teams like to see aggression at the catch point, and Gray displays plenty. Gray also is skilled at finding the football quickly, whether on poor throws or comeback routes where his head has to snap around.

Midline

  • RAC
    Without elite speed this would be a con of Danny Gray. He simply does not have the power or elusiveness to make plays with the football post-catch. His opportunities for RAC rely on space and angles to manipulate in order to reach his top speed.

Cons

  • Release
    Gray is severely limited in the ways he approaches press coverage. There is little to no hand usage in his release up to and through his route stem. His hips seem stiff and lack real threat to change pace and direction. Defender contact can take Gray out of the play entirely.
  • Blocking
    Missed assignments and lack of true detail sum up Danny Gray’s blocking in the games observed.
  • Route Running
    As mentioned previously, stiff hips and upright running limit how Gray is able to set up and execute his routes. There are obvious cues in his horizontal routes such as slants and digs. Gray can be late to work back to the football when he sits in coverage, triggering late throws or missed opportunities to scramble with the quarterback. Contact and hands-on cornerbacks impacted Gray’s routes greatly. Gray also needs to be more cognizant of stacking defenders vertically and rely less on pure speed to separate. Everyone is fast in the NFL.

Overview

Danny Gray enters the 2022 draft class as one of the premier speed options. Gray’s college experience is limited to just 18 games and per game averages of 4.5 receptions, a nice 69.5 yards, and 0.7 touchdowns. There are major weaknesses that need corrected to make an NFL impact, such as his release and route running, becoming more consistent with his hands, and blocking. Gray should find a home based on his speed alone, and will fight for a spot towards the bottom of a receiver rotation.