Draft Analysis: Demario Douglas

February 22, 2023 /
  • Height: 5’8″
  • Weight: 179 lb
  • College: Liberty
  • Tape watched: Arkansas, Wake Forest, Akron
  • College Comparison: Jaelon Darden

Pros

  • Explosiveness
    Speed and explosiveness are off the charts with Demario Douglas. He may have the greatest change of direction in the entire draft class. Douglas has effortless acceleration and speed. He is a problem to tackle with his lateral agility as well.
  • Route Running
    Douglas maximizes his small, explosive nature through his route running. He is elite at chasing the back shoulders of defensive backs, resulting in defenders turning the wrong way while Douglas zips by them.
A great route has the corner spinning, but his lack of size is on display on what is a pretty good throw from the quarterback.
  • RAC
    Going hand-in-hand with his explosiveness, Demario Douglas frequently picks up extra yards after the catch. His low center of gravity makes it hard to get square hits on him. He will make a lot of guys miss in the NFL.

Midline

  • Hands
    Douglas is a very solid hand catcher that rarely drops the ball. His catch radius is severely limited by his height, hand size, and wingspan.
  • Release
    While Douglas is effective with his hands and shoulder dips, he may struggle with press coverage in the NFL. He often took extremely wide releases to avoid contact, something the NFL will not have time or space for.

Cons

  • Catch Radius
    Standing at 5’7.5″ with a 73″ wingspan, Demario Douglas is seriously limited in the number of targets he can convert to catches. NFL windows and opportunities shrink drastically compared to college.
  • Size
    Receivers under 5’10” struggle to carve out real roles on offense in the NFL. Douglas may have the traits to stand out, but he will have to light the combine on fire to be trusted with a Day 2 pick in the draft.

Overview

Demario Douglas is a very fun NFL prospect. His speed and quickness stand out immediately on film. He has a nose for the endzone, scoring six times in both his junior and senior seasons. A fierce competitor, Douglas was all gas and no breaks on the field. Every route had meaning and he didn’t take plays off.

With anyone of his size, major questions are raised heading into draft season. His average yards per catch numbers in college are concerning for someone of his speed and skillset. Douglas may be a bargain steal later in the draft with how similar he is to other highly touted receivers.