NFL Draft Profile: Dontayvion Wicks, Wide Receiver, Virginia Cavaliers
#3
Pos: WR
Ht: 6010
Wt: 206
Hand: 1000
Arm: 3238
Wing: 8028
40: 4.62
DOB: 6/16/2001
Hometown: Plaquemine, LA
High School: Plaquemine
Eligibility: 2023
Dontayvion Wicks Virginia Cavaliers
One Liner:
Wicks excels at generating separation with his route running and footwork, but he’s suffered from an abnormally high number of drops in 2022.
Evaluation:
Wicks set Virginia’s single-season receiving yards record in 2021 with 1,203 yards, surpassing the 1,190-yard standard set by future first round pick and NFL All-Pro Herman Moore in 1990. The redshirt junior has some experience playing in the slot, but he primarily lines up as an outside X or Z receiver. Wicks has ideal arm length and a large wingspan. He deploys hesitation moves, arm fakes, and excellent footwork to manipulate defensive backs. Wicks is a master at setting up defenders for double moves. He varies his route speed and rocks defenders to sleep with his footwork. Wicks generates most of his separation with his route running. He showcases snappy cuts at the top of his route, quick transitions into and out of breaks, and good sink in his hips at the top of his routes. Wicks has good ball tracking on downfield throws, adjusts to the ball well when it’s in the air, and extends to make catches outside of his frame. He has the foot speed and fluidity to generate clean releases against press coverage. Wicks displays some elusiveness in the open field thanks to a loose lower half and short-area agility. He’s a willing blocker who buys his teammates time and space. Wicks’ drop issue rose to catastrophic levels in 2022, and most of them came on routine catches. The mental mistakes are jarring. Wicks only has minimal experience in the slot in 2022 and no significant special teams experience since 2019. He lacks home run speed and doesn’t consistently threaten corners vertically. The former three-star recruit lacks burst and explosiveness and isn’t truly twitchy. Wicks lacks the play strength to survive contact as a runner and generate yards after the catch. He struggles to play through contact in his stem and needs to use his hands and arms more when pressed. There are instances where Wicks attempts to slow-play routes, which leads to him not generating significant separation. He needs to show more urgency early in his routes instead of buying time to read the defensive back. While Wicks has committed numerous unforced errors and directly damaged his own draft stock, Brennan Armstrong and Tony Elliott bear some responsibility for the former All-ACC receiver’s struggles. Armstrong’s accuracy, ball placement, and decision-making have declined significantly from their 2021 peaks. Elliott, who previously served as the offensive coordinator at Clemson, inherited one of the nation’s most explosive offenses only to have it implode once he began making changes. The hope is Wicks will shake his case of the drops and return to his 2021 form once he’s distanced himself from Virginia’s program. Scouts and evaluators will have the chance to see if that’s possible when Wicks takes the field at the Senior Bowl.
Grade:
4th Round
Quotes:
“Oh man he’s talented. I’ve been fortunate in my career to be around a lot of talented wide receivers, and he’s as talented as the guys I’ve been around. He’s got the speed, the quickness, the ball skills, the radius, the run after the catch, and the size. You know he’s 200 plus pounds and loves to compete. He’s just one of those extremely talented guys that I’m excited to see if I can polish up this last year that I got him.” -- Virginia HC Tony Elliott on WR Dontayvion Wicks
“I told [Wicks] he’s as good as the guys that I’ve been around for the last 11 years from a talent standpoint but he's got to make that commitment that he wants to be the best at everything he does every single time he steps on the field." – Virginia wide receiver coach Tony Elliott who has coached the likes of Sammy Watkins, DeAndre Hopkins, Tee Higgins, Amari Rodgers and Hunter Renfrow.
Background:
Son of Latisha Wicks. Broke Herman Moore's 32-year-old school record for receiving yards in a season with 1,203 in 2021 and finished with 21.1 yards per reception, which led the ACC. A four-star recruit who played wide receiver and quarterback at Plaquemine High School for head coach Paul Distefano; was named second-team all-district in 2018. Also plays basketball for Plaquemine. Major is American Studies.
