2021 NFL Draft Prospect Profile: WR Trevon Grimes, Florida
WR TREVON GRIMES
Height: 6'3"
Weight: 217 lbs.
Class: Senior
School: Florida
Former five-star recruit by a lot of outlets, but was a four-star recruit on 247 Sports. Originally committed to Ohio State and only appeared in 2 games before transferring to Florida for the 2018 season.
Grimes attended the same high school as Asante Samuel Jr (St. Thomas Aquinas), one of the nation's premier powerhouse high school programs. Grimes was the 41st ranked recruit in the 2017 cycle.
Grimes was in an offense filled with star playmakers at Florida; in 2020, he was the third option behind TE Kyle Pitts and WR Kadarius Toney. Grimes was still able to haul in 9 touchdowns and 589 yards on 38 catches in Dan Mullen’s spread type of offense.
Grimes finished his time at Florida 97 catches for 1444 yards and 14 touchdowns. Attended the 2021 Reese’s Senior Bowl and had a good week of practice while securing a late fourth-quarter touchdown against Washington’s DB Keith Taylor.
Notables
I’m not big on comparisons, but Grimes reminds me of his former college teammate and current New York Giant, Austin Mack. Both were highly regarded out of high school, and both didn’t exactly live up to their potential, but there’s still evident talent that is a bit untapped.
They’re both bigger-bodied, long-striding receivers who lack elite athletic traits but utilizes solid nuances to their advantage. Head coach Dan Mullen also used Grimes in the “Austin Mack” role as a blocker in tighter offensive alignments where he motioned Grimes off the back of a tight end and quickly snapped the football. Grimes figures to be a late day three selection in the upcoming draft.
Traits
Great size and length, with solid athletic ability, who lacks ideal play speed. However, he did show exceptional straight-line speed chasing down a negated Kyle Trask interception against LSU in 2019 (may allude to him testing well).
Grimes does possess a solid change of direction skills, and he’s sufficient with accelerating out of his breaks. Good footwork throughout his routes and stop/start ability help create extra separation, especially vertically (sinks hips, skips, re-accelerates on fades). He has a second gear, but his top end speed within a route is solid at best.
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Fires feet at the line of scrimmage and uses hesitation and dead leg type of releases to keep the defensive backs patient before he commits to his stem; does a good job sinking his hips and accelerating vertically (inside or out), uses hands well to maximize space and gain an edge on defenders. Is capable of maintaining acceleration on horizontal breaking routes as well - doesn’t possess consistent elite separation quickness ability throughout routes on a down by down basis.
Grimes showed strong hands, good body control/tracking ability, and very good adjustments as a vertical threat. Catches balls away from his body and brings them into his big frame, also shields the catch point well from defenders. Ball skills are apparent, and he operated as a quality red-zone option for Florida - had a touchdown on 24% of his receptions in 2020.
He had a great play against Alabama star cornerback and possible top 10 pick Patrick Surtain II in 2020. Surtain was in good position, on top of Grimes route, but the Florida receiver jumped inside, let Surtain’s momentum carry him to the sidelines, and plucked the ball out of the air before Surtain could make a play on it. Grimes then secured the catch and ran for 15 yards to score.
Mullen trusted Grimes as a primary blocker on many key plays; at times, Grimes was tasked to block the end man on the line of scrimmage from an advantageous angle--on these plays, he’s surrendering 40 pounds. Grimes is a quality blocking option as a wide receiver, and that could be the part of his game that gets him drafted late on day three.
Overall, Grimes is a savvy route runner with good football intelligence. He possesses a solid release, is good at the catch point, and adjusts well to passes. His five-star pedigree will interest teams, but he never put it all together in college. He has many solid traits, but his play speed isn’t ideal - he’ll test well, but he’s more of a big-bodied receiver who wins with physicality rather than superior athletic traits.
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