The Detroit Lions selected Quintez Cephus, Wide Receiver, out of the University of Wisconsin. He was the 21st pick of the fifth round and was the 23rd wide receiver drafted in the 2020 NFL Draft.
Biography
Quintez Cephus is 6’1” and 202 pounds. Cephus was a two-way player coming out of high school and was a three-star recruit before enrolling at Wisconsin. He played three years for the Badgers and will be 22 years old at the beginning of the 2020 NFL season. Cephus missed 2018 due to accusations of sexual assault. Acquitted in 2019, he returned to the field and had a productive season. According to the top corner selected in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jeffrey Okudah, Cephus was the best player he faced. His overall raw stats are lower than most other wide receiver prospects because Wisconsin is a historically run-heavy program.
College Production
Quintez Cephus broke out at the age of 19 (age during their first season with a 20% receiving dominator rating) in his second season at Wisconsin. Cephus’ best season was his senior season at 21 years old. Cephus had 59 receptions, for 901 receiving yards, and seven scrimmage touchdowns for a receiving dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s receiving yards and receiving touchdowns) of 35.5% (63rd percentile). Cephus had ordinary age-adjusted production. He averaged 514.0 scrimmage yards (33rd percentile) and 4.3 scrimmage touchdowns (41st percentile) per season for an average scrimmage dominator rating (average percentage of their team’s scrimmage yards and scrimmage touchdowns) per season of 8.3% (26th percentile). Cephus was efficient from a yards per reception perspective. He averaged 18.5 yards per reception (91st percentile). However, within Wisconsin’s run-heavy offense he wasn’t very efficient and averaged 0.54 scrimmage yards per team play (28th percentile).
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Athleticism
[profiler]QuintezCephus[/profiler]
Quintez Cephus’ height-adjusted speed score of 80.7 (13th percentile) was lacking after running a 4.73-second 40-yard time at the NFL Combine. He has an excellent burst score of 127.5 (84th percentile) and an unsatisfactory agility score of 11.53 (17th percentile). Cephus is a physical receiver for his stature and he has great short-area quickness. He will need to win off the line at the NFL level because he doesn’t have the speed to win vertically.
NFL Landing Spot
Detroit Lions: The Lions depth chart is one of the least accommodating for new receivers to perform in 2019. They were a middle-of-the-pack offense in 2019, but also dealt with several injuries to key stars like Kerryon Johnson and Marvin Jones. They were also middle-of-the-pack in plays run and pass utilization. Despite the disappointing season, Matthew Stafford continued to be great, posting the sixth best passer rating and targeting almost all areas of the field well. Kenny Golladay, Marvin Jones and Danny Amendola have a death grip on the top of this depth chart. They combined for 53% of team targets, but more notably hogged 94% of the team’s targets to wide receivers. But worth noting in this squad is that all three receivers’ contracts expire after next year. Don’t expect anything from another receiver in 2019, but the evolving contract situation is one worth noting moving forward and potentially stashing a drafted receiver for.
Rivals’ Rapid Analysis
Quintez Cephus’ production was relatively unimpressive within the run-heavy Wisconsin offense and his athleticism was uninspiring as well. He will need to win with physicality, nuance, and quickness off the line to win in the NFL. The Lions invested fifth round draft capital into Cephus. He has a surprising degree of opportunity and will compete with Golladay, Amendola, and Jones for targets from Stafford.
Quintez Cephus is in Shawn’s fifth receiver tier, his WRRank20, and his Overall Rookie Rank 37. Shawn would target Cephus in the mid fourth round in superflex rookie drafts (Early-to-mid fourth round in single QB). Despite Cephus’ ordinary college production, his low breakout age is a sign of encouragement. But the biggest sign of encouragement is the landing spot. All of Detroit’s current incumbents will be free agents soon. Don’t expect anything for Cephus this year, but he could have some potential moving forward.
Quintez Cephus is in Dave’s fifth wide receiver tier, his WR21-WR23, and his 37th-41st ranked rookie overall. Dave would target Cephus in the fourth round of superflex rookie drafts (late-third or fourth round in single QB). Cephus landing with the Lions gives them a player to compete with Danny Amendola out of the slot. Long term Cephus could work his way as the third or fourth option after Amendola and Marvin Jones leave. Cephus had unimpressive age-adjusted production in a run-heavy offense for Wisconsin and is more heavily regarded in the film community. His poor production and lack of athleticism don’t make him a very exciting sleeper target in the fourth round of rookie drafts. The Lions are an attractive landing spot for Cephus for NFL purposes, but he’s not a high priority target in the fourth round of rookie drafts.
This article was written in collaboration with Dave Wright. For more analysis check out Dave and Shawn’s previous articles at Dynasty Football Factory. Additionally, you can also find Dave’s dynasty superflex rankings at Dynasty Football Factory. Stay tuned for more rookie wide receiver rapid reaction articles from us throughout the entire NFL Draft. We will also give you instant reactions for priority UDFA wide receivers to help you try and find the next Adam Thielen. Interact with Dave and Shawn on Twitter @ff_spaceman and @ff_walrus. You can listen to our rivalry on our podcast @ATaleofTwoRivals with @ff_banterman.
Information found in this article was gathered from @ff_spaceman’s College Prospect Database, PlayerProfiler.com, Sports-Reference.com, AirYards.com, and a prospect’s college team website.
