Scouting Report

Rashod Bateman is a receiver with high potential, but wasn’t utilized to the best of his ability at the University of Minnesota. Bateman’s swag is always on 1000 and his potential is through the roof. Minnesota wasn’t a natural fit for Bateman and the quarterback play was hard to watch. As a sophomore, Bateman was paired up with Tyler Johnson who was a part of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Super Bowl Team. After playing five games in 2020, Bateman decided he was ready to depart from Minnesota and prepare for the NFL Draft. Whenever a player who has proven he can clearly ball out at the college level decides to sit out and prepare for the NFL, I look at it as a good thing. It gives him more time to train like an NFL player, handle himself as a professional, and make sure he is both fresh and healthy.  Bateman should be able to transition into the NFL pretty smoothly based on his style of play and ability to gain separation at a high level.

The best attribute of Bateman’s game is his route running. From his release to the top of his route, Bateman makes everything look clean. When making cuts, Bateman looks like Allen Iverson by hitting his DB with a crossover. The defensive back guarding him freezes up and instantly falls behind and trails him. This means that Bateman will thrive against man coverage and his crossover style cuts will help him succeed when it comes to releases at the line of scrimmage. He does a really good job at tracking the football over his shoulder and adjusting to bad throws. As I mentioned earlier, Bateman plays the game with a lot of swagger which will help his popularity and social media status. He has the potential to be a fan favorite and a big star.

While Bateman does play with a lot of swag, he also has a lot of inconsistencies. Starting with his hands, Bateman needs to be consistent with the Jug machine because he dropped a ball in almost every game that I watched of his. Bateman also has a tendency to take false steps at the top of his route, while he’s capable of absolutely exposing his defender every now and then he takes too long. Against Maryland and Purdue, Bateman struggled and I feel like we didn’t get to see what Bateman was truly capable of at the University of Minnesota. I would have liked to see him used more in throws down field and on double moves.

I compare Bateman to Allen Robinson, while he was hurt by bad quarterback play he is an elite route runner and finds ways to get open. I have Bateman graded as a mid second round prospect, but it is sounding like he will be a day one pick. He could potentially be replacing his comparison, Allen Robinson, in Chicago. I’d also like to see him have the chance to be a number one receiver in Baltimore or as the number two in Washington. I think Bateman would combine with Terry McLaurin to be an awesome receiver duo. I project Bateman being a high-level second option at the next level.