Keyarris Garrett is a 6'3, 220-pound wide receiver with 4.53 speed who racked up 1,588 receiving yards in his senior year at Tulsa. However, he figures the best-case scenario is that the phone rings on the second day of the 2016 NFL Draft, and in fact he'll likely have to wait until Day 3.
Keyarris Garrett is the most overlooked WR in the NFL Draft and he doesn’t know why
Garrett led the nation in receiving in 2015 and insists “there was nobody out there who is better than me.”
Why does the nation’s leading college receiver in 2015 not have the hype that players at the top of the draft class have? He really can’t figure it out.
“I felt like that during the season too,” Garrett said. “When they announced the Biletnikoff Award and I wasn’t even on that, I felt like I was being overlooked, which I can’t really understand. I understand that we’re a small school, but if you look at my best games, that was against top competition. So that’s why I didn’t really understand why I was being overlooked.”
“At first, when I was hearing about things, they said it was my speed, but I think at the Combine I basically showed that I can run and I can run with the best of them, especially for how tall I am. With my height and weight, I ran really fast ... so I don’t know what else they could say I need to improve on.”
As a senior, Garrett hauled in two Hail Mary touchdown passes, including a one-handed grab and one that was part of a 189-yard performance against Oklahoma.
Against the Sooners, Garrett finished with a career-high 14 receptions, which he matched a month later against Memphis with 14 receptions for 268 yards and three touchdowns.
“I told myself before the season started that I want to be No. 1 in the nation,” Garrett said. “I wanted to prove to everybody that I’m hungry and I can play with the best. I feel like that I am the best wide receiver in the draft.”
Players like Ole Miss wide receiver Laquon Treadwell, TCU's Josh Doctson and Baylor's Corey Coleman will all almost certainly get picked well ahead of Garrett. But when all the receivers worked out for scouts at the NFL Combine, the Tulsa standout wasn't very impressed by the rest of his competition.
“When I was at the Combine there were a lot of receivers, but I still felt like, even though we were on the field and I could see basically all of them on the field, I just feel like there was nobody out there who is better than me.”
According to Pro Football Focus, the problems that could cause Garrett to fall in the draft order aren’t entirely the receiver’s fault. The Tulsa offense asked Garrett to work at right wide receiver 95.3 percent of the time, and slant, go-, post- and hitch-routes accounted for 90.7 percent of his nation-leading receiving yards.
That lack of versatility could make teams hesitant to make a significant investment in Garrett. But wherever he lands, Garrett is confident that he’ll make an impact and finally get the world to take note of his name.
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