It wasn’t surprising to see running back Jonathan Taylor declare early for the NFL Draft but for wide receiver Quintez Cephus his decision of returning for his senior season or going pro could have gone either way.
Ultimately the way Cephus played over Wisconsin’s final six games of the season made his decision easier to declare for the NFL draft. Considering Cephus in that span caught a combined 32 passes for 491 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, not only were four of Wisconsin’s final six opponents ranked in the top 25 but also four of the six teams were ranked in the top 30 nationally in pass defense.
In this Badgers Wire feature, we will examine Cephus’ strengths, weaknesses and where he could possibly land in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Strengths:
Cephus can do a little bit of everything in the receiving game. He has shown to be a solid route runner, has strong hands, and his ability to block down the field.
Cephus is concise in his routes, which allows him to create separation against the opposition in order to make a play. Cephus very rarely suffered through drops as he quickly became a favorite target for Jack Coan this past season as he consistently helped move the chains for Wisconsin’s offense.
Even if the cornerback is able to play tight coverage on Cephus he has shown his ability to adjust to the football and still manage to make the catch. In addition, thanks to his basketball background he’s able to high point the football in order to make the catch.
Before Cephus demonstrated his ability to be a reliable wide receiver he showed his ability to be an effective blocker. His blocking skills allowed him to earn playing time as a true freshman. Once again Cephus’ ability to show that he’s willing and is capable of blocking will only earn him additional reps during training camp.
Cephus’ ability to transition those skills into the NFL will go a long way in helping him become a successful pro.
Weaknesses:
This isn’t an individual weakness but the 2020 NFL draft wide receiver class is certainly stacked with talent. The amount of talent ahead of Cephus will push him down farther than normal if the wide receiver draft class wasn’t as deep and talented.
Although Cephus put up 23 reps on the bench press at the NFL Combine, which led all wide receivers he did run the slowest time in the 40-yard dash at 4.73 seconds. Cephus was able to improve his 40-yard dash at Wisconsin’s pro day when he ran a 4.56.
Cephus may never be a burner in the NFL, which will make it important that he can get cleanly out of his brakes in order to consistently create that separation on his routes.
Although Cephus was able to attend the scouting combine and was able to work out again in front of NFL scouts at Wisconsin’s pro day not being able to do any additional private workouts could play a factor where Cephus is drafted too.
Cephus will also naturally be questioned about his sexual assault charges that he faced. Cephus was found not guilty of second and third-degree sexual assault charges but teams will want to know exactly what happened and some teams may label him as a character risk.
Quintez Cephus’ Landing Spot
Due to the talent at the wide receiver position, Cephus could go anywhere between the third and fifth-round. Cephus’ likely landing spot will be somewhere in the fifth round to a team that has a need at receiver but it isn’t their top need heading into this draft. Cephus has expressed an interest in playing for the Green Bay Packers. Other options could be the Houston Texans, Philadelphia Eagles, or the New England Patriots. Regardless of where Cephus ends up each rep, he receives during training camp he’s going to need to make the most of them in order to earn more as he tries to carve out a role on an NFL team.