Welcome to Purple & Gold Prospects!

This will be an ongoing series to get Vikings fans familiar with upcoming draft prospects. The focus of this series will be to cover prominent prospects entering the upcoming NFL Draft. The series will center on the position groups of highest need on the current Vikings roster, but will also cover stand out players across the spectrum. I hope you will join me on this continuing journey to learn more about upcoming draft classes.

With that let’s discover the possible future of your Minnesota Vikings!

Background

Height: 5104

Weight: 186 lbs.

Roman Wilson was a 4-star recruit out of St. Louis High School in Honolulu, Hawaii. Because of his location he only received three offers out of high school despite his 4-star ranking. Those school were Oregon, UCLA, and Michigan. He committed to Michigan for the 2020 season. Despite being on a very run-heavy Michigan offense he made the most of the work he received. Over 3 years as a starter he accumulated 1,585 yards receiving, 19 TDs, and an impressive 16.2 yards per catch. He also added 108 yards rushing and 2 TDs on the ground. He capped off his career with by far his best season in 2023 and has positioned himself nicely to be selected sometime on Day 2 of the 2024 NFL Draft.

Games watched: Minnesota 2023, Purdue 2023, Rutgers 2023

Strengths

The first thing that stands out from Wilson is his speed and agility. He is a burner downfield and has excellent burst and quickness off of his release and out of breaks. He has a well developed route tree and aligned all over the field for the Wolverines. When lined up out of the slot or in motion pre-snap, the separation he creates is effortless. He sinks his hips well and has sharp breaks. Snaps out of his breaks with great burst and acceleration to create separation. Wilson has decent body manipulation at the top of his route to throw off defenders. On crossing and deep routes he will create good separation with his speed. Wilson does a good job of finding space against zone defenses and the awareness when to sit instead of continuing routes into defenders. He tracks the ball well downfield and possesses good ball skills and body control to bring in tough catches. Wilson also has a really good catch radius for his size with good timing to fully extend for passes outside of his frame. He is also a very willing blocker. Does a good job engaging the nearest defender. Wilson does a good job locking up DBs when he engages them.

Weaknesses

Wilson has a slight frame at only 5-10 but might be able to carry some additional weight if needed. He can struggle releasing off of press coverage. His footwork setups can take a little too long and he can engage in too much hand fighting at the LOS which can delay timing in his routes. Wilson also appears to be much more comfortable in motion or out of the slot where he has more room to maneuver. On the outside he often doesn’t stress the defender enough and doesn’t generate as much separation. A lot of this will probably be fixed by adding in more nuance to his route running especially when lined up on the outside. Finally his run blocking also has some holes. While he can engage and lock out defenders well he often overshoots them while in motion. Has to work on his angles and timing to be a true asset in the run game.

Conclusion

Wilson is an excellent prospect that was hidden on the run-based Michigan offense. His well-rounded skillset and athleticism will push him up NFL draft boards. His size will limit his ceiling but should not deter teams from selecting him sometime on Day 2. For the Vikings he would make an excellent chess piece and complimentary piece to the already strong receiving weapons that Minnesota possesses. After an outstanding Senior Bowl performance he has started to climb draft boards and has secured his position as a Day 2 selection in the upcoming NFL Draft.

Grade

Route Running: 11.5 / 15

Separation: 8.5 / 10

Agility: 9 / 10

Ball Skills: 8 / 10

Body Control: 7.5 /10

Burst/Speed: 9.2 / 10

Release: 8.1 / 10

Tracking: 7.9 / 10

Contested Catches: 3.9 / 5

Run Blocking: 3.5 / 5

YAC Ability: 4 / 5

OVERALL: 81.1 – Late Second Round