Since the days of Laurence Maroney, Minnesota Golden Gopher football has been a stain on the athletic department at the university. However, recently, Minnesota has quietly produced some good teams and some very good NFL talent. Antoine Winfield Jr., Tyler Johnson and Kamal Martin are some of the recent success stories, to just name a few. This season, wide receiver Rashod Bateman looks to be the next Gopher to make the step up and make a splash in the NFL.
Let’s take a look at the full Rashod Bateman NFL Draft profile, including stats, highlights and projection.
Rashod Bateman NFL Draft Profile, Stats, Highlights and Projection
Rashod Bateman
Position: Wide Receiver
Height: 6’2″
Weight: 210 lbs
Age: 21
College: Minnesota Golden Gophers
Rashod Bateman Highlights
Rashod Bateman 2020 Stats
Games: 5
Receptions: 36
Receiving Yards: 472
Yards Per Reception: 13.1
Receiving Touchdowns: 2
Rashod Bateman NFL Draft Profile
Strengths
One of the biggest upsides to Rashod Bateman’s game is his abilities as a route runner. Not only is he able to run nice, clean routes, he also has some good moves at the line that allow him to get early separation more times than not. He is also able to use and move his tall frame when needed to make in air adjustments. While Bateman isn’t the quickest receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft, he certainly has sneaky speed that can beat you over the top if you try to run stride for stride with him. His ability to occasionally make defenders miss immediately after the catch certainly can’t be taken for granted either as he often picks up a decent amount of yardage after the catch.
Weaknesses
For all the success that Bateman has experienced in college, he was often fairly limited by physical and/or upper level cornerbacks. While he may have been able to stay away from that level of talent in college often, he’ll need to either adapt or be eaten alive by the heightened abilities of NFL coverage. He also doesn’t use his size to box out defenders which makes it too easy for corners to get in his face and easily bat the ball away. Minnesota also doesn’t utilize their receivers in the running game either, so his run blocking is a question mark at best as well.
Rashod Bateman Draft Projection
All 2021 NFL Draft Projections are taken from the latest CBS NFL Mock Draft by Ryan Wilson.
Rashod Bateman is currently projected to be drafted by the Cincinnati Bengals with the 38th overall pick.
For more 2021 NFL Draft coverage and player profiles, check out the our NFL Draft page.
