Zay Flowers NFL Draft Profile

Welcome to Draft Week!

It’s a been a big few weeks for flowers, as both Zay and my nose can attest. The NFL Draft kicks off on Thursday night in Kansas City, and one Zay Flowers will be right there in the green room anxiously awaiting for his name to get called. This Eagle has been flying across the country visiting teams that would be lucky to have him. He will be one of 17 players, but not one will have a more infectious smile on his face when the time comes. Boston College has never had a receiver taken in the first three rounds of the draft, but as he’s done time and time again, Flowers will make history. We know him, we love him, let’s wrap this up all together.

Career Stats and Accolades

The Florida native got better and better each season on the Heights. After being ‘the jet sweep’ guy his freshman year, Flowers emerged in the first Hafley-Jurkovec season. His 892 yards, 56 catches, and 9 touchdowns were more than enough for an All-ACC First Team selection, and surely made some teams remember the name with dominant performances. Despite the Jurkovec injury the following season, Flowers still did his best to carry the team on his back with over 800 yards from scrimmage and five touchdowns, including a memorable game winner.

Then came his senior season. Let’s not forget his decision to stay at Boston College despite ample opportunity to go elsewhere. Talk about character. And he sure as heck was rewarded for this decision (and will continue to be. The name Flowers now goes down in the history books in Chestnut Hill. With over 1000 yards, 78 catches, and 12 receiving touchdowns on the year, he became the school’s all-time leader in all three categories. When everyone in the stadium knows who the ball is going, and a guy can still do this, all you can do is sit back and appreciate what we had:

Combine/Pro Day:

The 5-9 now 182 pound Flowers (all muscle, no big deal) had a solid showing during the individual drills and interviews at the NFL Combine here. Back in Chestnut Hill, 23 teams had scouts, executives, or coaches in attendance to watch him up close and personal on his Pro Day.

Odds

He has the second best odds (+500) to go as the WR #1 with Ohio State’s Jaxson Smith-Njigba the odds on favorite. As for draft position, the over/under is at 22.5 now after starting at 24.5.

Team Fits / Player Comps

Flowers has the combination of speed and shiftiness to play inside or out. He’s shown he can make contested catches despite his size, and his burst after the catch is where he can make a living. Vision, elusiveness, ball skills, how many more adjectives can I throw out there?

Here’s his NFL.com profile for reference. Steve Smith and Antonio Brown, are a few common comparisons, and Flowers has indeed modeled his game after the pair. Seahawks receiver Tyler Lockett is another favorable comp with striking similarities.

On to the latest buzz, Flowers has taken a number of team visits, of which teams are limited to 30. The Patriots, Ravens, Raiders, Cowboys, Titans have all hosted him. He even was last-minute asked by the Chiefs to fly to Texas and work out with one Pat Mahomes last week just when he thought the pre-draft process was over. It’s scary to imagine how much better Zay could become in that offense.

Mocks have him going all over the place with so many teams that would love to have him in their building. For the Patriots, after having been on their team for the East West Shrine Game, Flowers recently went to spend the day learning the offense with OC Bill O’Brien. They’ll have the 14th pick in the draft. The Titans are among the highest of the crop showing interest up at #11, which may be a bit rich, but they also have the 10th pick in the second and could even look to jump back in the first. The Raiders are in a similar boat. The Steelers have the 17th pick, and also the first pick of round 2. You can sure bet Mike Tomlin knows all about Zay with his son Dino at BC (who also has a very similar upbeat persona).

Later in the first, sit the Ravens at 22. They recently signed Odell, but still went on to host Flowers with a need to revamp their wide receiver corps. However, right before them are the Chargers who many see as a great fit for their offense as a weapon who can do it all. Also later in the first are the aforementioned Cowboys, but the Giants are another popular mock one spot ahead at #25. The Bills are right after that though too and could look to add some firepower. With so many teams clustered together, it’s very possible we could see someone truly enamored make a move to get ahead.

As can be seen by my listing half of the franchises, Zay has a range of outcomes, but most revolve around that late first round (see o/u 22.5). He really hasn’t been seen after pick 40 in recent mock drafts, and if anything these early second round teams might have to look to make a move up to get him. The man is a stud and he will shine wherever he goes. Best of luck to our guy. Be sure to follow along on draft night!