NFL teams are always looking for the big, athletic, downfield receiver, and Elic Ayomanor fits that description as well as anyone in this draft. He burst into the public eye after his jaw-dropping 300 yard performance against Travis Hunter and Colorado – unfortunately, the acrobatic catches he made in that game are the exception rather than the rule.
Measurements
Height: 6’2’’, Weight: 206, Arm Length: 32.4’’, Hands: 10’’
Testing – Combine
40-Yard Dash: 4.44, 10-Yard Split: 1.58, Vertical: 38.5’’, Broad: 10’7’’
Scouting Overview
As a route runner, Ayomanor has some of the most promising skills in this entire draft. He has a wide variety of footwork techniques at the line of scrimmage, and executes them with precision. He combines patience with suddenness to gain quick separation even against savvier cornerbacks. He also uses violent hand-counters to prevent defenders from getting into his chest and slowing him down. These skills make him very effective on layup routes like slants. After he makes the catch, he has the capacity to turn up field, creating big plays from easy completions.
Once he’s off the line of scrimmage, Ayomanor has the speed to continue pulling away from his defender. Sometimes he fails to stack cornerbacks on go routes, allowing them back into the play, but he’s a serious problem for anyone to deal with on posts and corners. His breaks are sudden and explosive, particularly on in-breaking routes. He also uses physicality at the top of routes, where he can bully defenders to create additional separation.
Ayomanor will need to refine his footwork on certain routes however. His weight drops on curl routes are extremely inconsistent. He often lunges forward rather than dropping down, causing him to need extra steps before turning back to the quarterbacks. Ayomanor also has a tendency to drift towards defenders when facing zone coverage.
Ayomanor does so many good things as a route runner, but leaves far too many plays on the field because of his issues once the ball has been thrown. He has major lapses with tracking the football over his shoulder, and there are numerous occasions where fails to get his hands on catchable throws because of this. When he does track the ball, he often uses incorrect hand positioning for certain targets. This is particularly evident when he’s in tight coverage, a scenario that he will face far more often in the NFL. Even when he avoids both of these lapses, defenders are able to knock the ball out his hands more often than you’d expect. Ayomanor also has a tendency to clap onto the football, rather than attacking it with his thumbs and index fingers together.
Despite all of those negatives, Ayomanor is still capable of making some fantastic contested catches. He’s physical and competitive at the catch point, but these technical lapses will only become a bigger problem at the next level. If Ayomanor had significant issues with just one or two parts of the pass catching process, I would be more bullish about his chances to develop into a really good player. Unfortunately, these types of players so often end up teasing teams with moments of brilliance, but are ultimately too inconsistent to be heavily relied upon.
It’s also worth that mentioning that Ayomanor is hands down the best blocker in this wide receiver class. He truly loves to hit people and gives full effort on every play. This might not be important to most fans, but wide receiver blocking is a critical part of any running game. Even if Ayomanor has up’s and down’s in the passing game, his blocking will likely keep in on the field.
Player Comparison
It’s hard to watch Elic Ayomanor and not be slightly reminded of Quentin Johnston. Not exactly the comparisons you’d want to hear, but both of these players showed really promising skills against man and press coverage, while struggling to finish plays at the catch point. The problem with this archetype of player, is no matter how good of a route runner you are, it’s almost impossible to deliver big production as an X-receiver if you can’t consistently make plays in tight coverage. While he has a much different build, another great example of this is Diontae Johnson. Johnson legitimately was, and still might be, one of the best route runners in the NFL. But he could never get over the hump and become a truly great receiver because of this weakness. If Ayomanor can moderately improve both as a route runner and pass catcher, he could give a team similar production to what Johnson gave the Steelers.
Final Grade: Mid/Late 3rd Round
This article originally appeared on Raiders Wire: NFL Draft Scouting Report – Elic Ayomanor
