Chimere Dike, WR, Florida
Size:
Height: 6005
Weight: 196
Arm: 32 ⅛”
Hand: 9 ⅛”
Accomplishments:
All-Big Ten Honorable Mention (2022)
“Chimere Dike is a well-rounded receiver who exploits the intermediate level of the field with great space, feel, and nuance.”
Strengths:
Zone feel
Nuance at the top of his routes
Special teams boost
Route tree
Concerns:
Deceleration
YAC ability
Limited athletically
Film Analysis:
Competing in basketball, baseball, and track and field at Waukesha North, Chimere Dike was a busy high school athlete but was putting up numbers as a receiver. He accumulated 206 receptions, 27 touchdowns, and 3,033 receiving yards during his career and received the Al Toon award for Wisconsin’s top receiver as a senior in 2019. Dike played four seasons at Wisconsin, putting up 97 receptions for 1478 yards, and nine touchdowns before making a graduate transfer to Florida to join former quarterback Graham Mertz. He put up a career-high 783 yards on 42 catches with two touchdowns while also adding value on special teams as Florida’s main punt returner and as a gunner.
Primarily a slot receiver, Dike is a willing and competitive blocker, even if he’s physically outmatched at times throughout a game. He was used in various ways in Florida’s offense from jet sweep motions, to orbit motions, and even out of the backfield from time to time. He’s alignment-versatile and played both on and off the line of scrimmage. While his ability to beat press coverage with hand usage can be improved, he shows a good understanding of how to adjust his body out of the way of jam attempts to get into his route stem. Dike has one release he favors, the push release, and uses it well with excellent timing, especially on quick drags or slants to the middle of the field. His acceleration chews up space and can put defenders on their heels at the breakpoint, but his ability to decelerate quickly is lacking. More boxy than smooth and twitchy, his breaks at the top of routes leave room for improvement. However, he sells vertical routes well with added nuance in his head usage to force defenders to hesitate, creating added space.
He runs a variety of routes at a good level, is a skilled “double-move” receiver, and can create downfield separation. His deep speed isn’t enough to stack and clear consistently at a high level and will only be average in the NFL. Contact at the catch point can force incompletions and he can let the ball travel too far in his catch technique, leading to drops, but he’s willing to go up to make a play and shows good tracking to be in position. After the catch, he’s a limited athlete and isn’t going to break many tackles or force defenders to miss in a phone booth.
Dike has a good grasp of a route tree and zone defenses to be a possession-based slot receiver at the next level who can exploit the middle of the field. He needs to improve his release package, hands through contact, and catch consistency if he’s going to be more than that.
Prospect Projection: Day 3 — Developmental Traits
Written By: Daniel Harms
Exposures: Texas (2024), Texas A&M (2024), Tulane (2024), Ole Miss (2024)
