2021 NFL Draft Sleeper: North Carolina Wide Receiver Dazz Newsome

North Carolina wide receiver Dazz Newsome played his high school football at Hampton High School, in Hampton, Virginia.

He primarily played running back and cornerback for the Crabbers and led the team in touchdowns with 35, rushing yards with 1,684 yards, and receiving yards with 413. Coming out of high school Newsome was rated as the number one cornerback in the state of Virginia by Scout.com.

Newsome originally committed to play at the University of Maryland but later changed his mind and ended up signing with North Carolina.

Newsome started to make an impact for the Tar Heels in 2018 on special teams.

That year he averaged an impressive 20.8 yards on kickoff returns and also caught 44 passes on the year. As a junior, he led the team in receptions with 72 catches and finished second on the team in receiving yards with 1,018 yards.

This past season he finished second the team in receptions with 54, which was only one away from leading the team. He also averaged close to 10 yards per punt return which was second in the ACC.

Dazz Newsome Positives

The top trait Dazz Newsome possesses is the ability to make yards after the catch. He shows outstanding agility in the open field and routinely makes tacklers miss.

This ability to make plays with the ball in his hands is also one of the reasons he has been such a dangerous return man. While Newsome is able to turn the short catch into a long, he also has the ability to get behind defenders and make plays downfield.

In 2019 he produced the most deep catches of any slot receiver in college football with 13, according to Pro Football Focus.

Another positive with Dazz Newsome is his ability to catch the ball. He shows the reliable hands to catch the short to intermediate pass on a consistent basis, which is where he will likely do most of his work in the NFL. Yet, he also has the ability to go make the tough catch in traffic.

One more positive with Newsome is his ability to play special teams. He has been one of the more productive players in college football when it comes to returning kicks and has the ability to return both punts and kickoffs.

This ability will be big for him in the NFL, as it will allow him to contribute both as a receiver and kick returner.

Dazz Newsome Negatives

The biggest negative when it comes to Dazz Newsome’s game is a lack of size. At 5-11 and 190 pounds he lacks the size and physicality to be anything more than a slot receiver in the NFL.

His lack of physicality hurts him in a couple of ways as well including the fact he can have trouble getting off press coverage. He also is not the most physical blocker although he does give a good effort in this area.

Another knock on him is that he has played exclusively slot receiver at North Carolina. This hurts him as he never showed the versatility to play outside and pigeon holes him as a slot receiver at the next level. He also did not run every route in the North Carolina passing tree due to where he was asked to play.

Dazz Newsome: Fit in the NFL

Newsome is someone who has a defined role in the NFL as a slot receiver. If he is used in this role, he could definitely make an impact though, and be a solid number three receiver. Along with helping out on offense look for an NFL team to also use him on special teams as a kick returner.

I look for Newsome to be a day three pick in the 2021 NFL Draft. This is due to the fact this is a strong class for receivers and Newsome lacking the potential to be anything more than a slot receiver.