South Carolina’s Antwane “Juice” Wells First Round Potential?

First Round Mock’s Thomas Morris studies wide receiver Antwane “Juice” Wells Jr. and puts a grade on this big-name South Carolina 2024 NFL Draft prospect.

What does Antwane “Juice” Wells bring to a team?

Wide Receiver #3

6-foot-1, 207 pounds

With a competitive spirit and a mindset every wide receiver should have, Wells believes he is always open, and it’s hard to disagree with him.

Despite being one of the best receivers in the country and arguably the best in the SEC, this South Carolina prospect rarely gets the first-round hype that he deserves.

Until now.

With his production in the 2022 season, Wells could’ve easily entered the 2023 NFL Draft, but instead, he chose to play another season in the college ranks. Wells already has a well-polished game and taking another year to even further develop his skillset might be all he needs for the majority of people to believe he should be a first-round pick.

Wells was a bright spot in an often inconsistent offense for the Gamecocks.

What does he look like in games?

Wells run after the catch and contested catch ability were on full display in the four games that I evaluated.

When the ball is in his hands – – simply put – – he makes plays.

This is likely why he was constantly used in wide-receiver bubble screens. Every pass in this four-game study that was thrown to him behind the line of scrimmage, he broke off for a big gain.

Even though Wells sometimes “dances around” trying to get the big play, he tended to make the smart cuts and followed his blockers.

The way he can make defenders miss and break off big chunks of yardage is just a mere showcase of his potential.

Doing a deeper dive on his contested catch ability reveals he should not be underestimating him here. The “50/50” balls were more like 80/20 in favor of Wells when the offense was looking his direction.

His strong hands are a recipe for success every time the ball is in the air.

Granted, Wells does not possess game-breaking speed, but his initial explosive release is what enables him to frequently get open. Wells’ body control on sideline passes is as good as the top receivers in his draft class. Low throws aren’t a problem either, as he easily snags passes regardless.

= good catch radius and creates throwing windows.

Outside of not having the kind of speed that blows the doors off secondaries, does he have any other weaknesses?

Yeah, I’d say his route running isn’t his strongest attribute.

This is something he can improve upon, and if he does, he’ll be more dangerous.

Also, his blocking is so-so.

To summarize, regardless of his 2023 stats, his skills do show first-round talent.

-strong, reliable hands

-tracks the ball with ease

-extremely explosive release

-elite contested catch ability

-size and strength to hang with long and strong defensive backs

-inconsistent blocking

-shaky route running

Where does he fit in?

It will be interesting to see how he performs in 2023 under a new offensive coordinator.

Will he take a step back?

Will he be even better?

Time will tell.

When it comes to the NFL…

Wells run after the catch ability combined with his explosive release and strong hands spells doom for many NFL defenses that he’ll face in the future.

His pure size and strength combined with his athleticism give him a distinct advantage over smaller defensive backs.

If he produces as well as he did in the 2022 season (68 receptions, 928 yards, 6 TD) and continues to improve on his areas of weakness, there should be no doubt we hear his name called sooner than later in the 2024 NFL Draft.

Send the card in based on this film study

Draft Grade: First-Round (late)

Games evaluated: (click to view games used to form this evaluation)

Clemson ’22

Kentucky ’22

Arkansas ’22

Thomas Morris is a lifelong football fan that has an immense passion for the game and prides himself on having an eye for talent throughout all 7 rounds of the draft. He’s a dedicated Seahawks and South Carolina Gamecocks’ fan that has an instinct for discovering gems in the later rounds.  He writes for FirstRoundMock.com covering the NFL draft and can be found on Twitter @tjm2332.