Devin McCuin

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Texas Two Step

Devin McCuin is a new WR transfer to Ohio State. Prior to OSU, he prepped in Texas and played for UTSA. I mentioned him in passing when writing about Brandon Inniss. McCuin is mostly off the radar, generally ranked as an UDFA by draft boards. For example, Sam Teets has about 250 players on his big board that he's given either draft worthy or UDFA grades. He also has a list of at least as many players still to be studied, who he hasn't gotten to yet. So, let's say approximately 500 players. McCuin's name doesn't appear anywhere on those lists. In other words, per Teets's board, McCuin the only path for McCuin to try to make an NFL team would be as a tryout player.

I think that McCuin is a draft sleeper. My NFL comp for him was an NFL rookie last season who finished in the top 10 among rookies in receiving yards, ahead of players such as Matthew Golden (1st round), Tre Harris (2nd round), Terrance Ferguson of the Rams (2nd round), and 3rd rounder Jaylin Noel.

The main reason I like McCuin is his short area explosiveness. His first 2 steps are insane. If he were an NBA guard, he'd blow by defenders on his way to the hoop. McCuin's ability to "jump start" his body movement makes him difficult to tackle, a candidate to return punts and hints at potential to become a dangerous route runner. I think he's a better NFL prospect than some of the more well-known WR names on draft boards.

There is one draft board that is relatively high on McCuin. On multiple boards, Omarion Miller is a 1st round WR. PFSN loves him the most, as the 17th overall prospect, calling him a 1st round sleeper. DraftBuzz has McCuin ranked ahead of Miller. If Miller is a draft sleeper, why can't McCuin be an even bigger sleeper?

 

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Part 1: Background

Name, school, age: Devin McCuin, Ohio State in 2026, previously UT-San Antonio. True senior in 2026. Turns 22 in May of 2027. Studied kinesiology at UTSA, sport industry at OSU.

Size, estimated speed: Listed by OSU as 6 feet tall, 189 pounds. Was listed by UTSA as 195 pounds in 2025. Per Draftbuzz 4.37 second 40 time.

3-star recruit from Texas. Played WR and S in HS. Had nearly 1,000 receiving yards as SR in HS, adding 43 tackles, 2 FFs and 2 INTs playing safety. Also ran track and played basketball. His older brother, Deshawn McCuin, was a safety at TCU and San Diego State. Deshawn went undrafted in the 2026 draft but was invited to a rookie minicamp with the Tampa Bay Bucs as one of 40 tryout players.

2023 (12 games, 7 starts): 42-546-3
2024 (8 games, 8 starts): 45-424-5. Missed 5 games due to injury, returning for the bowl game.
2025 (12 games, 12 starts): 65-726-8

Zero career fumbles. 6 career rushing attempts for 49 yards.

PFSN simulator 198 overall
NFLMDD simulator 279 overall
Drafttek 307 overall
DraftBuzz 16th WR, 119 overall, 4th round projection. (+) Elite speed, only 3 drops on 95 targets, dependable hands, RAC ability, strong rate of contested catches, special teams value, balanced 3-level threat. (-) Low level of competition, quiet start to career, run blocking, limited route tree, possible one year wonder.

 

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Part 2: Strengths

Nothing ventured, something gained. McCuin has a number of weaknesses that we'll cover later that I believe cap his ceiling as a prospect. I don't think he's a candidate to become a starter. Consider, however, the context of this discussion. We're talking about a WR projected to be either an UDFA or maybe a 7th round pick. Unless McCuin has a breakout 2026 for Ohio State, the Rams probably wouldn't need to use a draft pick to acquire this player. They could just target him as a priority UDFA. So, don't get caught up with his shortcomings. I think the better question is whether he brings something of value to the table that can help an NFL team. Can he not only win a roster spot but do something positive to contribute to the cause. Don't tell me what the player can't do, tell me what he can do. Even if he doesn't make the team, if he shows some ability, you could just stash him on the PS either for depth or to see if he can develop and improve.

Good hands. My favorite thing about McCuin are his explosive feet but something that shouldn't be ignored is he's good at catching the football. Very quiet and soft hands. Good grip strength even when contested. Has long arms and is very good at digging out low throws off his shoelaces, rescuing errant throws by the QB. Comfortable going up with one hand to stab at high passes while fending off a CB with his other hand. Almost made a spectacular one handed catch. Calm and confident catching high passes above his head. Good ball tracking.

Functional athleticism for football. Efficient strides out of his stance. Quick and explosive strides off the line to get up to speed. Good balance and body control. Can tightrope the sideline. Long legs and long arms relative to his torso. Runs with a low center of gravity. Fluid turns on speed outs. Contorts his body to present the defender with half a target, taking glancing blows instead of heavy hits on tackles. Nimble in tight quarters. Long arms for blocking. Nice wingspan relative despite being relatively short.

Played as outside WR. While he doesn't have typical WR1 size and athletic traits, he was the clear WR1 at UTSA in 2025 and they looked for him on key 3rd downs. Had a big performance in team's upset win against Tulane.

Attacks upfield with urgency to gain YAC. Effortlessly covers ground after the catch. Applies pressure on defense with how quickly he can get upfield. To take one example, it is a basic WR screen. Nobody blocks the LB and he tackles the WR, but since McCuin burst forward with no wasted movement or pause, the play gains 7 yards instead of being stuffed for minimal gain.

His pure speed still pressures the CB at the top of the route and can create separation out of the break even though McCuin doesn't do anything special from a technique or agility standpoint.

Good timing with a stiff arm, will lower his pads to finish runs. Solid ball security, tucks the ball high and tight.

Surprisingly useful near the end zone despite being undersized for an outside WR. His horizontal speed can create separation for a pass in the short area of the field if he has leverage on the route.

Normal age for draft prospect.

Not a good blocker but demonstrates sufficient effort and aggression.

Can explode into his route when lined up as a RB, giving him versatility in alignment.

 

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Part 3: Weaknesses

Tight hips. One of my big reservations about McCuin is that for a player his size and speed, he has surprisingly tight hips. He doesn't snap off sharp breaks at the top of the route. He struggles to sink his hips and break violently at a different direction. Takes extra wasted steps on comebacks. Limited lateral agility to shake or jump cut away from tackles. I feel that this will always limit his ability to run a full route tree. Even if he makes an NFL roster, he'll be a "scheme dependent" player who will only be productive if the coach uses him in a particular way as a niche player. He might be very good at that defined role, but he'll never become an "all arounder".

Played in simplistic offensive scheme. His team typically didn't huddle; they looked to the sideline to get the call before each play. Spread system, not a pro style offense. Simplistic play designs. Ran a very limited route tree. Primarily deep routes, WR screes, short routes within about 5 yards of the LOS. Wasn't asked to catch many intermediate area passes. Maybe playing for Ohio State will boost his football knowledge but right now he faces a huge mental jump trying to learn an NFL playbook. Even if a team kept him to play special teams, he might not be able to contribute at all on offense, he'd have to redshirt, limiting his value. This factor by itself is a valid reason not to draft a WR in this mold.

Raw route runner. He's an athlete, not a technician. Runs routes at a basic level. Releases off the line aren't creative or effective to beat the CB. Too many shakes coming off the line, wasting time without influencing the CB. Fakes at the top of the route are transparent. Has wasted steps at the break point. Ran too fast through the passing window, making it look like the QB was inaccurate, but the pass was fine, the WR didn't read the coverage and adjust his tempo accordingly. Doesn't craft routes to win leverage and box out the CB with his body, resulting in PBUs. Bottom line, his route running needs a ton of work.

Too small. Doesn't have enough body mass, light in the pants. Limited run power to break tackles. Weak stiff arm. Too short to consistently win contested situations.

Poor blocker. In their scheme, he rarely has to do much blocking. Doesn't have desired size or strength for blocking at NFL level. Gets pushed back. Isn't quick to process and adjust his blocking assignment to a 2nd defender. Doesn't engage blocks with much power. Not detailed or conscientious with his blocking technique, angle and stance.

Got injured in 2024. In one of the 2025 games I watched, he appeared to get shaken up after taking a big hit over the middle of the field. I couldn't tell what happened. I wonder if it was a concussion or shoulder injury, but he continued to play in the game and looked fine.

Quicker than fast. Not a true burner. Ryan Wingo has crazy fast long speed, but he's not as fast at the very beginning of the race, needing some space and time to build up speed. McCuin is the exact opposite. He has instant burst, making him dangerous in the first few yards, but his speed tops out relatively quickly. He doesn't have an extra gear in the open field. I question whether he'll run as fast in the 40 as projected. Tre Richardson is legitimately fast, that guy can fly. McCuin isn't the same type of athlete going downfield.

Uncertain ST value. Didn't return kicks or punts for UTSA. I think his path to an NFL roster spot requires him to be a good ST player, because he's too raw at WR to make the team solely based on his receiving ability. There isn't any evidence, however, that he'd be any good at being a returner or that he can add value as a gunner to cover punts.

 

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Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

5th round grade. Chimere Dike (early 4th round 2025, Tennessee Titans, Florida and Wisconsin).

Basically, the reason I'm interested in Devin McCuin is because he has the potential to contribute to a team in a Tavon Austin type role. McCuin isn't a well-rounded receiver, and he doesn't have a high ceiling, but if you get the ball in his hands, he has the explosiveness to make plays. He's also not one of these tiny slot WRs, he's 6 feet tall, with long arms and good hands.

McCuin will be in the shadow of Jeremiah Smith at OSU and it is unclear how much McCuin will even play in 2026. OSU has multiple WRs competing for playing time and how that rotation shakes out remains to be seen. If McCuin gets lost in the shuffle and doesn't have good stats this season, he'll almost certainly become an UDFA.

Dike has a similar body type. Dike measured 6 feet 5/8'' tall, 196 pounds, but with a nearly 6'5'' wingspan. He ran 4.34 seconds in the 40. He was the very first pick in the 4th round. As a rookie for the Titans, Dike had 48-423-4 receiving. He also returned kickoffs and led the NFL in punt return average (17.3 yards), making the Pro Bowl. The stats perhaps flatter him, because I felt that he took advantage of good blocking by the Titans and some long punts that outkicked the coverage. Still, the Titans got very good production from their rookie 4th round WR. It was a great value pick.

I don't think McCuin is as good a draft prospect as Dike, but I consider Dike to be the perfect model for what a team might hope to achieve by adding McCuin to the roster.