Xavier Hutchinson Scouting Report and NFL Draft Profile

2023 NFL Draft Measurements

Xavier Hutchinson Scouting Report 40-Yard Dash Time – 4.5 (estimate)

6’3” / 205 lbs.

Xavier Hutchinson Draft Profile

High School

Xavier Hutchinson is a former high school standout for Bartram Trail High School in Jacksonville, Florida. Although he was a solid player, he was not good enough to receive a ranking according to 247sports. After not getting any Division I recognition, Hutchinson decided to start his career at Blinn College which is a JUCO program.

Junior College

After joining Blinn College, Hutchinson saw the field early on. As a freshman, he played in 11 games where he racked up 15 catches for 306 yards and 2 touchdowns. The next season, he went on to play in 8 games where he racked up 652 receiving yards and 5 touchdowns. After having this much success, he decided to take his talent to the Division I level. According to his recruiting profile on 247sports, he was the 10th-best JUCO transfer in the nation. He was ranked 8 spots below his Blinn College teammate Danny Gray who went on to play for SMU and currently plays for the 49ers. After receiving 16 offers, he decided to transfer to Iowa St. and play for the Cyclones.

Strengths

Body Type

Xavier Hutchinson has the ideal body type for a wide receiver in the NFL. Hutchinson stands at 6’3” making him taller than most receivers at the NFL and college levels. He also weighs 205 lbs. which is big enough where he can win physical matchups, but it is small enough to not significantly hinder his speed.

Athleticism

When watching Xavier Hutchinson, his athleticism is the first thing that stands out. Immediately after the snap, he shows his ability to accelerate up the field and quickly stem his route. He then shows his ability to slam on the breaks and quickly change directions. This gives him leverage over the defender making him wide-open for an easy reception. Once he gets the ball in his hands, he does a good job of displaying his lateral agility by juking out defenders.

When the ball is thrown outside of his frame, he shows incredible athleticism to go up and make the catch. This makes him very dangerous deep down the field because he is able to make catches over defenders due to his above-average frame and amazing vertical.

Release

When Hutchinson is lined up against soft coverage, he is very good at punishing defenders right off the snap. He has good release speed when running short and intermediate routes. This is because he does a good job of exploding forward off the snap and accelerating quickly to his top speed. Since the defenders are in soft coverage, Hutchinson can play below the defender for a short gain and then rely heavily on his yard after the catch ability to do the rest.

When he is lined up against press coverage, he has a different approach. He often hops off the snap forcing the DB’s hips to flip. Then he explodes off his outside foot to the inside which gives him leverage against the defender because the defender’s hips are facing the other direction. He can also rely on his physicality when lined up against jam coverage. He uses his long arms to knock defenders back off the snap and fight through pressure applied at the line.

Body Control

As I briefly mentioned earlier, Hutchinson is good at adjusting to balls that are thrown outside of his frame. When he is running routes deep down the field, he is good at adjusting to throws that are behind him. He is able to adjust to these throws because of his long arms and hip mobility allowing him to get turned around to make the catch. When the ball is thrown above him on short-intermediate routes, he does a good job of going up and making the catch.

Yards After Catch

After making a catch, if Hutchinson is given any space he can be very dangerous. On screen plays, he does a good job of squaring his hips to the defenders. This opens up what he can do to elude the defenders. As I mentioned earlier, Hutchinson has good lateral agility that allows him to elude defenders in open space. When making a catch deep down the field, Hutchinson shows good separation quickness due to his ability to quickly accelerate to his top speed. This often leads to the defender being left in the dust and giving Hutchinson nothing but space in front of him.

Weaknesses

Competitive Toughness

One of the biggest concerns that I have about Hutchinson’s game is his competitive toughness. Although Hutchinson is solid at making contested catches, he lacks the aggressiveness required to consistently do so. When he is running routes in the middle of the field, Hutchinson struggles to go up and get the ball at the catch point. This leads to him being inconsistent and can lead to unreliable to make plays in the middle of the field. When he is run-blocking, he also struggles at consistently winning blocks at the point of attack.

Separation Quickness

When running short routes in the middle of the field, Hutchinson struggles to separate from the defenders around him. If he wants to rack up yards after the catch, he often has to rely on his physicality to do so. He also struggles at separating from defenders when making 45-degree breaks in his route back toward the quarterback. This is primarily due to him lacking the ability to effectively sink his hips and accelerate in a different direction.

Xavier Hutchinson Draft Stock

Although Hutchinson shows a lot of upside to his game, there are still some things he needs to improve on before he is seen as a top receiver in this draft. With that being said, I think that he will be one of the first receivers taken in the 3rd round. He would be best fit for a pass-heavy offense that spreads out the field on every play. He could line up anywhere on the field in this offense, allowing him to be a 2nd or 3rd option for the QB.

Final Thoughts on Xavier Hutchinson

Xavier Hutchinson is a very talented receiver and will likely be a steal for whatever team ends up drafting him. He has the ideal body type to be successful in the NFL. His athleticism is also impressive due to his ability to accelerate up the field quickly after the ball is snapped. After he stems his route, he is good at slamming on the brakes and making a 90-degree break He also shows that he can attack the defender and manipulate their hips regardless of the coverage they are in. Finally, he also shows that he is good at making catches outside of his frame.