82. Louisville WR Tutu Atwell
5-foot-8, 164 pounds
Yahoo Sports draft grade: 5.78 — potential starter
TL;DR scouting report: Minuscule, electric home-run threat whose size and limitations will complicate his evaluation and system fit
Games watched: Notre Dame (2019), Clemson (2019), Western Kentucky (2020), Virginia Tech (2020)
The skinny: A 3-star Rivals recruit as an “athlete” out of the Miami area, Chatarius “Tutu” Atwell converted from high school QB to college receiver with the Cardinals. Atwell played immediately as a freshman, starting two of 12 games in 2018 and catching 24 passes for 406 yards and two TDs. He experienced a breakout in 2019, leading the ACC in receiving yards (1,276) on 70 catches with 12 TDs, also averaging 21 yards on four punt returns. In 2020, Atwell caught 46 passes for 625 yards and seven TDs in nine games (seven starts), earning first-team all-conference honors his final two years. He opted out for the final game of the season and declared early for the 2021 draft.
Upside: Big-play threat every single time he touches the ball. Defenders must come with population to make sure he’s down. Wasn’t a huge tackle breaker, per se, but his electric speed and quickness typically made that point moot. Can shock defenders by hitting a third gear most of them don’t possess — varied speeds and made would-be tacklers look foolish at times.
Elite athletic traits — lightning in a bottle. Should test with outstanding numbers in the 40-yard dash, 3-cone drill and shuttle drills. Tremendous deep speed that can be used to dictate coverage and occupy safeties. Good luck catching him with the ball in his hands. Explosive burst to hit the corner like a rocket.
Highly productive over his final two seasons — nine 100-yard receiving games and 18 TDs grabs. Didn’t require high volume of targets to amass chunks of yards — averaged more than 10 yards per target in his career. Tracks the deep ball nicely and shows good body control to haul in off-target throws downfield.
Trick-play weapon. Has taken snaps under center — had a 33-yard TD pass in 2019. Can line up in the backfield and be used on jet sweeps and end arounds.
Suffered through inconsistent QB play in his college career. Got open deep plenty yet didn’t always see the ball.
Downside: Built like a welterweight — extremely small build with little mass. The list of players who have been great at that size isn’t long — small even by slot-receiver standards. Extremely thin with lean ankles. Didn't add much mass over three years in college. Might prove to be even smaller than listed height and weight.
Can’t run a full route tree. Limited usage — most of his targets were short or long, layups and three-pointers. Ineffective going over the middle to make plays in traffic. Likely resigned to a “gadget” role in the NFL.
Small hands. Dropped about one out of every 20 balls thrown his way. Won’t offer much, if anything, in contested situations — lacks the length and play strength to battle for 50-50 balls anywhere on the field. Had passes knocked away at the catch point.
Route discipline is not up to snuff. Must learn how to get off press coverage (if he’s even asked to do it). Likely will be a full-time slot/gadget. Could require creative offensive coordinator to manufacture touches.
Limited special-teams experience — only four punt returns, all in 2019. No kickoff experience. Likely won’t have a lot of utility on special-teams coverage units.
Best-suited destination: The team that drafts Atwell must have a defined plan for him. He’s likely never going to develop into a diverse, 65-snap receiver, so he must be unleashed in a calculated way to maximize his effectiveness. But with blurring speed and big-play ability, he’d be an asset in any offense that wants to mimic a fast-break pace like the Chiefs.
Did you know: The original “Tutu” was Chatarius’ father who played receiver at Minnesota and caught 171 passes (fourth-most in Golden Gophers history) for 2,640 yards (fourth-most) and 17 TDs (sixth-most). As a senior in 1997, the elder Atwell also ran back two kickoffs for touchdowns and threw a 31-yard TD pass.
Player comp: Not as gifted an all-around receiver/returner as, say, DeSean Jackson, Atwell looks like a supercharged version of a Taylor Gabriel or JaKeem Grant or perhaps similar to Broncos 2020 second-rounder KJ Hamler.
Expected draft range: Rounds 3 or 4
