SI All-American Candidate Kaden Prather Highlights and Evaluation
Prospect: Kaden Prather
Status: SI All-American Candidate
Vitals: 6-foot-3, 200 pounds
Position: Wide Receiver
School: Germantown (Md.) Northwest
Committed to: West Virginia
Projected Position: Wide Receiver
Frame: Ideally built pass-catcher frame with adequate height, yet room to add mass. Developed lower-body with above-average wingspan.
Athleticism: One-cut and go specialist with strong lower-body burst and top speed to match. Gets into his stride quicker than most without much wasted movement before or after the catch. Basketball foundation has translated to plus ball-tracking skill.
Instincts: A natural with the ball in his hands. He can win with pure explosiveness or slow the game down and use defenders’ leverage against them. Patient in traffic with some grit when tacklers come close. Could stand to take more risks laterally, particularly after the catch.
Polish: There is an ease to his game no matter the role as a pass-catcher, runner or special teams standout. It shows up most when he has the football in his hands, calculating risk to play slow in allowing blocks to set up or just use that great burst to blow by defenders. Seems asked to run verticals and dominate the screen game at the prep level, so a fulfilled route tree in college will likely round out his game.
Bottom Line: Prather is a do-it-all threat in a classic WR1 body. He can torch defenses down the field just as well as he can after the catch, with great burst and top speed to boot. Factor in a great frame, true lower-body power and great body control and he profiles as one of the most physically gifted wideouts in the class of 2021. Should he polish up his route-running and buy into the running game, it won’t take much time for him to impact the Power 5 level.