The 2024 NFL Draft is getting close, making it an excellent time to highlight some of the class' best players with scouting reports. Each report will include strengths, weaknesses and background information.
Here's our report on Anthony Gould.
Gould will likely be team and scheme-specific as he transitions to the NFL given his size, defined skill set and traits as a wide receiver. Gould has an explosive vertical dimension, and he consistently showed both the short-area burst and the accelerating speed and extra gear to run by and get on top of college corners. I believe he will be able to do that at the next level.
While there were snaps in which he defeated press coverage with quickness and burst off the ball, my sense is NFL coaches will want him to have free access off the ball. That way he can quickly generate velocity and use his accelerating speed to best take advantage of what he brings to a passing game.
Gould has clear limitations as a receiver, which consistently showed up in his hip tightness and lack of nuanced detail as a route runner. He is not likely to be a volume target in any offense, certainly not early in his career, but there is no question that he can be an electrifying vertical dimension who can help regulate coverage and expand the concepts of the passing game.
Gould played four years at Oregon State, finishing his career with an excellent 2023 season: 44 catches for 718 yards (16.3 average) and two TDs. Gould stayed in his home state, where he was the fourth-best prospect in addition to being a 100-meter sprinter.
Despite his size, Gould was predominantly an outside receiver in the Oregon State offense. A 61-yard play vs. Stanford showed Gould at his best with a detailed in-breaking route to create separation and then an electrifying run after catch.
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