Rookie Scouting Profile: Kayshon Boutte

FullTime Fantasy Rookie Scouting Profile: Kayshon Boutte

Kayshon Boutte (WR) LSU

Height	Weight	40-Time	DOB	NFL Draft	Dynasty ADP	NFL Comp
5-11	195	4.50	05/17/2002	Day 2	3.05	Terrace Marshall

College Production

A five-star recruit out of Westgate High in New Iberia, Louisiana, Kayshon Boutte chose to stay home and enroll at LSU after mulling over offers from Alabama, Tennessee, and West Virginia among other Power-5 programs. Boutte started immediately, leading the Tigers in receiving yards (735) during his true freshman campaign. In the final game of the 2020 season, Boutte set an SEC record with 308 receiving yards (14 grabs, 3 TDs) versus Ole Miss and was named to the All-SEC freshman squad. In 2021, Boutte was limited to 38/508/9 in six games after an ankle injury ended his sophomore season. That ailment required additional surgery in the offseason and saw a drop in yards per catch (career-low 11.2) and touchdowns (2), despite donning the famous No. 7 jersey for the Tigers in 2022.

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Strengths

• Breakout age of 18.3 is elite, ranking in the 98th percentile.

• Tough receiver who is not afraid to go over the middle. Boutte has experience lining up inside or outside and is comfortable in both areas.

• Release off the line is good enough to beat most NFL defenders and to open up space for Boutte to use his speed and change of direction skills to generate plenty of room to operate.

• Plus downfield option with good vertical skills and a knack for generating big plays.

• Routinely turns short passes into big gainers.

Concerns

• Right ankle injury that limited him to six games in 2021 required a second procedure and Boutte did not look like the same explosive threat in 2022.

• Underwhelming vert (29) and broad jump (118) resulted in an awful Burst Score of 118.3, which was worse than 98% of other wide receivers.

• 6th-percentile catch radius is far below position norms.

• Struggled mightily from the perimeter to open the 2022 campaign before moving almost exclusively to the slot.

• Drops were an issue, with seven alone occurring last season.

Fantasy Outlook

Breaking down film or analytics for Kayshon Boutte results in a mixed bag. He looked like the next potential impact LSU wideout right out of the gate before that ankle injury derailed things. The fantasy community has been torn, as well. Perhaps the sect that is comparing Boutte to D.J. Moore or Stefon Diggs only watched his film from 2020 and 2021.

With such a wild range of outcomes, Boutte is a bit of a polarizing rookie prospect. I feel like he’s a decent value in the middle or Round Three and would be happy to land him anywhere outside of the first 25 picks.

It might take some time for Boutte to find his way in the pros, so he’s merely a late-round flier in redraft leagues. Because his value is somewhat deflated, he’s a very intriguing late-round target in dynasty start ups.