Wyatt Young

[Twopointtry]

Every draft profile written about Wyatt Young compares him to the same NFL player, Cooper Kupp. Young and Kupp even share jersey numbers. So, it is natural to link Young to the Rams in a mock draft. That's exactly what Mike Renner did in a mock done before the Garrett trade, sending him to the Rams at the bottom of the 1st round, 32nd overall, calling him an ideal fit for the Rams. Renner said that Young was a ridiculously shifty route runner with prototypical slot traits.

Kupp was an extremely polarizing prospect in his draft. He had very enthusiastic supporters who insisted that he was the best WR in the draft, but also detractors who didn't think he could cut it in the pros. Kupp lit up future 1st round CBs when he was in college at Eastern Washington, an FCS school, but he also ran slow in the 40 and had short arms.

Currently, almost every major draft board, mock or draft expert I could find ranks Young higher than the draft slot where the Rams took Kupp in the 2017 draft. Is it possible that Young could be an even better NFL player than Kupp?

Young had a monster 2025 season, finishing with the best PFF receiving grade in the country. It was a stunning rise to stardom, a rags to riches story, for a player who prior to 2025 was a "nobody" on the draft radar. For an encore, he's transferring to Oklahoma State for 2026 and will be playing at a higher level of competition, looking to cement his status as one of the top WR prospects in next year's draft.

Should Les Snead "run the card up to the podium" if Young is still on the board for the Rams in the 2nd round next year? Is he the next great Rams WR set to pick up the baton from Puka Nacua? Let's dig into this prospect in more detail.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 1: Background

Name, school: Wyatt Young, Oklahoma State in 2026. Previously North Texas in 2024 and 2025. True junior, would be early entrant.

Size, estimated speed: Listed in 2025 as 6 feet tall and 195 pounds. Draftscout 4.49 seconds in the 40, DraftBuzz 4.45 seconds.

3-star recruit from Katy, Texas, which is in the Houston area. He was a QB, slot WR and RB in HS, rushing for 936 yards his final season. Initially, he committed to Rice, an excellent academic school, but he didn't have a strong SAT score and failed to qualify for admission, setting him back in recruiting and leading him to North Texas. The UNT coaches told him that he'd be used as a "utility player", just as he had been used in HS. You might say that he was going to be the next Taysom Hill.

Eric Morris became UNT's head coach for the 2023 season. He's part of Mike Leach's coaching tree and uses an Air Raid style spread system. In 2024, Young had very modest stats, 6th on the team in receiving yards, playing as a backup on a team that had a losing record. I just happened to watch the leading WR off of that 2024 team, because he transferred to Rutgers for 2025 and played with KJ Duff. A window of opportunity opened for Young and he took full advantage, boosting his receiving total by nearly 1,000 yards. In addition, UNT had a magical 2025, finishing 12-2, including a bowl game win. Morris is the new OKST head coach in 2026 and both Drew Mestemaker (UNT's QB) and Young are following him to his new school.

2024 (13 games, 4 starts) 18-295-2 receiving, 3-(-7)-1 rushing
2025 (14 games, 8 starts) 70-1,264-10 receiving, 3-16-1 rushing

No career fumbles. His 92.6 PFF receiving grade in 2025 was best in FBS.

NFLMDD simulator 68th overall
PFF big board 51st overall
Ian Cummings June mock draft 53rd overall (Cooper Kupp comparison), was 74th overall in May mock draft.
Curt Popejoy (Draftwire) June mock draft 24th overall
Mike Renner May mock 32nd overall (to the Rams)
PFSN simulator 44th overall, saying that Young had the best "WR impact score" in the entire nation and the best "RAC over expectation" in the nation, comparing him to Cooper Kupp. Elite production and efficiency. Universal alignment versatility. Compelling 3 level threat. Good release skills vs press. Great RAC. Superb ball tracker. Fits Cooper Kupp mold. Impact starter as "Z" receiver. Has focus drops.
DraftBuzz 48th overall, 2nd round projection, 7th best WR, just behind Ryan Wingo: (+) Slot weapon. Rare RAC production. Good long speed. (-) Tiny volume of contested catches. Almost exclusively used in slot. Drops.
Drafttek 65th overall
Draftscout Day 3 prospect
Steven Ridings (Turfshowtimes) named Young as 1 of 3 WRs for the Rams to potentially target in the 2nd round of the 2027 draft, along with Ryan Wingo and Nick Marsh. He said that Young had strong route running ability, proven production, reliable hands, body control, football IQ and polish.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 2: Strengths

Respectful, patient and professional in interviews. Came from humble beginnings, trusted his coaches and worked to develop from a very lightly recruited player to emerge as a star, but has remained grounded. Didn't have a starting job and things handed to him and had it come easy. Open minded to accept coaching and guidance from his QB and from coaching staff.

Potential developmental upside, room for additional improvement. Not an easy prospect to evaluate due to offensive system. I've always felt that Air Raid systems are really bad for trying to project WRs to the NFL level. You simply don't get to see much that directly translates to pro ball. Some of my issues with his game perhaps could be ironed out with NFL coaching and more experience.

Very inexperienced player who you could say has only been a true WR for one season. Barely scratching the surface of his potential.

Very successful runner in HS and had rushing attempt from QB position at UNT. Capable runner not afraid of contact. Gets upfield after catches with direct and aggressive approach, gaining yards like a RB. Good short area agility to dodge tackles.

Made some nice high catches with strong hands extended above his head.

Lined up at different spots. Mostly slot WR, occasionally as wingback, sometimes at HB, even a couple times at QB. Frequently also went in motion pre-snap.

Decent long speed. Can attack deep. Good top end speed for long runs.

Has a naturally low center of gravity, helping him to turn his body on underneath routes. Can sit down quickly in the short area of the field.

While he's not a big guy, has solid thickness and pound-for-pound strength relative to his body type and size.

He plays in an Air Raid system with a high tempo where WRs typically try to conserve energy and don't give full effort blocking or running routes if they aren't the primary target. When he actually did give full effort blocking, he does show some pop and physicality, flashing aggression, so I think there is some developmental potential for him to improve his blocking after he leaves college.

Great statistical production in 2025. Playing in the same system with the same QB and coach in 2026, is expected to have another big year against better opponents in 2026. If he meets those expectations, likely would boost his draft stock.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 3: Weaknesses

I don't see another Cooper Kupp when I studied this player. Initially, I was hoping to see it, because his highlights are fun and do remind you of Kupp. After watching his full games, however, I think the comparison completely falls apart. Frankly, I think it is insulting to Kupp.

Not as sudden as Kupp. Doesn't make violent cuts as route runner. Doesn't have dynamic COD, there is a slight pause. Sloppy pivot route. Not fluid releasing from the backfield as a RB or wingback. Average explosion out of breaks. Not twitchy. Not light on his feet.

Concerning balance issues. Frequently loses his balance and slips if he tries to turn his hips or change directions sharply. Doesn't have loose hips.

Must improve his route running. Runs routes at basic level. Not advanced with route IQ or technique. A little stiff, making him less dangerous at the top of the route. Does show some ability to attack the toes of the CB, then change track in his release, but in general his releases were very basic and didn't threaten the CB. Pointless arm pumps, too many steps and wasted body movements at LOS and at top of route can slow his route tempo. Easy to read at the top of the route. Invited CB to drive on pass for near pick 6 with poor route execution. Rounds off or drifts into some breaks. Doesn't manipulate and widen the CB to create better throwing window for the QB.

Short stepper. Has short legs relative to his torso. This makes his stride length inefficient coming off the line. Has wasted shift of body weight coming out of his stance on some plays, slightly slowing his release into the route. Needs slightly more room to get up to full speed, cannot immediately burst.

Not good defeating jams, can get slowed, chipped or grabbed by the CB. Needs to use his hands better to swipe away jams. Short arms hurt him trying to fight against jams. Gets bothered by contact downfield. Not a leaper or able to use physicality to create late separation, limiting his ability to win contested catches. Needs to do better job fighting through contact.

Doesn't have particularly soft hands catching the ball. Had a couple drops. Doesn't have big hands or long arms.

Average run strength for his size. Limited leg drive to power through contact. Average short area burst.

Poor blocker. Unreliable blocker in space. Not physical blocking. Has short arms. Regularly is late to punch. Sloppy footwork and hands. Base not consistently set, resulting in weak anchor. Hand placements can be outside the frame of the defender. Gets shoved off of blocks easily or pushed backwards. I won't give him a free pass even if he's intentionally not giving full effort blocking, because he sometimes he doesn't even do the minimum level to get to the right blocking angle and get his body in the way. Frequent "ole" whiffs where he doesn't make any contact with the defender. Pathetic blocking effort on some plays. Takes frequent "losses" on his blocking assignments. In all the games I watched, I didn't credit him with a single "good" block on any of his reps. Absorbs hits more than he delivers them on blocks.

Short arms are very limiting trying to elevate for high passes and to reach off target throws, limiting his effective catch radius. Passes can get tipped off of his hands and up into the air. It might look like he gets alligator arms on some missed catches, but those are just his actual arms and he's trying his best to get to the ball.

Doesn't have plus natural football instincts. Doesn't process on the fly and make the correct decision in unscripted situations like QB scramble drills. Clumsy shove to CB at break point, could have been called offensive PI, doesn't have guile or subtlety to create separation at top of route. Not clutch. Doesn't have anything special "left in the bag" that he can pull out in critical situations. Team had a vital 3rd down late in 4th quarter and like usual, he ran a very average route, unable to get open for the QB. At no point watching his games did he jump off the screen to me and look like a future 1st round NFL pick. Even when he had big statistical games, it was very underwhelming and disappointing to watch.

Young benefitted from playing against poor competition. Some of his big plays were the result of incompetent defensive mistakes. He benefitted from tired defenses facing a high tempo offense. He got system catches in an Air Raid offense. WRs typically had very wide splits in the formation. He caught a bunch of passes behind, at or very close to the LOS. While he was in a weak conference, his offensive teammates actually are really talented for that level of college ball. Some of the best highlights for their offense didn't come from him, they were made by his teammates. It wasn't a one man show, he was part of a complete band. Pretty balanced offense in talent, so defenses couldn't focus all their attention on him, they had plenty of problems all over the formation to worry about. That 2025 UNT offense was legit, I can see why they won so many games.

 

[Twopointtry]

Part 4: Draft Grade, Pro Comp

Late round grade, Chad Hansen (Late 4th round 2017, Jets, Cal)

I'm not intentionally trying to be contrarian. I realize that most draft boards have Young as a 2nd round and maybe even a fringe 1st round prospect. I understand that some experts believe that he could be the next Cooper Kupp. People have different opinions. I'm just giving you my honest take based off of what I see from the videos of his games.

Young has an amazing personal story. Kudos to him for going from a recruit that almost nobody wanted to becoming a star that has garnered so much praise and attention. It is a fantastic example of what determination and hard work can produce. You don't need to be a 5-star recruit or get signed by an SEC school to be a great college player. I hope he kills it in 2016 and has another huge season. Underdog stories are great for sports.

Having a great football resume, however, doesn't mean that a prospect deserves to be a 1st round draft pick. My honest opinion is that if you put Jordan Whittington and Wyatt Young in the same draft class, I would take Whittington ahead of Young. Whittington himself was once a college RB. Somewhat similar to Young, he changed positions. Whittington was a better route runner coming out of college than Young is right now and Whit was a vastly superior blocker. Whit projected to have better special teams potential, making him a good candidate to carry on the roster as a utility backup WR, with position flexibility to maybe use as a hybrid FB.

Whittington was taken in the compensatory section of the 6th round. In draft simulators before his draft, I often grabbed him in the 6th or 7th round, because I liked him so much. Whit basically was a "7th round guy" if you look at where he was taken. Whit is small by NFL standards and has very short arms, but he's slightly bigger than Young. Importantly for the Rams and our scheme, Whit is very good at any change of direction type route. He might not be a 3 level threat, but he fits McVay's offense.

If Whit is a 7th round prospect, I debated in my mind whether to give Young an UDFA grade. In the end, I still have him as draft worthy. He's a solid athlete, has speed and runs decently with the ball in his hands. I don't think he'll be a great ST player, but he might be okay and offer some value in that area. I could see him competing for a back of the roster spot or be on the PS. I don't see, however, a future NFL starting WR when I watch Young. I don't think he has the magic eye. Regardless, don't miss the forest for the trees. If Young makes an NFL regular season roster at all, coming from where he started, it is a huge success, not in any capacity a failure. Most guys with his background, they don't even get a chance to participate in an NFL training camp, their football careers end whenever their college playing days are over.

Chad Hansen was crazy productive his final season at Cal. He played one season at Idaho State, then walked on at Cal. In only 10 games in 2016, he had 92-1,249-11, playing in an Air Raid offense. He was 6'2'' tall and 202 pounds, ran 4.53 seconds in the 40, with excellent agility drill scores. As a rookie, he had 9 catches for 94 yards. It was the only season he made their team. He bounced around on the PS of other NFL teams, then got some playing time with the Houston Texans in 2020, finishing his NFL career with 330 career receiving yards. He also was on XFL rosters.

I think it is important to keep in mind that Cooper Kupp redshirted his first year in college. Much of his heroics at Eastern Washington were yet to come if we compared Wyatt Young to Kupp in a true apples to apples comparison at the same age and experience level. There is plenty of time for Young to develop more and maybe someday turn into the next CK. I just don't think he's remotely close to that level right now and I'm not willing to bet an early round draft pick to speculate on his upside. He would need to make another huge leap forward in his 2026 performance level before I'd put him in that category.