NFL Draft
2/23/25
6 min read
Tai Felton 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Maryland Terrapins WR
Height: 6005 (verified)
Weight: 186lbs (verified)
Year: Senior
Pro Comparison: Phillip Dorsett
Scouting Overview
Maryland Terrapins wide receiver Tai Felton projects as an impactful slot receiving option at the NFL level. Felton enjoyed a major breakout campaign in 2024 as the primary target for Maryland’s passing game, receiving opportunities vertically down the field, from the slot, and working as a crafty route runner in the shallow areas of the field.
He boasts impressive short-area agility, which helps him craft separation and defend himself against man coverage. He does profile primarily as a slot at the NFL level, but his profile there is complicated by modest stature and complications with his physicality and ability to serve as a run-game complement. As such, he may be more of a depth player or role-specific contributor to the passing game.
2025 NFL Combine Results
| Position | Name | School | 40-Yard Dash | 10-Yard Split | Broad Jump | Vertical Jump | 3-Cone Drill | 20-Yard Shuttle | Bench Press |
| WR | Tai Felton | Maryland | 4.37 | 1.51 | 130 | 39.5 |
Positives
- Illustrates good separation quickness at the top of the stem
- Offers creativity with the ball in his hands to generate missed tackles and added yardage after the catch
- He was a steadily ascending player throughout the course of his career at Maryland
Negatives
- Has become more and more of a schemed touch slot target, highlighted by more than 30 receptions on screens in 2024
- Is a low-value player with physicality at the catch point or against heavy hands-on coverage
- Lacks value as an add-on player in the core as a run support blocker despite slot background
Background
Felton is from Ashburn, VA, and played high school football at Stone Bridge HS. There, he was a First Team All-State selection at wide receiver and boasted more than 1,000 yards as a sophomore. Felton received interest from programs like Virginia Tech, Michigan State, Virginia, Nebraska, and others but chose to stay and play at Maryland.
Felton appeared in eight games as a true freshman in 2021 and caught five passes. In 2022, as a true sophomore, he collected six starts in 13 games played while also participating as a kickoff returner for the Terps. Felton held a starting role the rest of the way for Maryland, starting all 13 games in 2023 as a junior and then breaking out as a senior to lead the conference in receptions (96) while being named Third Team All-American and First Team All-Big Ten.
Felton accepted an invitation to the 2025 Reese’s Senior Bowl to wrap up his collegiate career.
Tale Of The Tape
Felton is a lean pass catcher who offers the burst, separation quickness, and creativity with the ball in his hands to warrant a meaningful role down the road with his NFL team. Felton has been steadily improving throughout his career, culminating in a record-setting performance in 2024 that saw Felton set a program record for receptions in a single season.
Felton started the season exceptionally hot but faded into conference play, which is worth noting. He posted at least 117 yards and five total touchdowns in the Terps’ first four games of the season, only to post more than 100 yards in one of the final eight games and score four more receiving touchdowns the rest of the year.
His emergence this season was spurred on in large part thanks to his work after the catch. Felton is credited with nearly 600 yards after the catch and 26 forced missed tackles — his short-area quickness and field vision allow him to parlay his quick separation and free-access receptions to turn into bigger gains that help keep the offense on schedule. These qualities appear to be translatable in the right environment in the NFL.
Felton ran a healthy balance of routes in 2024 — he was predominantly a go-and-hitch assignment, but the depths of his opportunities were equally shared across in-breakers, crosses, screens, slants, corners, posts, and out patterns. His route frequency of each last season for each of those secondary routes was between 6.5 percent and eight percent of his total routes run.
Felton does not offer ideal play strength, and his ability to win is based on how well he gets his head around out of breaks and how well he shows the ability to press the toes of defensive backs at the top of the stem. This often allows him to put defenders on their heels and get the needed extra step for firm separation.
He needs it, though. This has not been a successful contested catch player, and his career drop rate is sufficient but has gotten worse with each season that offers more targets. Felton is a sub-40 percent success rate player in contested situations, and he offers a lean frame that does not hold well with contact as the ball arrives. He does showcase good concentration on the vertical plane to track the ball over his shoulder on fades and corners.
In the run game, Felton is generally a non-factor who would be more impactful running tagged routes to occupy defenders than he would be trying to crack and seal on the edge. He’s not a point-of-attack player who has shown a lot of gusto for contact or blocking assignments. As such, he should be regarded as more of a depth receiver for passing situations.
Thanks to his special teams background, his value can be made up for as a middle-to-bottom wide receiver room contributor. He boasts nearly 300 career special teams snaps, but he’s not an attractive kick coverage player, and he would need to earn a kick return role with his new team. Felton returned eight kicks in three seasons at Maryland.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Felton projects as a slot receiver in the NFL. He will do well with the added space that playing in the slot affords him, but his team will need to foil run-game opportunities with his limitations there.
He may be best served in a heavier personnel-based offense to keep him off the field on early downs before subbing in as a formation adjuster.
Grade: 74.50/100.00, Third Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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