PROSPECT SUMMARY — OSIRUS MITCHELL

Osirus Mitchell aligned at wide receiver for the Mississippi State Bulldogs’ offense, predominantly on the outside. He is a sufficient-level proactive athlete, as evidenced in his suddenness off the line of scrimmage and overall body control as a route-runner. He is a willing stalk blocker in the run game and displays moments of physicality in this regard. In the passing game, he has been effective in the intermediate to deep areas of the field. He can improve at defeating press coverage with strength and hand usage. He is proficient in contested-catch situations and has also shown the hand-eye coordination and catching skills to track the ball in the air. He has some focus drops on routine catches, but also projects as a red zone threat in slant-fade and 50/50 ball situations.

Ideal Role: Developmental X wide receiver.

Scheme Fit: Multiple offense with an abundance of downfield passing concepts.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Drae Harris

Games watched: LSU (2020), KSU (2020), Louisville (2020)

Best Game Studied: LSU (2020)

Worst Game Studied: Louisville (2020)

Route Running: He is a long-levered, high-cut player who is sufficient at dropping his weight and getting out of his break. He’s not the best route-runner and lacks elite separation quickness at the top of the route. When he is pressed, he struggles to get into his route with good enough timing for the QB to stay “on him” when he’s the primary read.

Hands: He has moments of extending and catching the ball away from his frame. He also has some focus drops on routine catches underneath. He has shown the ability to track the ball in the air and make tough over-the-shoulder catches.

Separation: Gaining separation against man coverage will not be a strength of his. He is not an elite separator at the top of the route. He has more of a challenge when he is pressed at the line of scrimmage.

Release: He struggles to get off the line of scrimmage. He could afford to learn to develop some creativity in his releases. If he cannot win with foot quickness, he needs to develop the upper-body strength and hand usage to defeat press.

Run After Catch: He lacks a good amount of RAC ability. Most of his yardage will come with the ball in the air. Although he appears to have sufficient straight-line play speed, he lacks true elusiveness in space with the ball in his hands.

Ball Skills: He demonstrates moments of good ball skills. He has a few over-the-shoulder catches where he tracks the ball well. He has also demonstrated good but inconsistent catch skills as well.

Football IQ: He plays the game with good football IQ. He has the awareness not to run into coverage underneath on flanker drive routes. He also knows how to position his body in favorable positions relative to where safety help is.

Versatility: He lacks true versatility and should remain as an outside-only receiver. Preferably at X. Someone could be intrigued at the possibility of playing him as a big slot receiver to alleviate the concerns of him getting off press.

Competitive Toughness: He plays with the competitive toughness necessary for the position. He is a willing stalk blocker when he doesn’t have the football. He also will catch the football when contact is imminent. Has no issues catching the football over the middle.

Big-Play Ability: He has flashed some big-play ability, specifically on the deep ball—although he took a flanker drive for a touchdown in the LSU game. He has some straight-line speed but lacks true elusiveness in space with the ball in his hands.