PROFILE
Xavier Hutchinson
3-Star 
6’3″ 207lbs
High School: Bartram Trail
Hometown: Jacksonville, Florida
JUCO: Blinn College
Commitment School: Iowa State
2020 Stats: 64/771/4
BACKGROUND
Xavier Hutchinson hails from his hometown in Jacksonville, Florida, where he grew up in a military family household. Both parents were in the Navy, and Hutchinson learned the value of hard work and respect at a young age. He also learned the importance of being a man of your word, which manifested during his commitment to Iowa State.
As a high school senior, Hutchinson caught 74 passes while racking up 1,004 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also a standout basketball player in which he lettered.
Instead of going the four-year school route after graduating high school, Hutchinson decided to go the direction of junior college, enrolling at Blinn College in Brenham, Texas. There he posted 11 receptions for 306 yards and two touchdowns as a freshman. He followed that up with 47 receptions for 652 yards and five touchdowns as a sophomore.
247Sports rated Hutchinson as a 3-star recruit and the 10th best JUCO WR in the 2020 class. Other names in that JUCO class included Omar Manning and Malik Heath. Hutchinson held 16 offers that included schools such as Boise State, Nebraska, and Oklahoma.
According to an article by the Des Moines Register, Oklahoma made a last-second push to get the commitment of Hutchinson. He said no to the Sooners and stayed with his commitment to Matt Campbell and the Cyclones. A demonstration of how Hutchinson is true to his word when he committed to Iowa State in June of 2019 while still working with the team at Blinn College.
WHAT MAKES XAVIER HUTCHINSON A DEVY SLEEPER?
Starting with the elephant in the room, Iowa State hasn’t had the best track record for wide receivers getting draft capital and having productive NFL careers. Only two receivers have had day two draft capital since 1964, Otto Stowe and Eppie Barney.
Sure, this doesn’t provide much confidence to say that Hutchinson can break that mold, but he does provide elements of his game that the NFL is looking for. The foundation of Hutchinson’s size and athleticism is just the start.
Allen Lazard and Hakeem Butler are two recent names that many will think of and will begin comparing how Hutchinson’s combination of size and athleticism differ from that of Butler, who broke the combine with his numbers. Butler has recently transitioned to tight end with the Philadelphia Eagles, so he may not be relevant to the conversation anymore.
What Hutchinson brings to the table is solid acceleration off the line of scrimmage with good use of foot fire and jab steps. Solid long speed to get vertical quickly, fluid lateral quickness to evade defenders, soft hands showing the ability to catch outside his frame in motion, and good body control and adjustment to catch at difficult angles.
Hutchinson also provides a gear change that allows him to be a yards-after-the-catch threat. He displayed this ability against Oklahoma, where he beat corner Jaden Davis in the middle of the field and exploded upfield for a 65-yard touchdown.
His route tree needs to be expanded, but he shows a solid ability to separate at the top of his routes with good agility and body fakes. He will need to learn how to hand fight and add more release moves off the snap, but he has a good canvas of ability to work with.
The most impressive part of Hutchinson’s rise in 2020 was the fact that he entered the Iowa State program in a year where he only had limited exposure to the offense and quickly became the primary receiver in that offense and led the team in targets with 93. Hutchinson was used primarily on the outside, 80% of the time, providing the experience to be a possible Z receiver at the next level.
Hutchinson will not have the breakout age that the analytics community will covet, but he has already checked a lot of boxes in his first year. Below is a breakdown of the important analytics that I am using to grade and project the wide receiver position.
ANALYTICAL BREAKDOWN
2020 SEASON
* WEIGHTED DOMINATOR RATING (Article coming) – Adjusted dominator rating that prioritizes yards over touchdowns and includes receptions in a ratio of 25:50:25.
* *Some stats come from PFF
BEST ANALYTICAL GRADES:
Dominator Rating: 23.32%
Weighted Dominator Rating: 24.69%
Yards Per Team Pass Attempt: 2.07
Yards Per Route Run: 2.18
Yards Per Reception: 12
Receptions in a Season: 64
Career aDOT: 10.2
QB Rating when targeted: 94.9
Multi-Sport Athlete: Basketball
WORST ANALYTICAL GRADES:
BMI: 25.9
Years of Production: 1
Breakout Age: 20 (Disclaimer – first season with Iowa State from JUCO)
Kick / Punt Returns: No
DEVY OUTLOOK:
As a devy prospect, Hutchinson currently doesn’t have the profile or film grade to be more than a mid-late round NFL Draft pick. He will need to expand on his initial release with the added use of hand fighting through the initial contact and throughout his vertical stem. He will also need to improve his mental processing to read the defender’s pursuit angle better and improve his processing time when separating at the top of his route. His limited route tree will also hinder his development and he will need refinement when executing combo routes.
As a physical specimen with good athletism and the intangibles the NFL is looking for, Hutchinson can find himself as a draft riser if he puts together another productive season. All signs point to him excelling once again and now that we have a better understanding of his work ethic and competitive nature, there’s a real good chance Hutchinson finds himself being discussed as a top 10 receiver in the 2022 NFL Draft. Hutchinson might not be worth rostering at the moment, but he is a name to monitor for devy and rookie drafts next season.
