Kadarius Toney is one of the most interesting players in the draft, so let’s break him down! The 5’11” 194 lb. wide receiver from Florida was voted First Team All-SEC in 2020.
Strengths: Toney has one of the most dangerous and enticing athletic profiles in the entire draft. He is such a fluid, effortless mover. After the catch, Toney is extremely slippery and difficult to tackle with great wiggle, elusiveness, and burst. This led to Florida giving him many manufactured touches to get the ball into his hands in open space, including bubble screens, jet sweeps, and reverses. His speed allows him to stretch the field from the slot, which is a very valuable trait. Given his athletic traits, Toney can be molded into a dangerous weapon with high-level separation ability. He flashes top-tier route-running with deceptive quickness and stop-start ability. Toney has soft, reliable hands. His ability to pluck the ball out of the air and extend away from his frame to secure slightly off target throws is impressive. Toney excels at finding soft spots in zone coverage and offering his quarterback an open target.
Weaknesses: Toney is not a complete receiver yet and is still fairly raw. His route-running has sky-high potential, and he certainly has flashed in that regard, but it is far too inconsistent as of now. His routes are too often rounded and lacking sharpness for somebody with his athletic profile. At times it looks as though he is floating through the route rather than focusing on the nuance and crispness of it to really use his athleticism to shake receivers. Toney’s route tree is also limited and he will have to expand it in the NFL. He also runs his routes in a very nonchalant manner when he does not expect to be the target on a certain play. Toney lacks size, strength, and contact balance. This means he struggles working through contact from the DB. Although he is extremely slippery, if a defender does get him in his grasp, Toney lacks the ability to break the tackle more often than not. Toney’s run blocking is often poor, as he frequently fails to display effort and willingness to engage with a defender. There are character concerns to vet with Toney: In July 2018, Toney was part of a conflict on campus that included ten people. He revealed an airsoft gun resembling an AR-15 assault rifle, pointing it at people and threatening to shoot.
Bottom Line: Toney is one of the most difficult evaluations and projections in this draft class, as he is truly a prospect with a high ceiling but a low floor. He possesses all the athletic traits and potential in the world, with excellent quickness, speed, and elusiveness, which make him very dangerous in open space. However, Toney has not developed into a complete wide receiver yet, as his route running is inconsistent and his route tree is limited. His lack of play strength affects him as well. Additionally, there is the serious off-field incident in his past. Any team that drafts Toney will be taking a leap of faith that he can develop into a complete wideout and that his character issues will not impact his football career, but if they get it right, Toney can be one of the most electric weapons amongst all the offenses in the league.
Draft Projection: Late first round, early second round
My Grade: 2.3 (indicative of an early-mid second round grade)
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