Ladd McConkey scouting report: Exploring the Georgia WR's strengths and weaknesses
Ladd McConkey, Georgia
6’0”, 185 pounds; RS SR
Outside the top 1000 overall recruits in 2020, McConkey redshirted his first year in Athens, before catching 31 passes for 447 yards and five touchdowns. In 2022, he caught 58 passes and carried the ball seven more times for 896 yards and eight touchdowns, which he was named second-team All-SEC for.
Across eight games this past season, if you take out one appearance for a couple of snaps before sitting back down with an ankle sprain that had been bothering him, he turned 32 touches into 512 yards and three total TDs.
Releases & route-running:
+ Highly polished for such a young receiver, in terms of using different gears and being efficient in his movements
+ Yet his acceleration off the line will surprise defenders thinking he’s still a small slot receiver – in fact, he spent more than three quarters of his snaps on the outside each of the past two seasons
+ Ran a 4.39 in the 40 at the combine, while the three-cone (6.72) and short shuttle (3.97) times he put up at Georgia’s pro day would’ve ranked top-three among WRs in Indy
+ Packs a strong swim move to defeat DBs aggressively two-hand jamming and/or lunging into him
+ Does a great job of drifting or widening his stem to open the middle of the field for himself, in particular on post routes
+ Runs some highly impressive deep outs against outside leverage, where he threatens at the inside shoulder, then drops his weight and swipes by the corner, as that guy opens up vertically with him
+ Utilizes rocker steps and leans at the top of the route exceptionally well for a young player, to turn around some of the better secondary players in the SEC
+ Can really sit down in the chair and stop his momentum whilst defenders are still bailing, to create easy completions as the flanker in particular
Ball-tracking, positioning & catching:
+ Showcases a natural feel for spacing and finding opening against zone looks on option/sit-down routes
+ Displays strong hands to snatch balls outside his frame and/or with a defender raking at it
+ Understands when to quicken up the process of catch as defenders are converging on him from multiple directions
+ Already does an excellent job of pacing himself as he approaches the sideline and tapping his feet in bounds, as he extends for the ball
+ Plucks it over his head on deeper throws over the middle and instantly pulls it into his body, to secure it from oncoming hits
+ Georgia quarterbacks throwing his way had an average passer rating of 133.7 across his three seasons with the Bulldogs
+ Highly efficient chain-mover, turning 96 of his 119 career receptions into either a first down or a touchdown, while averaging a massive 3.26 yards per route run last season
Run after catch & blocking:
+ Even as he has to reach behind or below his knees for the ball, McConkey’s eyes quickly go back and he identifies defenders in space
+ Routinely makes the first potential tackler miss with juke moves after aiming right at them
+ There’s enough play strength to slide or spin off glancing shots
+ Shows the feel for angles and how to set up blockers to be an effective option in the screen and sweep game
+ Fundamentally sound, invested blocker, who keeps his legs and arms aligned
+ Routinely can get corners onto their heels with his foot-fire off the line and then fit his hands inside their chest
+ When working out of the slot, he rapidly eats up the cushion to off defenders and then does a good job of coming to balance as he approaches the contact phase
+ Doesn’t hesitate to launch into safety when cracking back on them inside of him
Weaknesses:
– There can be some excess steps trying to release into his routes with that crafty style rather than a more efficient approach
– Does have more of a lean frame and when DBs can get their hands inside his frame, he has a tough time fighting off contact
– Lacks great play strength to fend off physical cover guys to still gain advantageous positioning and make big plays at the catch-point (only six of 14 such opportunities hauled in over the last two years combined), in part due to his combination of 30-inch arms and a 36-inch vertical
– Leaves Georgia with a surprisingly high 7.8% career drop rate (10 of 129 catchable targets overall)
I understand why people would get more excited about other receivers in this class, but let’s please drop the idea about McConkey being the Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, or your pick of a shifty slot receiver.
He does have that quickness in and out of his breaks, along with the understanding of how to manipulate defenders during the stem, but his burst out of his stance and out of the break-point is very different.
McConkey can line up in the slot and route people out when given that three-way go, but he can absolutely play the Z and be a vertical threat for you as well as an extension of your run game on bubble alerts, fly sweeps and others.
I do believe you want to largely keep him off the ball and he’s not going to give you a whole lot in contested situations, but I would be shocked if this guy wasn’t an instant contributor as part of your starting three in 11 personnel and should put up 800+ yards in multiple seasons of his career.
Grade: Early second round