PROSPECT SUMMARY – PRO WELLS

Pro Wells’ career was originally supposed to start out at Marshall because of the opportunity to play both football and basketball. Only playing basketball up until his senior season of high school, he gave football a try during his senior year. Having a standout season, he caught the eye of many college evaluators. After opting not to attend Marshall, he elected to go the JUCO route and later attended Northwest Mississippi Junior College. Then, he then signed with the Horned Frogs in 2018. Experiencing a breakout season in 2019, he recorded a team-high five touchdowns to go along with 196 yards on 17 receptions. Battling a hamstring injury during the early portions of his final season, Wells managed to collect 13 catches for 195 yards and a team-high three touchdown receptions. Still relatively new to the position, Wells is a big-bodied target that’s at his best when flexed out in the slot. Still needing to learn the aspects of playing in-line, he’s a viable target in the red zone, which is where most of his catch production has come.

Ideal Role: Developmental No. 3 Y tight end that hopefully can turn into a No. 2 option on the depth chart.

Scheme Fit: Air Coryell offense, Y tight end with move capabilities on the perimeter.

FILM EVALUATION

Written by Jordan Reid

Games watched: SMU (2019), Kansas State (2020), Oklahoma (2020), Kansas (2020), Baylor (2020)

Best Game Studied: SMU (2019), Kansas (2020)

Worst Game Studied: Baylor (2020)

Hands: Wells’ background as a former basketball player has helped him during his transition to tight end. Using the same traits that helped him with rebounding has been beneficial for him at the catch point. He's active and aggressive with how he high points the ball—he goes and meets it at its highest point. Hardly ever staying on the ground when making catches, he shows little hesitancy with attacking the ball when it’s at its peak.

Route Running: Playing the position for two full seasons as a starter on the FBS level after being relatively new to football shows. With his routes, he simply tries to get to his landmarks as swiftly as possible. There’s little added definition or exaggeration to his routes. While he's able to get away with that against zone coverage as he’s simply finding open grass, it will catch up to him when attempting to defeat man-to-man coverage. There have been minimal reps of him matched up against man, but that’s another area that will be new to him as there will be nuance and flavor needed to be added.

Versatility: Playing in an offense that ran lots of open 11-personnel sets, Wells’ experience has mostly come from the flexed out spot. In the slot for a lot of his career, playing in the box or with his hand in the dirt on a down to down basis may be a bit of a foreign concept to him when introduced. Despite that, his versatility at the position is a bit unknown as there are few glimpses of him actually playing in-line and performing various tasks.

Competitive Toughness: Wells is a high-level competitor in routes and when out on the perimeter as a blocker. Matched up with strong safeties, nickel corners, and widened linebackers, he enjoys the process of blocking them in the running game. Coming to balance and getting his hands on them was frequently seen and it’s clear that he puts an emphasis on perimeter blocking.

Ball Skills: A natural at the catch point, Wells has little difficulty finding the ball and hauling it in. Doing all of his damage from the slot, he’s been a weapon in multiple areas of the field. His most notable plays have come in the red zone, where he’s been able to take advantage of high safeties by using his frame and aggressive mindset at the catch point.

Football IQ: As a route-runner, he displays much more football smarts than as a run blocker. Extremely raw in the running game because of the newness of it, his professional career will basically serve as an introduction to that facet of the game for him. Displaying savvy in his routes, he can manipulate and find his way through zone coverage. Avoiding collisions and using his frame to his advantage was seen frequently throughout his career. Wells could continue to progress in both areas as he continues to gain exposure with in-game reps at the position.

RAC Ability: With limited opportunities to show exactly what he could do after the catch, he has some potential to gain yards that are afforded to him. During his final two seasons, many of his catches have come on a short field or when the offense is in close scoring range. There are some examples in his 2019 film where he’s able to successfully catch routes in the slot and make the first man miss, but the ball pursuit quickly came and tackled him.

Pass Protection: This area of the game will be completely new to Wells as he was hardly ever included in pass protection. The concept of blocking in-line on half- or full-slide concepts will be brand new to him and something that position coaches will have to display patience with. A complete unknown, he enters his professional career having limited exposure from the in-line position.

Big-Play Ability: Wells isn’t a prospect that will consistently produce big plays in the open field. He has the potential to serve as a security blanket in the middle of the field and in the red zone, but simply reeling off big plays with catches and then after the catch dynamics isn’t his strong suit. Serving as a big-body target in soft spots in zone coverage as well as once the field condenses is where his role could continue to grow on the next level.

Prospect Comparison: Mo Alie-Cox, (2017 NFL Draft, UDFA)