Miles Boykin is a Sleeper Wide Receiver who Screams Futute for the Steelers

Parker Hurley |

Apr 7, 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers interest in Miles Boykin could equal their next star wide receiver

While all of the attention was on D.K. Metcalf and his strong day at the NFL combine that almost certainly assured him to be drafted in the top 20 picks, it was actually Miles Boykin who had one of the more impressive combine performances at wide receiver in recent memory.

In fact, while many put Metcalf, and his combine stats up against the likes of Julio Jones, it was Boykin who had a more complete profile similar to the superstar wide out.

Below is a comparison of the three. While Metcalf has the most impressive bench press, the 3-cone and 20-yard shuttle show an incomparable level of flexibility and agility for their respective size. Boykin and Jones have that short area agility that Metcalf does not.

	Julio Jones	Miles Boykin	D.K. Metcalf
Height	6′ 3″	6′ 3¾”	6′ 3⅜”
Weight	220 lbs	220 lbs	228 lbs
Arm Length	33¾”	33½”	34⅞”
Hand Size	9¾”	9⅞”	9⅞”
40 Yard Dash	4.34s	4.42s	4.33s
Vertical Jump	38½”	43½”	40½”
Broad Jump	135″	140″	134″
3-Cone Drill	6.66s	6.77s	7.38s
20 Yard Shuttle	4.25s	4.07s	4.5s
Bench Press	17 reps	12 reps	27 reps

The flexibility and body control shown is nothing if it cannot be applied to the video on the field. While many see Boykin as raw-and he is inconsistent-there is an untapped potential that can be found with Boykin. However, it is already there, his offense just did not show it. This type of release takes fast twitch flexibility and agility that is typically found in receivers much smaller than Boykin.

This Boykin?

Imagine if he had a QB pic.twitter.com/E6Yujmza3R

— Ted Nguyen (@FB_FilmAnalysis) March 22, 2019

The Pittsburgh Steelers have been active in seeing what kind of untapped potential Boykin offers. The Steelers showed up to the Notre Dame Pro Day and brought Miles Boykin in for a pre-draft visit.

While Boykin did not put up strong stats at Notre Dame and is flying under the radar in that regard, a lot of that can be attributed to quarterback play, as noted in the tweet above. Boykin is a deep ball player who can also cut over the middle of the field. Notre Dame was running a power offense with a quarterback who was more prone to check down than throw the ball ten yards down the field.

However, when Boykin had chances, he took advantage. He averaged over 15 yards per reception in his career despite 77 career receptions.

Some of these (very good) WR prospects are getting attention like the kids swimming under water with the fake shark fin while Jaws is having lunch at the pier. pic.twitter.com/D1DyzziKHC

— Matt Waldman (@MattWaldman) March 23, 2019

The inconsistencies in Boykins game can be attributed to lack of development in the specific areas that NFL teams may ask of him. However, when he was asked to do those things, he excelled. Within his role in the Notre Dame, he excelled as well, earning above average blocking grades from Pro Football Focus. Boykin played physical, made contested catches, and got open deep down the football field.

The Steelers are a team known for picking up unknown wide receivers with untapped potential and getting the most out of them. Miles Boykin is raw upside who is looking to fall to a team that has the tools to get the most out of him.

Add in that Ben Roethlisberger has always requested a tall wide receiver and this could be a match in heaven. At pick 52, or 66, do not be surprised if Miles Boykin ends up a Pittsburgh Steeler.