Camren McDonald flew somewhat under the radar over the last three years, receiving very little media attention overall until his breakout performance at the Tropical Bowl practices, where he was clearly the best player on the practice field. His performance earned him an invitation to the NFLPA Collegiate Bowl. I think the concern with McDonald is that he won’t be athletic enough, but he has a bunch of other traits that help him make up for the lack of natural athleticism. 

There’s little upside to Camren McDonald’s game, which may be why his draft stock has been slow to ascend. Most of his game has developed as of now, which is where he’s limited in terms of potential growth. I suppose McDonald could work more as a blocker, where he sits dangerously as a tweener between a TE1 (solid receiver) and TE2 (blocking tight end) type due to the lack of overall athletic ability and the apparent lack of blocking technique.

.@FSUFootball TE Camren McDonald has been EXCELLENT all throughout @TropicalBowlUSA week pic.twitter.com/9FzydXj5qo

— Emory Hunt (@FBallGameplan) January 20, 2023

Has stayed healthy for the majority of his career. Tweaked his ankle at the Tropical Bowl. Played through it. 

Camren McDonald’s scouting report

Athletic Ability (40)

Speed/Athleticism: 15

• Speed (4/7) – Good, not great, speed for the position. Looks like he might run a 4.7 forty – which would hurt his eval a bit in the NFL. Looks like he has decent game speed through. 
• Change of Direction (2.5/4) – Average change of direction. Changes direction decently well. 
• Body Control (2.5/4) – Flashes some intriguing body control through breaks, but needs to work on sinking his hips and controlling his steps better. Does a good job with positioning as a route runner, didn’t really see the sideline ability from him. 

Strength/Power: 15 

• Upper Body Strength (4/5) – Decent upper body strength, shows solid strength but doesn’t always use it the right way. 
• Lower Body Strength (3/5) – Has decent leg drive, average explosion. Not a lot of great stuff there to work with for an NFL team. 
• Power (3/5) – Has a lot of power to his game but doesn’t always use it in the best ways. 

Acceleration/Burst: 10 

• Acceleration (2/5) – Takes a couple of extra steps to accelerate. Doesn’t have a clean release and acceleration. 
• Explosiveness (3.5/5) – Relatively explosive, but overall just above average in the position group. 

Receiving Ability (35)

Route Running: 10 

• Footwork (3/5) – Decent footwork. Struggles at the top of his breaks but understands positioning and does well to stay in good position. 
• Route Tree (4.5/5) – Ran a good route tree at Florida State with some options from a variety of sets and positions including inline, offset, and from the slot. Knows how to settle between zones. 

Catch Ability: 15 

• Natural Hands (7/10) – Good hands, looks like a solid TE2 receiver. Struggles to bring in balls down field as a vertical threat, mostly effective underneath. 
• Consistency (3/5) – Fairly consistent receiver. Don’t see him dropping many footballs, but consistently struggles to catch through contact.

Contested Catch Ability: 10 

• Vertical Ability (2.5/5) – Might be limited as an underneath receiver. Struggles to track balls and win on those reps with a closing safety. 
• Catch through contact (3/5) – Struggles to make catches through contact at times, especially the further he works downfield. 

Blocking Ability (20)

Pass Blocking: 10 

• Strength (3/5) – Does not have the strength to hold up as a pass blocker. Struggles with a simple power bull rush, will get violently ripped. Very effective chip blocker. Was often pulled out of the game when they wanted to go into extra protection sets. 
• Technique (2/5) – Technique isn’t great, but McDonald wasn’t often asked to play in those situations. 

Run Blocking: 10 

• Strength (3.5/5) – Average run blocker for the position group. Can get downhill for a bit but struggles to consistently hold blocks well. Has tendencies when he’s a blocker that he sticks to, very easily read. 
• Technique (3/5) – Creates too much space when he engages. Doesn’t keep himself in a position where he can control the defender and the angle. 

Overall: (67) – 7th/PFA