Flowers Ready To Forever Alter Boston College At The NFL Draft
April 27, 2023 | Football, #ForBoston Files
A BC wideout in the first round? Unprecedented.
Commercial airliners can travel between Boston and Kansas City in less than four hours. That's less than three hours' total time in the air between takeoff and landing procedures, and it's maybe enough time to grab a snack or a package of pretzels to go along with a can of soda or cup of coffee. The time zone difference sets clocks back one hour, but that's not even really that bad for people who are used to gaining and losing minutes through Daylight Savings Time.
It's as innocuous a flight as any route out of Boston's Logan International Airport, but on Thursday morning, the distance between Massachusetts and the Missouri/Kansas border will shrink considerably when the National Football League's 2023 Draft kicks off at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The drawbridge between the college and pro ranks, the one that connects once per year, will lower its opening as Zay Flowers, a Boston College wide receiver who broke every conceivable record crosses the first round moat for the first time in program history.
"I love ball," Flowers said after BC's Pro Day workouts last month. "Every part of it, I enjoy. There is not a part of it that I don't enjoy. So I'm just enjoying the process and looking ahead to the next day."
Flowers' accomplishments within the Boston College program are enough to turn any scout's head, but his draft stock enters Thursday night with the kind of first round tag normally reserved for players from the so-called football factories. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. rated him as the best receiver available, and the 13th overall player was one spot ahead of Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The NFL Nation crew projected his draft choice around that spot, and DJ BIen-Aime coolly slotted him 12th overall to the Houston Texans, a franchise expected to further select either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud as its quarterback of the future with the second overall pick.
CBS Sports' Will Brinson doesn't have Flowers that high, but his predicted 18th pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, which includes a mock trade with the Detroit Lions, has hometown draft followers drooling over the possibilities of a future tandem with head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Athletic echoed the late first round pick and called for Flowers to go to Seattle with the No. 20 overall selection.
"[It's always] just another day," Flowers said of the process. "I just wake up and go to work every day, and I don't really think about [draft projections]. I can't let it get to my head, so just do what I do every day, and everything will pay off."
Flowers' attendance at Union Station is a sign of how the NFL and its media partners believe in his draft status, which stems from the records he shattered while playing for the Eagles. His route running and performances in scrimmages challenged the BC coaching staff early in his career to find room on the depth chart for the raw, undersized speedster, and BC responded by initially using him in a jet sweep capacity. His 7.2 yards per carry rushing average that first year in 2019 was approximately two yards greater than both AJ Dillon and David Bailey, and despite 27 carries, his 195 yards were good enough for fourth on the team in the run-heavy offense with quarterback Dennis Grosel.
It was the tip of an iceberg, and after BC brought in head coach Jeff Hafley in the 2019-20 offseason, the pro style offense installed by then-offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti placed a hyper-focus on the developing relationship between Flowers and quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec's late waiver and the COVID-19 pandemic forced a more vanilla scheme by Hafley's own admission, but the pitch-and-catch of a quarterback who threw for over 2,500 yards allowed the receiver to explode for a team-high 892 yards with 56 catches and nine scores.
That simple switch made Flowers a more involved part of the offense, and through the next two seasons, he rewrote career numbers while becoming the greatest wide receiver ever to suit up for the Eagles. His 3,056 yards receiving stand alone as the only player with 3,000 career yards and included a 1,077-yard season in his senior season this past year, and his 29 career touchdowns set a BC best after he scored 12 times - also a single-season record - during 2022. He is the only 200-catch receiver in program history, and his 78 receptions from last season matched Alex Amidon's single season record.Â
Those numbers and accolades are perfect for the NFL, but there are two notable exceptions making Flowers more amenable and recognizable to scouts, analysts, experts and fans. He's short - incredibly short by NFL standards - but his diminutive 5-9 frame built enough muscle and torque to survive four years in the ACC without an injury. He always knew how to avoid the kill shot tackle from a hard-hitting, violent safety, and his agility enabled him to deke and juke around the absurd closing speed of an opponent's top defensive back.
That size used to form the basis of anti-draft arguments, but the pass-happy NFL now enjoys styles and rules packages where players like Flowers flourish. His build is often compared to Deion Branch, the former Louisville Cardinal who became both Tom Brady's trusted receiver and a Super Bowl MVP during New England's initial dynasty. Branch was a second round pick, but he was capable of playing each different receiving position. He was a downfield threat with breakaway speed, but his smaller size opened possession and slant routes underneath defensive backfields and behind linebackers playing at the line.
The fact that the NFL tightened its policies on how corners physically approach receivers is a huge benefit for Flowers, and the pass-happy schemes of places like Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Seattle and others align Flowers right into a sweet spot of draft slots between the teens and the lower first round.
That's uncharted waters for Boston College, a school known for its power running game and its ability to churn offensive line and depth players onto championship rosters. Even during the good, strong years in Chestnut Hill, NFL franchises used the Eagles to mine their middle round picks, and the early first round choices were almost always offensive linemen. Receivers were a lost cause, and with the exception of tight ends Tommy Sweeney and Hunter Long (or Sean Ryan), there hasn't been a primary pass catcher since Dallas drafted Kelvin Martin in the fourth round in 1987.Â
BC isn't a spot for receivers unless the history books travel back to Jim Kavanaugh, Barry Gallup and Ed Rideout, and Martin and Gerard Phelan are unicorns. The fact that Phelan was taken seven rounds ahead of Doug Flutie sounds ludicrous, but contextually, the Heisman Trophy winner already signed with the New Jersey Generals after the franchise selected him in the 1985 USFL territorial draft. Outside of those two guys, there's virtually nothing.
Flowers stands to rewrite all of that history. For the first time in program history, a Boston College wide receiver is expected to hear his name in the first round. He will stand and hug his family - a marvelous story unto itself - and offer an embrace to head coach Jeff Hafley. He will walk across the stage and hug commissioner Roger Goodell. He will report to minicamp with the rookie status afforded to the most elite players.Â
And he will, once again, change the face of a program.
It's as innocuous a flight as any route out of Boston's Logan International Airport, but on Thursday morning, the distance between Massachusetts and the Missouri/Kansas border will shrink considerably when the National Football League's 2023 Draft kicks off at Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri. The drawbridge between the college and pro ranks, the one that connects once per year, will lower its opening as Zay Flowers, a Boston College wide receiver who broke every conceivable record crosses the first round moat for the first time in program history.
"I love ball," Flowers said after BC's Pro Day workouts last month. "Every part of it, I enjoy. There is not a part of it that I don't enjoy. So I'm just enjoying the process and looking ahead to the next day."
Flowers' accomplishments within the Boston College program are enough to turn any scout's head, but his draft stock enters Thursday night with the kind of first round tag normally reserved for players from the so-called football factories. ESPN draft expert Mel Kiper Jr. rated him as the best receiver available, and the 13th overall player was one spot ahead of Ohio State's Jaxon Smith-Njigba. The NFL Nation crew projected his draft choice around that spot, and DJ BIen-Aime coolly slotted him 12th overall to the Houston Texans, a franchise expected to further select either Bryce Young or CJ Stroud as its quarterback of the future with the second overall pick.
CBS Sports' Will Brinson doesn't have Flowers that high, but his predicted 18th pick to the Kansas City Chiefs, which includes a mock trade with the Detroit Lions, has hometown draft followers drooling over the possibilities of a future tandem with head coach Andy Reid and quarterback Patrick Mahomes. The Athletic echoed the late first round pick and called for Flowers to go to Seattle with the No. 20 overall selection.
"[It's always] just another day," Flowers said of the process. "I just wake up and go to work every day, and I don't really think about [draft projections]. I can't let it get to my head, so just do what I do every day, and everything will pay off."
Flowers' attendance at Union Station is a sign of how the NFL and its media partners believe in his draft status, which stems from the records he shattered while playing for the Eagles. His route running and performances in scrimmages challenged the BC coaching staff early in his career to find room on the depth chart for the raw, undersized speedster, and BC responded by initially using him in a jet sweep capacity. His 7.2 yards per carry rushing average that first year in 2019 was approximately two yards greater than both AJ Dillon and David Bailey, and despite 27 carries, his 195 yards were good enough for fourth on the team in the run-heavy offense with quarterback Dennis Grosel.
It was the tip of an iceberg, and after BC brought in head coach Jeff Hafley in the 2019-20 offseason, the pro style offense installed by then-offensive coordinator Frank Cignetti placed a hyper-focus on the developing relationship between Flowers and quarterback Phil Jurkovec. Jurkovec's late waiver and the COVID-19 pandemic forced a more vanilla scheme by Hafley's own admission, but the pitch-and-catch of a quarterback who threw for over 2,500 yards allowed the receiver to explode for a team-high 892 yards with 56 catches and nine scores.
That simple switch made Flowers a more involved part of the offense, and through the next two seasons, he rewrote career numbers while becoming the greatest wide receiver ever to suit up for the Eagles. His 3,056 yards receiving stand alone as the only player with 3,000 career yards and included a 1,077-yard season in his senior season this past year, and his 29 career touchdowns set a BC best after he scored 12 times - also a single-season record - during 2022. He is the only 200-catch receiver in program history, and his 78 receptions from last season matched Alex Amidon's single season record.Â
Those numbers and accolades are perfect for the NFL, but there are two notable exceptions making Flowers more amenable and recognizable to scouts, analysts, experts and fans. He's short - incredibly short by NFL standards - but his diminutive 5-9 frame built enough muscle and torque to survive four years in the ACC without an injury. He always knew how to avoid the kill shot tackle from a hard-hitting, violent safety, and his agility enabled him to deke and juke around the absurd closing speed of an opponent's top defensive back.
That size used to form the basis of anti-draft arguments, but the pass-happy NFL now enjoys styles and rules packages where players like Flowers flourish. His build is often compared to Deion Branch, the former Louisville Cardinal who became both Tom Brady's trusted receiver and a Super Bowl MVP during New England's initial dynasty. Branch was a second round pick, but he was capable of playing each different receiving position. He was a downfield threat with breakaway speed, but his smaller size opened possession and slant routes underneath defensive backfields and behind linebackers playing at the line.
The fact that the NFL tightened its policies on how corners physically approach receivers is a huge benefit for Flowers, and the pass-happy schemes of places like Buffalo, Kansas City, Minnesota, Cincinnati, Seattle and others align Flowers right into a sweet spot of draft slots between the teens and the lower first round.
That's uncharted waters for Boston College, a school known for its power running game and its ability to churn offensive line and depth players onto championship rosters. Even during the good, strong years in Chestnut Hill, NFL franchises used the Eagles to mine their middle round picks, and the early first round choices were almost always offensive linemen. Receivers were a lost cause, and with the exception of tight ends Tommy Sweeney and Hunter Long (or Sean Ryan), there hasn't been a primary pass catcher since Dallas drafted Kelvin Martin in the fourth round in 1987.Â
BC isn't a spot for receivers unless the history books travel back to Jim Kavanaugh, Barry Gallup and Ed Rideout, and Martin and Gerard Phelan are unicorns. The fact that Phelan was taken seven rounds ahead of Doug Flutie sounds ludicrous, but contextually, the Heisman Trophy winner already signed with the New Jersey Generals after the franchise selected him in the 1985 USFL territorial draft. Outside of those two guys, there's virtually nothing.
Flowers stands to rewrite all of that history. For the first time in program history, a Boston College wide receiver is expected to hear his name in the first round. He will stand and hug his family - a marvelous story unto itself - and offer an embrace to head coach Jeff Hafley. He will walk across the stage and hug commissioner Roger Goodell. He will report to minicamp with the rookie status afforded to the most elite players.Â
And he will, once again, change the face of a program.
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