NFL Draft 2021 Scouting Report: WR Terrace Marshall, LSU

2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

APRIL 10, 2021

*WR grades can and will change as more information comes in from Pro Day workouts, Wonderlic test results leaked, etc. We will update ratings as new info becomes available.

*WR-B stands for "Big-WR," a classification we use to separate the more physical, downfield/over-the- top, heavy-red-zone-threat-type WRs. Our WR-S/"Small-WRs" are profiled by our computer more as slot and/or possession-type WRs who are typically less physical and rely more on speed/agility to operate underneath the defense and/or use big speed to get open deep...they are not used as weapons in the red zone as much.

I’m struggling with this scouting study.

I already felt like this was a junior/similar/lesser version of Ja’Marr Chase…the ‘everyone who got to shine with the great LSU offense of 2019 gets a two+ round draft grade bump’ scenario that aggravates the tar out of me. But I didn’t want my pre-bias to put blinders on me, so I tried to be open to things going into this…but I had a negative outlook walking in the door.

I had never really focused on or noticed Terrace Marshall before, despite much time spent studying Joe Burrow, Clyde Edwards-Helaire, Lloyd Cushenberry, Justin Jefferson, Thaddeus Moss and Ja’Marr Chase in 2019 and/or 2020. That’s a lot of time spent watching LSU football in the best year of offense we may have ever seen in college history…and to not really notice Terrace Marshall was there is ‘telling’.

And therein lies the problem – Marshall just doesn’t jump out at me as something all that great to pursue for the NFL. He’s not terrible, but he’s not the ‘wow’ top 25-50 prospect we must have. He’s a kinda tall, kinda skinny, kinda fast, good college wide receiver…shaky NFL prospect.

When I think of the experience of watching Marshall on tape just now, and then looking at my notes, there are really two things to describe the whole study…

1) Most of his big plays came from ‘pick’ plays to spring him open or a blown coverage or a defender slipped. You don’t really see Marshall just dominating the field/the defense/his coverage…he’s kinda just there and then every so often he’s a part of a good/big play given his speed and the fact that in 2019 he was least worrisome guy for the defense.

2) He’s not doing NFL work on the tape I watched. I mean, he has NFL value going deep a bunch with his speed and he did occasional drag routes across the middle where he gets his corner picked/rubbed off and Marshall would get wide open for a catch. There is NO sign of #1 WR work here…no sharp routes, no big catch with people draped over him, no go-to-WR vibes, no ‘guy the defense is hellbent on

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

APRIL 10, 2021

stopping’ vibe. He’s just bigger than most college WRs and faster than most…but otherwise blended into the background.

To me, Marshall plays passive/finesse football…relying on speed to go deep and maybe a homerun ball might happen. There’s no ‘there there’ on tape. No real ‘it’ factor as a receiver but he does have ‘plus’ straight-line speed. Is he a useful tool for an NFL team? Sure. Teams love to send one fast WR deep to be a decoy and occasional bomb shot that lands a rare few times a year – but will Marshall be an ‘alpha’, a guy who takes over the passing game? I did not see that at all.

Marshall, to me, is like a taller Mecole Hardman without the return man ability or bubble screen ability…and people cared about Hardman, a lot, when he came out of college into the draft – the Chiefs traded up to get him. Three years later, no one gives a ____ about Mecole Hardman. The same way I said Henry Ruggs was a version of Mecole…Marshall is too, but to me he’s probably the worst of those three. Meaning…he can play in the league, but he won’t be a real big factor although he could have moments like a Marquez Valdes-Scantling or Mecole Hardman/Henry Ruggs. In a few years, you will hardly remember the analyst initial/rookie excitement about him.

Maybe Marshall has some hidden upside where he learns/betters himself at the WR craft and becomes a technician with good size and speed (and a slender frame), but I didn’t see any real evidence of it on tape versus Alabama (2019) nor South Carolina (2020)…the games I deemed as his toughest challenges to study him within.

Against Alabama and 2019, then-future-NFL-starting-CB Trevon Diggs ate him alive when he matched up on him. Marshall scored a TD in the game, but it was on a play where no one covered him and he had an easy toss/score. In general, in a major game/major shootout that season (2019), Alabama looked like they could have cared less about covering Marshall.

In 2020, South Carolina possessed two NFL Draft corners. 1st-round/possible top CB in the draft Jaycee Horn and middle-draft ranked corner Israel Mukuamu…both are future NFL starter prospects. Horn, the best of the two, rarely covered Marshall in their 2020 game…and when he did it was ‘lights out’ for Marshall, except the one play where Horn got (illegally) picked, stumbled, lost Marshall wide open for a TD. That’s the thing about Marshall…he needs ‘pick’ help to even make plays it seems. The elite Horn was not sent to shut down Marshall, Mukuamu was…and did just that mostly, just by out-physical- ing Marshall…who wilts in the face of aggressive off the snap coverage. It’s telling that the Gamecocks, with history on Marshall, didn’t deem him a super-threat.

Marshall is taller, fast, and NFL capable to some degree. He’s also passive, runs lazy/half-hearted routes against better corners mostly (he almost gives up soon after the snap against tough CBs), and has no ‘it’ factor at all in my book. He’s also not the brightest bulb in the box that I’ve encountered either, but that’s minor compared to his other issues.

There’s something worth drafting here, I guess…but there are so many other talented WRs available all over the draft, I’m not sure why (but I know why) everyone is fixated on this one.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

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Terrace Marshall, Through the Lens of Our WR Scouting Algorithm:

-- 9 TDs in his first 4 games of 2020 season…5 TDs in his final 3 games of 2019 season…14 TDs in a 7- game stretch is pretty great, but I just wasn’t as impressed with what I saw in them. Lesser coverage. Marshall as an option hiding behind all the other better LSU weapons. A lot of ‘lucky’ pick plays to spring him.

But, still, 14 TDs in 7 game stretch is not nothing. However, WR Jaelon Darden scored 19 TDs in 9 games in 2020 season – and he’s a more unique weapon who plays like his hair is on fire. Why isn’t he a top 50 WR prospect if we’re going to point to TD production as the key metric for things? I’m just sayin’…

-- Freshman WR Kayshon Boutte came in and put up almost the same catches and yards as Marshall did in 2020…just half the TDs. Teams seem to worry about LSU’s other weapons more than Marshall, despite Terrace being the most experienced guy there in 2020.

2021 Pro Day:

6’2.4”/205, 9’5” hands, 32.75” arms

4.40 40-time, 2.58 20-yd, 1.60 10-yd

No shuttle or three-cone (which worries me because I don’t see a real pop off the snap here).

19 bench reps (really good for his slender frame), 39” vertical, 10’5” broad jump

The Historical WR Prospects to Whom Terrace Marshall Most Compares Within Our System:

Physically, Marshall is a lot like his old teammate Justin Jefferson – but having studied both, Jefferson showed me much more technical ability/desire on tape pre-Draft.

Tyrell Williams is a decent match…deep balls and that little drag/crosser route Philip Rivers loves to hit receivers with – but Marshall is not likely to be playing with Rivers any time soon.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

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DeVante Parker’s nice college career and then lack of heart in the NFL letdown is also worth noting.

WR Draft Last First College H H W Power Speed Hands' Score Yr Strngth Agility Metric Metric Metric 6.698 2021 Marshall Terrace LSU 6 2.4 205 5.18 7.35 7.07 8.003 2015 Williams Tyrell W. Oregon 6 3.4 204 3.34 9.09 8.13 7.023 2020 Jefferson Justin LSU 6 1.2 202 8.12 8.35 8.78 8.609 2015 Parker Devante Louisville 6 2.5 209 5.37 5.59 9.11 7.324 2019 Hall Emanuel Missouri 6 1.7 201 9.02 8.78 7.23 5.554 2014 Coates Sammie Auburn 6 1.5 205 8.13 12.89 5.87

*A score of 7.0+ is where we start to take a Big-WR prospect more seriously. A score of 8.50+ is where we see a stronger correlation of a Big-WR going on to become NFL good/great/elite. A score of 10.00+ is more rarefied air in our system and indicates a greater probability of becoming an elite NFL Big-WR. All of the WR ratings are based on a 0–10 scale, but a player can score negative, or above a 10.0 in certain instances. Overall WR score = A combination of several on-field performance measures, including refinement for strength of opponents faced, mixed with all the physical measurement metrics, and rated historically in our database. “Power-Strength” = A combination of unique metrics surrounding physical size profiling, bench press strength, etc. High scorers here project to be more physical, better blockers, and less injury-prone. “Speed-Agility” = A combination of unique metrics surrounding speed, agility, physical size, mixed with some on-field performance metrics. High scorers here project to have a better YAC and show characteristics to be used as deep threats/to create separation. “Hands” = A combination of unique metrics surrounding on-field performance in college, considering the strength of opponents played. Furthermore, this data considers some physical profiling for hand size, etc. High scorers here have a better track record of college statistical performance. Everything combining to project catch-abilities for the next level.

2021 NFL Draft Outlook:

To my surprise, I’m seeing Marshall ranked top 40 overall almost everywhere. The NFL loves their speedy WRs who aren’t real/technical WRs but are nice decoys. Hell, Henry Ruggs rode that to being the highest taken WR of 2020 with that nonsense.

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2021 NFL DRAFT SCOUTING REPORT

APRIL 10, 2021

If I were an NFL GM, I have no intention of drafting Marshall before the top 150 picks…and I see 5-10 other WRs who are better/more interesting that I could take from #150 on. I would laugh heartily when this pick is made – not that it’s a bust pick, but a wasted/overpriced pick.

NFL Outlook:

A slower, taller Henry Ruggs.

For whatever that is worth.

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Signature______Date______4/10/2021

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