Former West Virginia' wide receiver Tavon Austin is an explosive and physically-gifted athlete. Despite his small stature, he’s a jack-of-all-trades type of player; able to line up at receiver, in the backfield as a running back and return kicks/punts. Austin impressed many at the NFL combine with his 4.34 second 40-yard dash and 14 bench press reps at 225 pounds; 51 more than he weighs! But what stood out even more was how impressive he was in the positional drills; really turning heads and shining among the receivers in attendance. So, with all that said; let’s take a closer look at this talent young receiver with eDraft’s official scouting report.
| Ht | Wt | Class | Ranking | Projection |
| 5'8" | 174 | Senior | 34 | First Round |
Strengths
Speed: Austin possesses explosive and elite speed and acceleration. He can stop, make a cut and accelerate back to full speed within three to four steps.
Vision: Austin has incredible vision as a ball carrier, whether it’s as a receiver, out of the backfield or on kick/punt returns. He can see where blocks will be, find lanes and spot the tiniest hole with ease.
Maneuvers: Austin runs routes extremely well, has top-notch footwork and the ability to make defenders miss at the last-possible second. Something that really stood out to me, was Austin’s ability to trick defenders into a false sense of security by not going full-speed for a few plays, then exploding to top gear mid-route and leaving the defender in his dust.
Weaknesses
Size: At just 5’8” Austin is very short, but has a decent amount of bulk on his upper body and shows some decent strength. Despite that, he’s too far from prototypical wide receiver size to ever be used anywhere but the slot at the NFL level. In college Austin did a good job of taking hits from big defenders and bouncing back quickly, but with the size of NFL defenders; it will be interesting to see how Austin handles a big-league hit from a defender six inches and 80 pounds heavier.
Hands: For their size (9 ?”), Austin generally makes good use of his hands; he reaches for balls that are slightly off target and does a good job of pulling them in. But on more than one occasion, particularly hard-thrown passes seem to go right through his hands and into his chest. At the NFL level, where passes are typically much-harder thrown than in college; this could become a big problem with deflected passes and ball-hawking defenses.
Bottom Line
Despite his size, Austin is an incredibly talented receiver with explosive speed and top-notch vision. Whichever team drafts him will likely have a creative offensive play-caller that will make great use of Austins’ receiving and ability to run out of the backfield; as well as his exceptional return skills. Yes, teams will likely never get to line him up on the outside; but the work he does from the slot and his crazy physical skills will make him an eventual star at the NFL level.