2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Sage Surratt, WR Wake Forest

Our NFL rookie profile series continues with this analysis of 2021 NFL Draft prospect Sage Surratt, WR from Wake Forest. We will continue to provide you with these in-depth rookie profiles and a ton of other fantasy football rookie analysis right up through the NFL Draft. Stay tuned, and stay ahead of your league!

If you are anything like me, you almost find more joy in identifying and drafting those late-round rookies who can chill on your taxi squad, more than an early rookie pick. Yes, early rookie picks should hit and produce for you… but there is no better feeling than drafting a third or fourth-round rookie who ends up being a solid contributor on your team (Chase Claypool, Stefon Diggs, George Kittle, James Robinson, etc).

Let’s dive in to see if Sage Surratt may be one of those targets, and see if he will be worth an end of the roster stash.

THE STATS

Statistics from Sports Reference.

Surratt was a standout wide receiver at Lincolnton high school in North Carolina… we are talking, really elite numbers. He also excelled in basketball as well. His high school career football stats consisted of 348 catches for 5,626 yards and 73 touchdowns. In his senior season, Surratt totaled 2,104 yards, 28 touchdowns, and 130 receptions.

He was also named valedictorian in his class, and was committed to Harvard. He later changed his mind and committed to Wake Forest so that he could play at a Power 5 conference and focus solely on football.

In 2018, it took him no time to establish himself and show that he could be a playmaker, even as a freshman. He finished 2018 with 41 receptions for 581 yards and four touchdowns.

Then in 2019, he started right where he left off and went on a nine-game tear in the ACC. He posted 66 receptions for 1,001 yards and 11 touchdowns in just those nine games. That is a 13-game pace of 95 receptions, 1,446 yards, and 16 touchdowns. At the time of his injury, he was leading the ACC in yards, touchdowns, and was second in catches.

But a significant shoulder injury knocked him out of the rest of the 2019 season. Surratt opted out of the 2020 season and prepared for the draft.

THE FILM

When you first start watching some of Surratt’s film, quite a few things jump off the screen… both good and bad.

The Pros:

• Has really good size at 6’2 1/2”, 209 lbs… desirable size for a wide receiver in the NFL
• Is strong and uses his body to beat up and move smaller corners
• One of the most sure-handed receivers in this class
• Good all-around blocker, especially downfield
• Tracks the ball well in the air
• Makes difficult catches seem routine

The Cons:

• Has a hard time separating
• Route running can be sloppy at times
• Slow off the line
• Returning from injury
• Only nine games as a sophomore to study film on

Surratt definitely falls into that “possession” type receiver mold, and does a really good job of that. But even in the highlights, he is making a bunch of contested and tough catches for the simple fact that he can’t get past the defenders on a regular basis.

Separation, speed, and quickness will be the biggest obstacles to his NFL career. It also doesn’t help that he is coming back from a significant injury and there is little tape to watch of him.

THE MEASURABLES

Wake Forest held their pro day on March 31st, and unfortunately, Surratt’s testing did not help his draft stock. If Surratt tested well, I could have seen him being selected as high as the fourth round.

He measured:

• 6-foot-2 1/2 inches
• 209 pounds
• 9-inch hands
• 32 1/4 inch arms
• 78 1/2 inch wingspan
• 4.66-second 40-yard dash
• 4.25-second short shuttle
• 18 repetitions on the bench press

As you can see, none of those numbers would be too concerning, except for the 4.66 40 time… which only reaffirms what you see on tape – below average athleticism for an NFL WR.

Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout on Twitter) made a really good point that I could 100% get behind.

I kind of wish a team would use Sage Surratt as almost a slot tight end. He doesn't separate well over the top, so keep him inside and work intermediate routes plus redzone jump balls. Also think he has the frame to get a little bigger than 6'3", 215 and play around 225

— Matt Miller (@nfldraftscout) April 7, 2021

 

Surratt will most likely never be fast enough to play outside receiver in the NFL, but let him bulk up a bit, and use his strengths of size, blocking, and great catching ability in the red zone.

DYNASTY VALUE

According to DLF’s April 2021 Rookie Dynasty ADP, Surratt can be found as WR20 and the 44th overall rookie.

His poor pro day most likely solidified him as a sixth or seventh-round NFL Draft pick, with the possibility of going undrafted. He will most likely be a fourth-round rookie pick, or go completely undrafted in your rookie drafts.

CONCLUSION

Surratt is a solid prospect, and if he had played in 2020 and showed that he was the same player, or even a better version than 2019 produced, we may be talking about a day-two NFL Draft position. But no tape in 2020 and a poor pro day means he will most likely be drafted as a depth WR and will need some luck and/or injuries to get a shot at playing time.

I still think he is worth a taxi squad spot as a late fourth-rounder. He was putting up very impressive stats as a sophomore, and if he can rekindle some of that play, he will be worth a flier pick.

2021 NFL Draft Prospect: Sage Surratt, WR Wake Forest