Tre Richardson

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Uno, Tutu, Tre

The 2nd WR prospect I studied is the small but incredibly fast Tre Richardson, who played with Diego Pavia at Vanderbilt last season and is transferring to Louisville for the 2026 season. Are there any Tutu Atwell fans out there who want the Rams to add a similar WR? If so, you'll probably love Richardson. The real question is how do you think Snead and McVay feel about the subject? Is their surprising pursuit of Atwell a sign of things to come in next year's draft? Or have they moved on with the scheme and are poised to draft yet another TE?

Atwell might have become the lightning rod for draft frustration for many Rams fans, but I feel this is primarily driven by where he was taken in the draft relative a single alternative player (Creed Humphrey) the Rams could have taken at that slot. Which is kind of odd, because the team that actually got Creed (the Chiefs) actually "passed" on Creed themselves by going with Nick Bolton at the slot right after Atwell, then allowing a different team to draft center at slot 62. If KC really cared which center they got, they should have traded up to get first choice ahead of the Packers. Similar to what happened with the Rams and Puka Nacua, in hindsight KC's draft strategy didn't make much sense if they really had known what type of player they were getting. The 3rd player KC took in that draft (late in the 4th round) didn't produce anything for them and was waived early in his career. They could have traded that pick to move up and ensure they got Creed and not lost anything out of the deal. While scouting and strategy are both important in the draft (plus coaching and player development after you draft the players), I've always felt that often "pure luck" is the single biggest factor that drives draft outcomes. It is why the same "genius" GMs who have some fantastic picks on their resume always also have some huge busts where they looked very silly in hindsight. When it comes to the draft, nobody is a true expert.

If the Rams had taken Atwell in the 4th round instead of Bobby Brown, Robert Rochell or Jacob Harris (picks 117, 130 and 141st overall), would fans feel completely differently about him today? Maybe most fans would be celebrating the selection as a really good choice. After all, the most direct comp from that area would have been Jaelon Darden, a small but fast WR taken by Tampa Bay at slot 129. They traded a late round pick to move up to get him. Darden had a huge final season in college but was only about 5'8'' tall.

Darden returned punts and kickoffs for TB but rarely was used on offense. He was waived by the Bucs late in his 2nd NFL season and only had 69 receiving yards in his career with them. He was on the PS for a couple other teams, then bounced out of the NFL and even got cut by his CFL team in 2026. It was essentially a wasted draft pick for Tampa.

If fans had known at the time of that draft how Darden and Harris would turn out in the NFL (actually, any 4th rd WR that year not named Amon-Ra St Brown), maybe they would feel differently today about Atwell. In general, center is an easier position to fill than WR. The Rams added Coleman Shelton with a middle of the pack salary last season and he did fine. He was the 3rd ranked C in the league (just behind Creed) in SIS datahub points and 13th out of 40 centers in overall PFF grade. Meanwhile, Josh Myers, the player taken just before Creed in the draft, only graded out by PFF as 39th out of 40 centers. The huge differential between Creed Humphrey's salary and Shelton's salary allows the Rams to make other roster moves with the salary cap savings they didn't sink into the C position. A team can do things like, oh I don't know, trade for a superstar edge rusher. Not that I can imagine why the Rams would ever want to do something like that.

Maybe the Rams will draft Tre Richardson in 2027. Maybe they'll even take him late in the 2nd round. If that happens, before you get mad and start screaming "Oh no, this is another Tutu Atwell debacle all over again!" consider that maybe that wouldn't be the worst thing in the world.

What is a "typical draft outcome" for a WR taken late in the 2nd round anyway? It is true that some very good WRs have been selected in that general area of the draft. Randall Cobb in 2011 was the 64th overall pick. On the other hand, the very next WR after him was Austin Pettis to the Rams. Jarvis Landry in 2014 was at the end of the 2nd rd. Tyler Lockett was an early 3rd rd pick in 2015. In 2017, the Rams drafted some guy named Cooper Kupp early in the 3rd round. DJ Metcalf went late 2nd round, as did Rashee Rice and Tank Dell.

On the other hand, if you go through a complete list of every WR taken from slot 55 to about the middle of the 3rd round, it is uninspiring. Many of those WRs were complete busts or had very limited impact on their respective teams. Let's take the very next WR taken after Atwell. The Carolina Panthers drafted Terrace Marshall Jr at slot 59. He was waived after 3 seasons and only had a combined total of 767 receiving yards over those 3 years. After being cut, he's been primarily a PS level guy, bouncing around on various other NFL teams.

Andy Isabella is fairly similar to Richardson, small but speedy, running a blazing 4.31 seconds in the 40 at the Combine. A 2nd round pick by the Arizona Cardinals in 2019, he was cut in the middle of his 4th season. Over that span, he averaged only about 100 receiving yards per year with them. He went to the UFL and CFL after failing to pan out in the NFL.

Jalin Hyatt was a 3rd round pick by the Giants in 2023. He was a very fast deep ball WR at Tennessee and had a phenomenal final season in college, winning the Biletnikoff Award as the top WR in the country. Multiple major draft experts graded him as a 1st round prospect. Hyatt hasn't done much in the pros. He got so little playing time last year that he only had 35 receiving yards the entire season. Consider that this is the draft where Puka was taken at the end of the 5th round.

Up next, I'll discuss Tre Richardson's background info and his long and winding road in college that has spanned 4 different schools.

 

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Part 1: Background

Name, Age: Tre Richardson, turns 23 in October of 2027.
School: Louisville in 2026. Previously Hutchinson CC, Washburn, Vanderbilt
Size, speed: Listed as 5'10'' tall, 175 pounds. Listed as 5'11'' tall in 2023. Draftscout has him as 5'8 3/4'' tall with a 4.38 second 40 time.

Youngest of 10 kids, raised by a single mom. Has 5 brothers and 4 sisters. Has his own clothing line. Expected to earn degree in general studies in December. Has a young son.

Lightly recruited from Kansas. Multi-sport star who was state champ in 100 meters and long jump, also did 200 meters, triple jump, baseball and basketball. His high school team didn't win a single game until his final season in HS. Initially a RB, switched to WR his final year in HS. Played through a left shoulder injury most of his final year in HS, torn labrum, and had surgery late that year. Only played 6 games his final year in HS.

Initially committed to New Mexico State, where he would have played with Diego Pavia, then changed his mind and went JUCO route. One of top kick and punt returners in JUCO football in 2023. From JUCO, he initially transferred to Toledo. At the time, his girlfriend was pregnant with his son and they had a bitter breakup. She moved back to Kansas. He left Toledo and ended up transferring to a Division II school in Kansas to be closer to his son and there was court litigation to establish joint custody of their son after he claimed his girlfriend refused to let him see his son. When he transferred to Vanderbilt, his son would shuttle back and forth between Kansas and Tennessee for custody of each parent. Tim Beck, Vandy's OC, was formerly the OC at New Mexico State, a key connection that led Richardson to Vandy.

He led Vandy in receiving yardage in 2025, ahead of Eli Stowers, a TE drafted in the 2nd round by the Eagles, and Junior Sherrill, who is expected to be a middle round draft pick in 2027. Diego Pavia, the QB, was 2nd in the Heisman Voting, behind Fernando Mendoza. Stowers won the Mackey award as the best TE in the country. Pavia went undrafted and signed with the Ravens. Played through foot injury in 2025. Had surgery for bone spur in foot and missed spring practice in 2026.

27.1 kick return average, 16.2 PR average at Hutchinson.
24.1 kick return average for Washburn, 52-981-11 receiving (18.9 ypc) in 11 games.
2025 Vandy stats (13 games): 46-806-7 receiving, 17.5 ypc, 25.12 kick return average on 17 attempts, 15th in FBS in KR ave, 5th among power conference players with long of 46 yards. 11-62 rushing 5.6 ave. Zero fumbles in 2025.

PFSN draft report ranks him as the 72nd overall prospect, calling him explosive, dynamic, quick, dangerous YAC, with low 5% drop rate, but inconsistent with contested catches. PFN draft simulator ranks 109 overall, NFLMDD simulator 121st overall, not ranked by Drafttek or in the NFLDB simulator. Ian Cummings's recent mock draft has him as a 3rd round pick, 96th overall, to the Kansas City Chiefs, praising his electric athleticism, press-beating chops and big play ability but calling him undersized.

Next, we'll go over his strengths, though it isn't complicated to understand his NFL appeal. He's very fast. In a nutshell, that's all you really need to know about this draft prospect.

 

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Part 2: Strengths

Burnt Toast. Elite long speed. Has an extra gear, allowing him to blow past CBs downfield or to suddenly accelerate on returns to hit the seam with intimidating velocity. Hesitation moves set up CBs before he changes speed on them. Wins races to the edge and destroys pursuit angles. Draws attention of defense on fake jet sweeps. While at JUCO, ran 10.33 seconds in the 100 meters. Track speed translates to field, looks like he's on fast-forward and all the other players are at regular speed. Proven record as dangerous kick returner. I don't know if his 40 time will fully reflect his football speed, because he destroys DBs about 50 yards from the LOS, capable of creating big separation late in the route. This trait can be valuable if the team has a QB with a huge arm and can attack with long bombs way downfield.

Can make defenders miss. Light on feet with relatively loose hips, good balance, makes dancing water bug moves to evade tackle attempts. Not scared of contact, works to tray to gain YAC. Quick feet and easy lateral change of direction movement hints at developmental potential to learn intricate release techniques at the LOS to beat press coverage. Despite tiny size, has an adequate punch to fend off basic jams coming off the line.

Often used at outside WR for Vandy, not exclusively as a slot WR. Was designated deep ball guy, with sideline deep fades, corner routes, posts and straight go routes.

Despite Diego Pavia's gaudy stats, he isn't particularly talented or consistent as a passer. Pavia is tough as nails, runs like a RB and made some magic with broken plays, but he doesn't have NFL level arm talent or size, limiting him as a pro QB prospect. I can see why he wasn't drafted. Richardson presumably would have had better stats if he had been paired with a Joe Burrow or Jayden Daniels type QB.

Vanderbilt has a unique offensive scheme. They use some spread offense concepts, but at the core they wanted to run the football, including often with designed runs or options by the QB. Sometimes they went heavy with 3TE or 3RB formations and used power run plays, taking WRs off the field. Very different from Air Raid type spread systems where WRs can pile up "cheap" receiving yards. I couldn't find stats on how many targets he had, but they didn't throw the ball too frequently to Richardson. They ran the ball, they featured Stowers and Sherrill in the passing game, so Richardson was more of a complementary piece, he wasn't a target hog.

Had multiple impressive over-the-shoulder catches, comfortable tracking the ball with his eyes as he's running at high speed. One of the positions he played in baseball was center field.

Since he's an excellent candidate to become a team's primary punt or kick returner, it gives him a clear path to be a special teams contributor and maintain a roster spot. This somewhat reduces the bust potential and if he ends up only being a Day 3 pick it gives him a higher floor, because a team could draft him purely for his value as a returner and see any WR upside as just gravy on the top.

 

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Part 3: Weaknesses

Underdeveloped route tree. Most of the plays where he got the ball were either right at or behind the LOS with things like touch passes and bubble screens, or deep downfield on vertical routes. Rarely was he asked to work the middle of the field, whether in the underneath or intermediate area. Vandy had a quick hitting type of passing attack with very basic routes by the WRs. I don't think that what they did translates well to the NFL, so Richardson could have a steep learning curve trying to digest an NFL playbook. Only has a rudimentary understanding of route running. For example, on one play the defense made a simple coverage rotation at the snap. Against that coverage, the WR must take an outside release. His CB played outside technique, but Richardson doesn't make any attempt to go outside of the CB, he just runs upfield in a straight line. Once he gets ahead of the CB using his speed, he doesn't stack the CB and widen to try to get back outside towards the sideline and all this does is help bring the deep S into the play to make a play on the ball. On the occasions when Richardson did run routes over the middle of the field, he didn't show any feel for how to create leverage on the route to create a better passing window for the QB. Even on a very basic corner route, he didn't snap the break off cleanly, he rounded and drifted into the route. He's not creative or deceptive coming off the line, his release moves are repetitive and too simple.

Not a consistent threat. I found his games to be very boring to watch. If we took a baseball analogy, he'd be like a home run hitter with a low batting average. Sure, once in a while he might hit a towering shot out of the ballpark, but he's not someone you necessarily want at the plate in a clutch situation. For long stretches, Richardson would be almost invisible, like he wasn't even on the field. He's not a "problem" that scares the opponent and forces them to change their coverage calls. He's not a "high energy" guy on the field who plays with intensity.

Poor blocker. Richardson had almost no run blocking responsibilities in their system. The offense often used RPOs. When they really wanted to run it, they took the small WRs off the field and used multiple TEs. Mediocre blocking effort downfield. Doesn't battle to sustain blocks.

Tiny. No help if the pass is off target and he has to try to break up an INT. Bad in contested catch situations. Has to run wide to get around jams, doesn't have the play strength to fight through them and take a direct angle. Likely will need pre-snap motion or be stacked behind another WR to get free releases. I like how he tracks the ball and maintains concentration but since he's short with small hands and a small catch radius, there isn't much margin for error for the QB.

Lapses in concentration and execution details. Had a false start in the red zone. On the backside of a run play, he was lazy and didn't get to his landmark for the blocking angle and when the runner broke free into the open field, this error cost his team a long TD, because his CB ended up being the last defender and was able to make the tackle to prevent the TD. In the same game, he made exactly the same mistake again and it nearly cost his team yet another long TD, but that time the runner was able to avoid the defender and still score.

Has an injury history to both his upper and lower body. Played many different sports, sometimes at the same time, so there is mileage on his body beyond just his football career.

Had limited production in the first 8 games of his 2025 season, then exploded with huge performances in the final games of the year. His stats are skewed by a small sample size as opposed to being a WR who dominated each week.

 

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Part 4: Draft Grade and Pro Comp

6th round grade. Pro comparison Tutu Atwell (2nd round 2021, Rams, Louisville).

NFL teams will always value pure speed. In the 2022 draft, there were 2 speedy WRs taken in the 3rd round. The Bears drafted Velus Jones Jr (4.31 seconds in the 40 at the Combine) early in the 3rd round. He was their primary kick returner but rarely saw the field as a WR. To try to salvage his career, the Bears even tried to convert him into a RB. As a returner, he struggled with muffed kick returns and fumbles, so once he lost that job there was no point in keeping him. He was waived in the middle of his 3rd season.

The Niners drafted Danny Gray late in the 3rd round, one slot after the Rams took Logan Bruss. Like Richardson, Gray was a deep ball hero in college with his blazing speed. He ran 4.33 seconds in the 40 at the Combine. Gray was a "camp star" as a rookie and said that he entered the NFL very confident in himself, thinking he'd make an instant impact. Instead, he barely played as a rookie. He would later say that he struggled with the details and that in college he didn't have to worry about the details, because he could rely on his speed to make plays. He got hurt his 2nd year, then failed to make the team his 3rd year. He was a PS guy in 2025 and his NFL receiving stats so far in his career consists of one catch for 10 yards. No, I didn't make that up, those are his actual stats.

One of the best WRs from that 2022 draft was a prospect so far off the radar that I had never heard of him and wasn't aware that he was in the draft pool. I was unable to find any draft profiles written about him by draft experts. Rashid Shaheed played at Weber State, an FCS school. He had an ACL injury his final season in college and wasn't able to workout before the draft. After 5 years at this lower level of competition, he only averaged 41.1 receiving yards per game. His career high for receiving yards in a season was 700 yards. Coming off his ACL injury, he didn't even start his rookie year on the regular roster, the Saints had him on their PS, then elevated him in the middle of the season.

Shaheed is one of the fastest players in the NFL. He's an elite returner and a valuable complementary WR. The Seahawks traded for him last year and he had a KR TD in the playoffs. In a redraft, I'd bet he'd be at least a 2nd round pick. The Saints have a very long history of UDFA finds and they got tremendous value by signing him.

Tre Richardson is an intriguing prospect due to his impressive speed. He's probably one of the fastest players in the entire draft class, at any position. Putting his game under a microscope, however, reveals a player who is very raw and in need of substantial development to become an NFL level WR. I've seen way too many fast WRs like Richardson flop in the pros, making me skeptical that he'll be able to beat the odds and become a good starter. Still, I think he has draft value, because maybe he could make the Pro Bowl as a return specialist. I have him as a Day 3 prospect and he needs to make a big jump forward in 2026 before I'd move him into the Day 2 range.