Scouting the 2020 NFL Draft: Tylan Wallace, WR, Oklahoma State
Tylan Wallace is an intriguing prospect with superb skills at the catch point, but he needs to iron out inconsistencies if he is to be a high 2020 pick.
In what looks set to be a loaded 2020 wide receiver class, it may be tough for some prospects to stand out from the crowd. However, if he replicates what he did in 2018, that will not be a problem for Oklahoma State’s Tylan Wallace.
Wallace didn’t just stand out, he towered above defenders as a sophomore en route to an 86-catch campaign that saw him rack up 1,491 receiving yards and 13 total touchdowns, with one coming on the ground.
The 6’0″ and 185-pound wideout put up such gaudy numbers largely through his utter dominance at the catch point. Though we are a long way from being in draft season, Wallace may already have secured his status as the best high-pointer in the class.
He takes an extremely aggressive approach with the way he attacks the ball in the air, and this regularly allows Wallace to maintain forward momentum when he comes down with the ball, aiding his ability to pick up yards after the catch.
Possessing the vision to spot running lanes and elusiveness to make defenders miss, Wallace is a dangerous prospect in the open field and his fluidity in changing direction does translate to his route-running, though that is an area of his game in which he needs to be significantly more consistent.
Wallace does an extremely impressive job against off coverage, generating separation by selling upfield routes to get defenders on the back foot and gain leverage before breaking back to the inside.
However, Wallace lacks creativity in his releases when faced with press coverage and often struggles to get out of his breaks on shorter routes due to an irritating failure to sink into them properly with regularity.
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Still, it is an inconsistency that is fixable and, having displayed an ability to make plays downfield, win in contested situations and pick up yardage after the catch, pro teams are unlikely to have many reservations about using a high pick on Wallace if his junior year is as impressive as his sophomore season.