Those asked to describe Toney's game typically answer the same way: Guarding him in the open field is futile.
"I've yet to see someone cover him one-on-one in the open field," Florida quarterback Kyle Trask said.
That has pretty much been the case for years now. Senior Bowl executive director Jim Nagy remembers hearing about Toney's legend as a prep quarterback in 2018. Nagy was moving to Senior Bowl headquarters in Mobile, Alabama, where stories spread about Toney at nearby Blount High School, "stopping on a dime in a way you can't coach." Three years later, Nagy watched Toney break off defensive backs in Senior Bowl one-on-ones by 5 to 10 yards of separation. "One hesitation and he's gone," Nagy said.
Toney became a master at shaking defenders at Florida, with him and Alabama's DeVonta Smith trading highlight-reel plays each week in the SEC.
Though primarily a slot receiver in Florida, with 78% of his routes coming from the inside, Toney also rushed the ball 19 times for 161 yards, ranking among the top five nationally in touches (89), scrimmage yards (1,145), TDs (11) and yards after first contact (297).
On a particular play against Ole Miss, Toney hit light speed on five Rebels defenders surrounding him on a simple jet-motion, one-cut handoff. What should have been a 2-yard gain went for 50. One AFC scout compared him to another Florida great, Percy Harvin, which is good news for advanced offenses that scheme up touches for players who win in space. Harvin went 22nd overall in the 2009 draft, and many mock drafts have Toney in the 18-to-30 range.
"Teams are excited for how they might use me," said Toney, who has had productive Zoom meetings with the Arizona Cardinals, Detroit Lions, the 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars, Washington Football Team and more. "Most of them see me as a slot receiver and returner. But I have a lot of experience taking the ball out of the backfield. I'm open to all of it."
That San Francisco is talking to Toney is buzzworthy, considering what the team just did with Deebo Samuel.
The 49ers drafted Samuel in the second round of the 2019 draft and turned him into a yards-after-possession demon. As a rookie, he averaged 13.5 yards per touch, including three rushing touchdowns on 14 carries.
"Deebo opened eyes for players like [Toney] -- like, look what you can do with him," Nagy said.
But Nagy is quick to point out that while Toney can handle the jet sweeps and the boomerang running plays, he is a tough slot receiver at the core.
The Gators didn't scheme Toney deep that often, with eight of his 87 targets traveling 20-plus yards downfield. He still forced an SEC-high 21 missed tackles on mostly short-to-intermediate work.
Toney has the mentality of a feisty corner. He wants a challenge, wants contact.
"He plays so much bigger and stronger and he's so competitive," Nagy said. "He's so much stronger on contact than most guys his size. His mindset and strength are what set him apart. He has the joystick ability and can rip under stuff.
"To call him a gadget guy is almost insulting."
Toney doesn't care about gadgets, as long as the ball finds his hands. Toney's game is far from a finished product. Some scouts want to see more refined route running, citing choice routes at Florida that gave Toney options to beat defenders in the moment. At the pro level, he'll need more precision on his routes, the scouts said. One scout questioned the reliability of his hands.
But Toney says he's eager for that challenge, and his days as a high school quarterback taught him to "learn every detail" and "grab the whole playbook."
"I try to put myself through all situations mentally so that when the game comes, I go out there and play free," Toney said. "I envision the defense I'm going to see. I lock in. And with my quickness and my bend, being able to move the way I do, I can handle what I planned to see."
There's a flip side scouts see, too: A special athlete like this shouldn't have his creativity hampered. Asking Toney to run rigid routes all game might take away from the freaky things he can do in one-on-ones.
The wildest thing that happened at Florida's pro day was a busted broad jump that said everything about Toney's ability. Toney's first attempt was 10 feet, 4 inches, which is not impressive. But he jumped up and out instead of in a straight line. After a coach admonished him, he regrouped to jump 11-4. But clearing 10 feet with a Gateway Arch trajectory on that first attempt is silly.
Those who coached Toney's elite burst in college can't wait to see what he does with an NFL playbook.
"He's scratching the surface of what he's going to become at the next level," Florida head coach Dan Mullen said. "He keeps erasing every question people have about him everywhere he goes."