2019 NFL Draft Profiles: Defensive End Wyatt Ray

Wyatt Ray has had quite the career at Boston College, though he has been overshadowed by two giants (Zach Allen and Harold Landry). Ray, from Fort Lauderdale Florida, the grandson of music legend Nat King Cole, came to BC from St. Thomas Aquinas a football powerhouse in the Sunshine State. He was a 3* recruit according to Rivals, and held offers from Louisville Cardinals, Indiana Hoosiers, and Minnesota Golden Gophers but decided on the Eagles after being recruited as a weak side defensive end by now departed coaches Ben Albert and Todd Fitch.

Ray immediately saw playing time with the Eagles, playing mostly on special teams as a freshman, but listed as the backup on the depth chart. He finished his first season with one pass break up, four tackles (three solo), and one for a loss. Most of his stats this year came against Howard, take that for what it is worth. During his sophomore campaign he really started to turn heads, recording 27 tackles, seven for loss, 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble. He was part of the defensive line that was named the Quick Lane Bowl MVP for their play against Maryland when he was part of a line that had 8 sacks against the Terrapins.

During his junior season he saw solid playing time, but was still stuck behind Harold Landry and Zach Allen on the edges but saw four starts when Landry went down with an injury. Against Louisville, the game where BC turned their season around he had a critical interception against Lamar Jackson, followed up with two sacks against UVA, and even took advantage of playing against inferior opponents when he had a blocked field goal and five tackles against UConn. His senior season was really his coming out party when he finally got to see regular starting snaps, when he finished the year with nine sacks including a whopping four against Wake Forest and three against Louisville.

Physical Stats

Height: 6’3
Weight: 257
40: 4.83
Bench Press: 25
Vertical: 34
Broad Jump: 118

Scouting Report

Wyatt Ray is an interesting prospect going into the NFL Draft because he definitely has some solid attributes, but there are also some warning signs that may scare off NFL teams. First off, after being overshadowed by Harold Landry, he showed in his first season that he can be dominant end, even though 7 out of his 9 sacks came against two teams. He has a huge wingspan, and is good with using his arms to shed off blocks to get at the quarterback, with a good motor to really continue to battle. His length is also a positive as it allows him to cover more space in the open to make tackles. His NFL.com scouting report I think said it best, he has most of the tools there, but needs more development time, will a team take a chance on that to build him up?

In terms of concerns he isn’t super quick coming off the snap and doesn’t have the make up speed to finish in terms of backside pursuit. There were also multiple games last year that he got gobbled up by good offensive linemen. If they could set their blocks on him and get leverage, Ray had a hard time getting out of it.

Draft Outlook

Ray showed in his senior season that he has the ability to make plays, and his slightly above average 40 time (for an edge rusher) and bench press should get him a look in the later rounds. Again he has some experience as a special teamer, which will be an asset for Ray, but I don’t see him going an earlier than the 6th round. I would expect Ray to be drafted in the 6th or 7th round. I could see Wyatt Ray making a team out of camp