Justyn Ross: Recapturing Early Career Dominance

A look at differences between Ross' dominate early years at Clemson and his injury-riddled 2021 campaign.

The Kansas City Chiefs made one of the biggest Undrafted Free Agency splashes with the signing of Clemson wide receiver Justyn Ross. In 2018, Ross made a name for himself as a true freshman, when he led the national-champion Clemson Tigers in receiving yards and finished second in touchdowns.

He carried that momentum into 2019, where he and Tee Higgins formed an impactful 1-2 punch at wide receiver, and was well on his way to being a first-round pick in the NFL Draft.

Then the setbacks began.

During the spring of 2020, a scan of Ross’ neck showed a congenital spinal fusion in his neck (Klippel-Feil syndrome) that put his football future on hold. After numerous neurosurgeons refused to clear him for football activity, Dr. David Okonkwo offered a glimmer of hope and potential for a surgery that would relieve stress on his spine. After a successful surgery, Ross was cleared to return to the football field and attempt to regain his prestigious draft prospect standing.

Justyn Ross Film Room

Ross in 2021

Unfortunately luck wasn’t on Ross’ side yet again during the 2021 season. Shortly before the season started he got COVID-19 and lost over 15lbs. The bad luck didn’t even stop there either as Clemson’s offense and quarterback play greatly struggled. It became apparent early in the year that Clemson’s offense wasn’t capable of fully utilizing Ross in the same manner they did in 2018 and 2019. If that wasn’t enough, Ross also suffered a stress fracture in his foot before the season and didn’t say anything about it. He played with it as long as he could before it finally ended his final season after 10 games.

All of that to say, it’s hard to garner exactly what Justyn Ross’ film in 2021 means for his ability to play football in the NFL. There are still plenty of examples of him utilizing his size and ball skills to dominate at the catch point despite the inconsistent quarterback play. There are still plenty of reps in which his route running IQ and ability to manipulate a defender’s leverage stand out. Ross put out plenty of film that showcases his ability as a traditional X-WR or “Power Slot” similar to David Bell (Purdue, WR) but there is another side to the story.

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Ross also showed some rust or possible reduced athletic ability at various times. The issue is trying to determine if it was due to rust after a long lay-off and being sick, a broken foot, or the spinal fusion surgery. Another layer was with the less effective offense, Ross was often utilized in a different manner than he was in the past. He was often running horizontal routes, catching Bubble Screens, or being asked to break defenders down in space and that’s simply not his game.

There is no real way to separate the different layers of unfortunate circumstances that Ross underwent in 2021 so we do have to pay some attention to his healthier years.

Ross in 2019

Matt Lane @Matty_KCSN

Justyn Ross' bread and butter is just dominating at the catch point but poor QB play in 2021 made people forget and start to nitpick other parts of his game.

Even dipping back to his early years’ at Clemson, Ross has a very clear bread-and-butter style to his receiving game. He has some of the best hands for any receiving prospect in recent years and maximizes his 6’4”, 210lb frame at the catch point. Combining that with fantastic body control and elite ball tracking ability, Ross was a dominant college receiver at the catch point.

His ability to play over the top, work off back shoulder throws, or use his hands to create some space at the top of his route. He doesn’t have the same athletic profile as Ja’Marr Chase but the way he was able to win on the vertical plane early in his career - and later - is similar to how Chase had a ton of success in the NFL as a Rookie.

Matt Lane @Matty_KCSN

He never was the most fluid/snappy route runner, even when healthy. Everything was dictated by his size, physicality, and vertical threat. He does a great job manipulating leverage to create separation rather than trying to break down and create space w/ pure movement.

One interesting threat to tug on with Ross’ profile is why the lack of change of direction or hip fluidity wasn’t brought up earlier in his career. Even when dominating the ACC and CFB Playoff in 2018 and 2019, he wasn’t the type of wide receiver to break down a defender and create separation through his ability to snap a route break off. He was always a vertically based wide receiver and everything else played off his ability to win in that area,  but it only became a problem in 2021 when the contested catch opportunities came less frequently.

Matt Lane @Matty_KCSN

Whether it was the neck or the foot, there was some loss of explosiveness - especially coming out of breaks - in 2021. If Ross can return to that level of athleticism, the concerns over speed/fluidity is greatly diminished.

The biggest visible difference was probably Ross’ lack of explosion in 2021 compared to 2018-19. He wasn’t super loose with his routes at any point but there was noticeably more explosion out of his breaks before the injuries. The hope for Chiefs - and Ross - fans is that it’s related to his usage and foot injury, two things that can be remedied in the NFL.

What to Make of Justyn Ross

Justyn Ross is still a long shot to make the Chiefs’ 53 man roster but the path is very clear. If Ross is healthy, if he can regain some of the explosion he had early in his career, then he could very easily be the biggest steal of the draft. Even if unable to return to that level, he fills a specific role of a large bodied, contested catch wide receiver that the Chiefs just never seem to nail down.

There would be no better feel-good story in the NFL than Ross being able to recover to 100% and get his career back onto the track that everyone thought in 2018 and 2019.