NFL Analysis
10/28/24
5 min read
Xavier Restrepo 2025 NFL Draft: Scouting Report For Miami Hurricanes WR
Height: 5-foot-10 (unofficial)
Weight: 198 lbs (unofficial)
Year: Redshirt Senior
Pro Comparison: Khalil Shakir
Scouting Overview
Restrepo is a football player to his core. He’s tough, feisty, plays bigger than he is, and has great instincts. This isn’t a receiver who will blow you away with his physical skill set, but he achieves the two most important roles for a player at his position: he gets open and catches the football.
Restrepo is likely to be confined to the slot in the NFL, but his toughness and reliable hands make him a viable option as a productive role player for an NFL offense.
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 | Xavier Restrepo | Miami | 17 |
Positives
- Dynamic short-area quickness and agility
- Concentration at the catch point
- Tough as nails competitor
Negatives
- Lack of positional versatility to align in multiple spots
- Athletic profile unlikely to provide man answers against elite athletes
- Low percentage target beyond 20 yards
Background
Xavier Restrepo is from Coconut Creek, FL, and started his high school career at Florida's powerhouse program, St. Thomas Aquinas. He then transferred to Deerfield Beach HS to enroll at the University of Miami early.
Restrepo was rated as a 3-star recruit (247 Sports) while playing on both sides of the ball as an impactful two-way starter who played everything from defensive back to wide receiver and quarterback. Restrepo enrolled at Miami despite offers from several programs, including SEC powerhouse Georgia, Big Ten heavyweight Michigan, and even Ivy League programs like Harvard and Princeton.
Restrepo’s breakout season came in 2023, where he set a Miami Hurricanes program record for single-season receptions (85) while becoming just the sixth player in program history to record a 1,000-yard receiving season. His profile enjoyed another leap in 2024 thanks to the arrival of QB Cameron Ward via the transfer portal, boosting his efforts to scale the career receiving records for the program.
Tale of THe Tape
Restrepo thrives in the controllable elements of his position. He isn’t a player who can bank on natural size or raw explosiveness, and as such, he’s had to carve himself a path by becoming a technician. He’s got perhaps the best pure blend of route running and hands in this year’s class — it just so happens to come in something of an unassuming build that lacks the kind of true mismatch potential that the elite impact receivers can pose to opposing defenses.
Restrepo is plenty quick, but he is more sudden than explosive — meaning long and physical corners that typically reside on the perimeter pose challenges if they can get into his frame during his releases. Restrepo’s vertical prowess will probably be hindered. It will cause more issues, creating separation, if he’s charged with playing on the perimeter, as compared to the 90 percent or more slot usage that he’s sported during his career in Miami.
As a slot target, Restrepo does sport the requisite toughness necessary to live in the middle of the field. He’s got eyes in the back of his head coming out of the catch point when running sit routes and shallow crosses — he’s got a great feel for defenders triggering from zones and takes exit angles out of the catch point to break pursuit and create added yardage for himself.
He also shows great concentration on targets in traffic while simultaneously showing a peripheral feel of impending hits, shielding his frame from the brunt of the blow while still making a play on the football and giving his quarterback a chance.
The Hurricanes have unleashed him in the red zone with a lot of work to the perimeter and asked him to track the ball on back shoulders throws and pick/rub concepts to tear up man coverage; he’s done so successfully while also logging a number of scores off of out-and-up concepts that take advantage of match concepts.
Restrepo’s secondary quickness and start-stop ability allow him to gear down and quickly break into space to take advantage when a defender’s feet stop or their hips flip.
Additionally, I like how Restrepo tempos his route depending on the coverage. He will press through rubs and traffic to create added space, but on vertical stems up the hash against split field coverage or with an open middle of the field, he gears down and understands the importance of timing to ensure he’s not running through a passing window and into another zone.
He’s made an impact on special teams during his early years at Miami between punt return duties and kick coverage reps — making him a fairly easy projection to a 53-man roster for his potential special teams impact despite his limited role in a wide receiver room.
His toughness is a separator in a number of ways and would make him a welcomed addition to any team despite his hallmark traits as a receiver being things that are easily available. The effort in the run game is excellent, and the Hurricanes have put him in condensed alignments in the slot often and charged him with impacting the core.
He brings a great attitude and necessary physicality to these reps, although his consistency in staying balanced and sustaining his fit on blocks can afford some polish for added effectiveness.
Ideal Scheme Fit, Role
Slot receiver for a West Coast offense. He has a high floor as a depth receiver with special teams potential.
Grade: 72.00/100.00, Fourth Round Value
Big Board Rank: TBD
Position Rank: TBD
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