Name: Rashod Bateman

School: Minnesota

Year: Jr

Position: Wide Receiver

Measurables: Height 6’2”, Weight 210 pounds

Stats:

General Info:

High School

Bateman attended Tift County High School in Georgia. He broke the single-season receiving records as a Senior with 83 catches for 1,539 yards and 21 touchdowns, and was named first team All-State. Bateman was a four star recruit by 247sports and Rivals, and was the 29th ranked wide receiver and 22nd ranked receiver in Georgia.

College

Bateman started all 13 games as a freshman and set freshman records with 51 receptions and 704 receiving yards. As a sophomore, he was a Biletnikoff finalist, named to the All-Big Ten first team, and given the Richter-Howard Receiver of the year award. The AP also named him All-American third team.

Positional Skills:

Strengths

Bateman is a very well-rounded receiver, and it starts at the line of scrimmage. He has a very diverse release package, from a jab step, to a three step hesitation, as well as attacking leverage and slipping back inside or outside into his stem. Bateman is a maestro when it comes to the slant route and wins at will. His ability to sink his hips is impressive for his size, and he has crisp breaks at the top of his routes. Bateman is an effective route salesman and won on plenty of double moves on film.

Bateman is a very good deep threat and can win vertically. He has very good buildup speed and long strides to separate down the field. His ability to track the football and adjust to it on the fly is impressive.

Bateman has very good hands and showed off his ability to catch through contact over the middle of the field. He’s great at shielding defenders with his frame. Bateman plucks the football well and has a large catch radius. He also shows off good balance through contact and has the competitive toughness.

After the catch may not be his strongest area, but Bateman has solid short area burst and long speed to run away from defenders. He doesn’t have elite agility, but it improved in 2020, and he can make defenders miss in space. Bateman is also an effective and competitive stalk blocker.

Weaknesses

The weaknesses for Bateman are few and far between. He doesn’t have the top end athleticism of some of the other prospects in the class.

Bateman’s stance at the line of scrimmage is a bit wide, and that causes some waste of motion off the snap as he gathers himself and gets into his stem. This is likely a quick fix for him at the next level.

Drops were more of an issue for Bateman in the 2020 season, and it’s something to monitor in his rookie season, as they weren’t a problem in 2018 or 2019.

To really round himself out as a player, Bateman could be more active with his hand usage at the top of his routes to work through contact, as well as to stack corners to win vertically.

Fit with the Packers:

Rashod Bateman would fit very well into the “X” role in the Green Bay offense. He can create separation in a multitude of ways, either as a route runner, with his size in contested spots, or with speed vertically down the field. Bateman wins at all three levels, which will fit in perfectly with a diversified passing offense that Matt LaFleur has brought to the Packers. Bateman can also work in the slot, utilizing the attack and slip release to create separation. He will excel in the quick game with his release game and can win vertically with buildup speed. His catch radius will give Aaron Rodgers some leeway, and the Packers have seemed to prefer bigger wide receivers of late.