Alright, let’s talk about this Antwane Wells Jr. situation regarding the NFL draft. I started seeing his name pop up here and there, mostly in those deep-dive articles about potential day three guys or UDFAs.
So, I figured, let me check this dude out. First thing I did was pull up whatever game film I could find easily. Started with his South Carolina stuff because that’s the Power 5 tape, right? You gotta see how they handle that level of competition.
What I Saw (Pre-Injury):
- Okay, the guy definitely showed flashes. He could get open.
- Had some decent hands, made a few tough catches.
- Looked like he had some wiggle after the catch too. Not a total burner, but shifty.
Then I went back further, looked at his James Madison tape. Honestly, he dominated at that level, which you’d expect if he’s got NFL potential. Put up some wild numbers there.
The Big Problem Though…
Then you hit the wall: the injury. That foot injury basically wiped out his last season at South Carolina. That’s tough. You’re trying to build momentum, show scouts you belong, and boom, you’re on the shelf. It makes evaluating him now really tricky.
My Process Here Was Kinda Annoying:
- Trying to find reliable updates on his recovery. You read one thing, then another. Hard to know what’s real.
- Watching that older tape and constantly thinking, “Okay, but can he still do that after the foot injury?” It hangs over everything.
- Seeing his name connected to the transfer portal again before he ultimately stuck with South Carolina for his final (injured) year adds another layer. Shows ambition, maybe, but also instability? Hard to say.
It reminds me a bit of this car I tried to flip once. Looked great on the outside, engine sounded okay when I first checked it. But then, after I bought it, I found this one little hidden rust spot under the frame that turned into a massive headache. Cost me more to fix than I thought. Wells Jr. feels kinda like that – looks good on the surface based on the old tape, but that injury is like the hidden rust. You just don’t know how bad it is underneath until you really get into it, and even then, teams might not know for sure until they get him in their building.
So, where does that leave him for the draft? Honestly, who knows. He’s got the talent, you saw it at JMU and flashes at South Carolina. But the injury, missing basically a whole year of development and proof… that pushes him way down boards, probably into that late-round flyer or priority free agent category.
My final take after digging around? He’s a lottery ticket. A team might take a chance late, hoping they get the pre-injury guy back after some time in their system. But it’s a big gamble. Definitely a name I’ll watch for on day 3 or during the UDFA frenzy just out of curiosity now that I’ve spent time looking into it.
