2021 NFL Draft: Terrace Marshall Jr., the other LSU wide receiver

Three reasons Marshall will be successful in the NFL

Marshall has shown plenty on and off the football field to indicate he will be a special NFL pass catcher. But in this last section, we’ll lay out three reasons why general managers should be fighting to draft Marshall in the first round of the 2021 NFL Draft.

Reason 1: Exceptionally hardworking, even for an NFL Prospect

No one makes it to draft night by being lazy or unmotivated in college. Every player drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft will have made incredible sacrifices in the past, working hundred of hours of unappreciated sweat, blood and tears that the fans never witness to get to that point. Draft night is supposed to represent the culmination of all that hard work, finally earning the validation that those sacrifices were worth it. No one should ever suggest otherwise.

That being said, Marshall put in an extraordinary amount of effort to get to this point and he clearly has the personality and motivations to keep that improvement going in the NFL. According to a story in The Daily Advertiser, Marshall finds inspiration to keep going from his grandmother when things get difficult:

"“I got strength from my grandma (Joanne Brazzle) when she had cancer,” Marshall said at Thursday’s Peach Bowl Media Day. “All the pain that she went through, it just helps me get through the pain that I go through, whether it’s workouts, or rehab, or if it’s in life. It helps me to push and go harder every day. I haven’t gone through anything like she did.” -Terrace Marshall Jr., as reported by Roy Lang III, Shreveport Times"

This was in reference to a question of how he handled a gruesome, season-ending leg injury during his senior year of high school. In another article from The Advocate, coaches and family members gush over Marshall, exclaiming how hard he worked in the offseason to make it to the top of 2021 NFL Draft discussions. I suggest anyone who wants to know more about Marshall should read it, as it documents how he worked every day during the pandemic, running with his mother, driving to a convention center in his hometown and running up and down the stairs for hours, in lieu of more traditional work-out regimes that were canceled due to COVID-19.

There was a perception heading into the 2020 season that Marshall wasn’t ready to be discussed as one of the elite pass-catchers available in the 2021 NFL Draft. Some claimed he benefited in 2019 due to Jefferson and Chase drawing away defenders, so his accomplishments should be further examined after the 2020 season. But even LSU head coach Ed Orgeron had positive things to say, describing Marshall as a locker room leader and even consulting with him when the starting quarterback went down to an injury during the 2020 season.

It’s possible every NFL prospect is really interesting if you look deeper into their story. Sometimes around the draft, fans and media have a tendency to de-personalize these young men, boiling them down to their raw stats, college production and shuttle-times. But while doing research about Marshall, it became clear Marshall really was an interesting, hard-working, authentic person who had to grind to get where he is today. Any NFL roster will be better with him on it, whether that’s measured by production on the field or the positive ambiance he’ll bring to an NFL locker room.

Reason 2: Versatile player who can excel in any assignment

With Chase opting out in 2020, Marshall was made the feature receiver in a year with dozens of players on both sides of the ball opting out or transferring. He was responsible for being a key offensive chess piece, someone who could make plays at all levels of the field and draw defenders his way to open up space for other playmakers. He did not disappoint and even won kudos from Coach Orgeron, remarking that Marshall had so mastered the playbook that “he could probably play quarterback”.

In reality, Marshall probably should have been frustrated by the move to slot receiver. It takes a different set of skills to play, requires different defenders to keep an eye on, not to mention that 2020 was a year that would make or break his draft hopes. But Marshall met the challenge head-on, taking over the spot vacated by Jefferson and did extremely well as a result, beating his 2019 statistical record through seven games. Marshall proved clutch in the slot position, snagging plenty of receptions while clearing the field of defenders who knew what he could do if the ball was thrown his way.

Not only that, but Marshall still took outside receiver assignments and excelled at them too. 2020 obviously wasn’t a perfect season for LSU. With all the players either leaving for the NFL or opting out, there was clearly an exodus of high-level talent from the offense. No one would have blamed Marshall if he had opted out in 2020 as well, to focus on the draft and not risk regressing because of a weaker offensive roster. And while Marshall would eventually do that with three weeks left in the season, this happened only after the Tigers fell to a 3-4 record, with no chance of making the playoffs or playing a Bowl game, as LSU had a self-imposed bowl game ban during the 2020 season.

Marshall was able to show in 2020 that he could be a featured wide receiver for any offense in the NFL. He showed he’s versatile as an offensive playmaker: He was able to thrive at a new position in 2020, all while being promoted from the third-ranked wide receiver in 2019 to the first-ranked in 2020. Marshall played three sports in high school, all efficiently and remarkably. He even took up boxing during the 2019 offseason, just to add one more sport to his impressive repertoire of athletic competencies.

So even if Marshall doesn’t turn out to be a true, outside the numbers “WR1” in the NFL, he’ll still bring value for any team he is a part of, whether that’s in the slot, on special teams, or wherever the roster needs him. The team that signs Marshall during the 2021 NFL Draft will be bringing in a player who has excelled at everything he has tried to accomplish athletically.

Reason 3: Film don’t lie

Watching Marshall’s film was a treat, as both a fan and writer. At 6-foot-3, he often towers over his defenders, jumping off the screen as the offensive side of the ball lines up. He proved time and again in 2019 and 2020 that he has the speed and athleticism to find separation, outmaneuver defensive backs and use his steady hands to bring in any number of passes that entered his general sphere of influence.

Marshall has a clean release off the snap, isn’t bullied or taken off his mark by defenders and has the football IQ to make smart decisions with the catch in an instant. Marshall isn’t perfect as a pass-catcher: Otherwise, every other NFL scout would be hailing him as the number one receiver in the 2021 NFL Draft. He has some things about his game that he will have to iron out once in the league and not every skill he showed at LSU will be translateable once he’s facing professional defenders.

But he was able to thrive under multiple different quarterbacks at LSU and was willing to play as an international pandemic was gripping the country…at a new position…as the number one receiver…with a severely limited offensive cast around him. At the end of the day, nice words from coaches and family members aren’t the deciding factors when NFL teams decide to draft a player. It’s a cold business and a prospect who tries hard at everything he does and goes the extra mile to help his team in any possible way is the bare MINIMUM expected by NFL teams.

But Marshall has talent, he has a record of solid college production and he has a good head on his shoulders. He joined LSU at a time when the school was generally regarded as an abysmal passing offense. And he helped bring the school a College Football Championship trophy, where the passing attack was the predominant modus operandi.

Marshall will be an asset wherever he goes. And chances are if he falls to the end of the first round (as most projections indicate), it is very likely he falls to a 2020 playoff team. Meaning there will be some combination of culture, offensive weapons and coaching when he gets there that will help him reach his full potential.

In the 2021 NFL Draft, there is an abundance of pass catchers that will do great things in the NFL. Nothing is guaranteed in the NFL, for player’s fortunes rise and fall as unpredictably as they always have. But if there was such a thing as a player guaranteed to succeed in the NFL, Marshall would be it.