John Metchie III

Context

Plays mostly in the slot and as the Z, some snaps at X.

Before the Catch

He has a varied and effective release package. He beats press coverage with hand timing, foot quickness and impressive acceleration off the line of scrimmage. His speed release is very good, and he can use hesitation and foot-fires to mix up his speeds and keep the DB guessing as to when he will turn on the afterburners. He also has an effective single move that sets up a devastating rocker step, made so by his excellent change of direction ability. When he’s jammed at the line, his hands are fast and well-timed with a good array of moves including a swim and a wipe that can be well executed but against DBs who play him with patience and savvy at the line, his hands can be inaccurate. When facing off-coverage, he will stem straight at the defender and attack leverage, using his burst and speed to close cushion quickly.

When he gets to the break-point he creates instant separation and is particularly good in short areas and separating. Everything he does is sudden and his change of direction, explosion, quickness and ability to stop on a dime make him a very difficult assignment. He snaps his face out of the break on hard angle breaks and keeps an excellent posture, using his explosion to stop without any warning. On all cuts he makes the transition efficiently, with little wasted movement and no rise. On vertical cuts on downfield post and corner routes, he’s a master at manipulating the DB’s hips and he uses an effective elbow jam to turn his on hips, likely after selling other routes to the DB. On these softer angle routes, he doesn’t lose any speed through the break-point and looks smooth at all times. He has good processing, can read coverages, spot the soft spot in zone coverage and settle. He helps out his QB, especially on broken plays when he can get creative to get open in good spots and will work back to the football. He doesn’t have the kind of play strength you want to see through the break-point when he has to separate against more physical DBs but he is competitive. Concentration and courage to go over the middle consistently.

The Catch and after the Catch

He has pluck-y hands and good manual dexterity to position his hands well and generally catches around his frame. He can catch on the run and stationary. Where he does have trouble is with balls thrown low to the ground while he’s on the run, and when he has to extend himself to balls thrown over his shoulder. His ball tracking is good but he doesn’t alter his body position effectively to receive the ball in these situations. He could also use his body more to box out defenders with better ball skills on underneath routes. Not a huge YAC-getter but can win with speed and lateral quickness.

SUMMARY
Speed, explosion, COD help him get off press and get open consistently at the break-point. Good hands except for when catching over the shoulder and low on the run

PRODUCTION
JR: 128 Tgts, 96 Recs, 1142 Rec Yards (11.9 Ave), 8 Rec TDs
SO: 76 Tgts, 55 Recs, 916 Rec Yards (16.7 Ave), 6 Rec TDs
INJURY: Torn Left ACL (SEC Championship as JR)

RAVENS FIT
Athleticism 4
Intelligence 4
Versatility 4
Grit 4
Scheme 3