Terrace Marshall - WR - LSU
The rookie profile of Terrace Marshall, who was somewhat the forgotten man behind the dynamic duo of Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase. Finally, the 2020 season presented an opportunity for Marshall to shine as the wide receiver one in the LSU offense. Unfortunately due to COVID, he decided to opt-out towards the end of the season, cutting his junior year short.
Draft Results
Round: 2
Pick: 27
Team: Carolina Panthers
Measurables
Age: 21
Height: 6′ 3″
Weight: 205 lbs
40-yard dash: 4.38
3-cone drill: 8.19
20-yard shuttle: 4.97
Vertical Jump: 39″
Broad Jump: DNP
Bench Press: 19
Analytics
| College DOM | College YPR | College Target % | Breakout Age |
|---|---|---|---|
46.5% | 15.2 | 16.6% | 19.2 |
Credit: Playerprofiler.com
College Stats
| Receiving | Formation | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | Team | Class | GP | Rec | Yds | YPC | TD | Snaps | Slot Snaps | Wide Snaps |
2018 | LSU | Fr. | 9 | 12 | 192 | 16 | 0 | 272 | 48 | 222 |
2019 | LSU | So. | 12 | 46 | 671 | 14.6 | 13 | 659 | 173 | 486 |
2020 | LSU | Jr. | 7 | 48 | 731 | 15.2 | 10 | 422 | 308 | 96 |
College Career
Terrace Marshall was an extremely highly touted wide receiver coming out of high school. Per 247Sports he was a 5-star wide receiver prospect, good for the 3rd best wide receiver in the 2017 recruiting class. During his true freshman season, he was buried on the depth chart behind current NFL rookie breakout wide receiver Justin Jefferson and college standout Ja’Marr Chase. He had a modest outing posting 12 receptions for 192 yards in 2018. Fortunately, 2019 proved to be a historic season not just for the LSU offense, but in all of FBS. While still overshadowed by Jefferson and Chase’s 1500+ yards, Marshall was able to gain over 650 yards and 13 total touchdowns. This season was considered to be his breakout season at the age of 19.2.
Going into Marshall’s junior season, Jefferson had declared for the NFL draft the previous season and Chase decided to opt-out for the 2020 season due to COVID. Due to these absences, Marshall was primed to be the sole wide receiver one for the LSU passing attack. Through the first 7 games of the season, Marshall led the team in both receiving yards and touchdowns before deciding to opt-out of the season. Despite leading the team in these categories, the limited season was up and down for the LSU wide receiver, posting 3 games over 100 yards (including a 200+ yard game) and 4 games under 100 yards (including a 28-yard game).
Scouting Report
Positives:
Terrace Marshall profiles as a prototypical wide receiver one in today’s NFL standing at 6’3” and 205 lbs. He can be a physical presence on the outside of the formation with the versatility to slide inside and play slot if needed. His physicality was constantly on display as he would consistently fight for additional yards. He showed on tape the ability to make any catch asked, and was also able to extend his catch radius to help the quarterback out when the ball isn’t entirely accurate. Additionally, he is able to put his physicality and catch radius to use together with his contested catch ability. No matter how tight the coverage is, Marshall has a chance to come down with the ball.
Not only does Marshall have the size, but he has the speed to go with it. Posting a 4.38 40 yard dash led to him scoring in the 85th percentile in both Speed Score and Burst Score. Putting the size and speed combination to work, he shows solid route running techniques to gain leverage within the route. Once he gains inside or outside leverage, he utilizes his big frame to ensure that the defender can’t make a play on the ball. He shows a quick first step of the line and has impressive breaks for a player of his size within his routes.
Negatives
While Marshall was buried on the depth chart behind standout wide receivers Justin Jefferson and Ja’Marr Chase his freshman and sophomore year, it is still slightly concerning that he was not able to carve out a bigger role until his junior year. He clearly took the backseat behind those two players. During his junior year, his games were up and down, not really being able to string together a consistent season. But when he was on for a game, it was special to watch. During his career at LSU, Marshall’s route tree consisted of a lot of “go” routes never really expanding on that route tree. When he did demonstrate other routes, they looked solid. Additionally, when running routes and he knew the ball wasn’t going his way, it was obvious and he would be running half routes/taking the play off. Occasionally, in 2020 especially, Marshall struggled with drops, generally over the middle. And Marshall has limited run after the catch ability. If it is blocked well in front of him, he can gain additional yardage, but rarely does he create for himself in the open field
Draft Analysis
Pre Draft
Expected Draft Capital:
Day 2. Round 2 into early Round 3.
Best Draft Fits:
Marshall provides a rare size/speed combination that NFL teams love. Profiling as a true wide receiver one, he definitely will be drafted with that potential in mind. He’s a gifted athlete with plenty of room for improvement. Most likely he will slot in as a team’s wide receiver two from day 1 with the potential to develop into a team’s alpha wide receiver one. Teams that have a current or future need for a starting wide receiver would be the Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, Los Angeles Chargers, Chicago Bears, New England Patriots, and the Detriot Lions.
Post Draft
Draft Capital
Carolina Panthers: Rounds 2, Pick 27
Landing Spot:
The Carolina Panthers selected Terrace Marshall with the 27th pick in the second round. The addition to an already solid offense seems like a luxury pick at first glance. But in addition to the departure of Curtis Samuel, Robby Anderson’s contract expires at the end of the 2021 season and the Panthers picked up DJ Moore’s fifth year option through 2022. Terrace Marshall appears to be the heir apparent to Robby Anderson’s role. The Panthers figure to re-sign DJ Moore and have their core wide receivers consist of DJ Moore and Terrace Marshall. If Darnold can take a step forward while being surrounded by the best supporting cast he has had in his career this offense could be dynamic. All this without even mentioning the Panther’s focal point of their offense in Christian McCaffrey.
Terrace had plenty of success out of the slot in college as a bigger slot presence. By providing that versatility, that should allow him to get on the field quicker and in a variety of ways. DJ Moore and Robby Anderson are established in their roles, but Marshall could line up inside or outside depending on where they line DJ Moore at. This pick gives the offense a lot of versatility and ability to move their weapons anywhere on the field. Assuming Anderson is on his way at the end of the season, that could be right when Marshall is hitting his stride providing Darnold with a dynamic wide receiver duo.
Fantasy Impact
With Marshall’s versatility, he has every opportunity to crack the starting lineup in three wide receiver sets early in the season. Following the 2021 season, he looks to be in store for a prominent role in the offense as long as Darnold takes advantage of his second chance. For redraft leagues, Marshall provides high upside that could be worth a late round flier. He profiles as an alpha that could translate his talents quickly at the next level. This isn’t something manager’s should bank on, but in the later rounds of drafts, could be worth a dart throw. For dynasty purposes, managers can get Marshall in the middle to late second round of rookie drafts. He provides massive upside, but also a low floor making him a great target at that draft position. His production this year will probably be modest, but with his upside he could be worth the wait.
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Image Credit: Jay Biggerstaff – USA TODAY Sports
