2021 NFL Draft: Wide receiver Kadarius Toney scouting report

Toney in 2020

Without any injuries to slow him down during the offseason, Toney got to see the field a lot more in 2020, playing in every game except the Cotton Bowl. A game which he opted out of to prepare for the 2021 NFL Draft. To say that Toney improved upon his previous three seasons at Florida would be an understatement: Toney blew all his previous seasons out of the water, leading the team in multiple categories, second only to tight end Kyle Pitts in total touchdowns. How did this happen?

With the accession of quarterback Kyle Trask to starting quarterback duties halfway through the 2019 season, the Gators suddenly had a legitimate passing quarterback on the field. Since 2012, most Gators quarterbacks have hovered (on average) somewhere around 2,000 passing yards per season. In 2020, Trask had 4,283 passing yards, throwing 43 touchdowns to just eight interceptions.

For some context, a good way to measure whether a team has a quality passing game is to look at average yards for the passing game versus the running game. In 2017, the Gators offense (on average) passed for 179 yards and rushed for 156 yards per game. In 2018, the split was exactly 50/50, with the pass and rushing game averaging 213 yards per game. In 2019 (the first season Trask took over starting duties), the passing game jumped to 300 yards per game while rushing yards dropped to 130 yards per game. And in 2020, the season Trask and Toney started every regular-season game together, the passing game jumped to an average of 378 yards per game while the running game averaged 131 yards per game (all stats courtesy of Sports-Reference.com).

No matter how you slice it, Trask, Pitts and Toney helped usher in a new era for the Gators as a legitimate passing offense in the SEC. This, combined with Toney’s injury-free season and seniority on the depth chart, allowed him to see a massive jump in both statistical production and on-field performance. To call Toney a one-year wonder (as some have suggested) would be a bit unfair, as it’s impossible to know how well Toney would have done in his first three seasons, had he not faced injuries and an average passer lining up under center.

Toney helped the Gators get to an 8-2 regular-season record last season, leading the team in receptions (70), receiving yards (984 yards) and yards from scrimmage (1,145). In fact, his closest rival on the receiving end was tight end Kyle Pitts, who edged out Toney in touchdowns (12 touchdowns for Pitts versus 11 for Toney) and average yards per reception (17.9 for Pitts versus 14.1 for Toney). Need we remind you that Pitts is considered the best playmaking offensive pass catcher in the 2021 NFL Draft and is likely to get drafted in the top ten this April?

Regardless of who was the more important receiving option last season, it is indisputable that Toney saw an astronomical jump in stats. But it was the way the Gators used Toney that is interesting. Rather than just giving him one role to succeed in, Toney was used in a variety of ways, as both a runner, receiver and even as a passer on trick plays. Click next below for a thorough film review of Toney’s on-field performance during the 2020 season.