Round 6 • Pick 10 (187) • WR Kayshon Boutte

[Mugsy’s Walk-Off Bunt]

Lazar is very excited. Patriots.com:

The Patriots took a chance on a boom-or-bust prospect in Boutte, who would've been in the top 50 conversation a year ago. Boutte's dicey finish to his collegiate career, middling production, and lackluster combine (4.99 RAS out of ten, 4.5s 40) pushed him down the board. However, Boutte has legitimate NFL upside with sudden movements to uncover and the ability to churn out yards after the catch in bunches (6.4 YAC per catch). His first two seasons in Baton Rouge put him on the map as an NFL prospect, and if the Pats get that version of Boutte, they'll have a steal – a perfect day-three flier. My pro comparison, if it works out, is Jarvis Landry.

 

[ehaz]

Apparently Boutte ran a 4.37 in high school. From an older PFF interview:

https://www.pff.com/news/college-football-lsu-wide-receiver-kayshon-boutte-next-great-lsu-pass-catcher

Boutte has been cleared after undergoing ankle surgery. How he gets back to form will be important, as speed is a major part of his game. As a former track athlete, Boutte reportedly ran a 4.37 40-yard dash in high school, was part of a state record-breaking 4×200 relay team and ran a blazing 21.29 200-meter dash.

 

[GB5]

I thought Jarvis Landry is essentially a possession receiver who moves the chains, isn’t this kid the exact opposite. Big plays, lots of RAC, iffy hands.

 

[Mugsy’s Walk-Off Bunt]

Yeah, I’m not sure. But I did hear analysts other than Lazar say the same thing.

 

[kelpapa]

His name is pronounced bootay?

I like the pick.

 

[Cellar-Door]

I thought Jarvis Landry is essentially a possession receiver who moves the chains, isn’t this kid the exact opposite. Big plays, lots of RAC, iffy hands.

In 2019 he was 7th among WR in total YAC, 14th in YAC/R.
Was lower in 2018. Before that there is no YAC/R numbers, but NFL.com has total YAC
2017- 2nd
2016- 2nd
2015- 4th
2014- 11th

Some of that is about volume, but before injuries/age caught up he was a YAC monster.

 

[RG33]

It is hard to not like the pick. This is the exact type of reach you make in the 6th round. A guy with issues but legit upside. If it works, home run. If not, nobody cares (except SoSH).

 

[Saints Rest]

What are these so-called off-field issues?

 

[MannyRam]

It is hard to not like the pick. This is the exact type of reach you make in the 6th round. A guy with issues but legit upside. If it works, home run. If not, nobody cares (except SoSH).

This . 6th round picks are where you roll the dice. Boutte has a chance (due to his talent) to be a big-time WR. It's classic low-floor high ceiling and I'm glad the Pats are making bets like this

 

[bibajesus]

What are these so-called off-field issues?

I don't have sources only internet rumors, but I've read he was involved in consensual group sex with a female staffer before the SEC championship. The staffer and a coach, who was also involved, were let go.

 

[Spelunker]

I don't have sources only internet rumors, but I've read he was involved in consensual group sex with a female staffer before the SEC championship. The staffer and a coach, who was also involved, were let go.

Uh, and....?

 

[bibajesus]

Uh, and....?

You usually can't have girls/visitors at the team hotel, so I assume an orgy before the SEC championship is looked down upon by the non participating coaching staff. He didn't play in the following Citrus bowl for undisclosed reasons so it would seem maybe Brian Kelly may not have been as cool with his actions as you.
https://www.totalprosports.com/ncaa/lsu-tigers-kayshon-boutte-involved-sex-party/

 

[Eddie Jurak]

You usually can't have girls/visitors at the team hotel, so I assume an orgy before the SEC championship is looked down upon by the non participating coaching staff.

Lol

 

[Curt S Loew]

His name is pronounced bootay?

I like the pick.

In Louisiana it is. He pronounces it Bootie.

 

[DJnVa]

In Louisiana it is. He pronounces it Bootie.

You can hear it pronounced both ways in highlight vids--the LSU announcer (I'm assuming) gives it the boo-TAY, the others are saying bootie.

 

[Curt S Loew]

You can hear it pronounced both ways in highlight vids--the LSU announcer (I'm assuming) gives it the boo-TAY, the others are saying bootie.

Exactly. What I was trying to say. I saw after the pick when he said he pronounces it Bootie.

 

[Cellar-Door]

What are these so-called off-field issues?

So before the sex party potential suspension...
I don't think he was seen as having "off-field issues" in the sense we think of, like legal issues, sketchy friends, etc.
What he had were concerns about stuff like willingness to listen to coaches, discipline in his injury rehab, general flakiness. His coach says good things about him now, but he was publicly critical of him for a year plus, which is unusual (but also Brian Kelly is a trash person so....).

Overall it seems like his issues were general WR diva behavior, with a dash of work ethic concerns.

 

[Norm loves Vera]

Is this more of an issue than Justin Rohrwasser's 3% tattoo?

 

[bakahump]

His coach says good things about him

Not as good a thing to say as the coach he had the 3 way with but you know take what you can get.

 

[JM3]

You usually can't have girls/visitors at the team hotel, so I assume an orgy before the SEC championship is looked down upon by the non participating coaching staff. He didn't play in the following Citrus bowl for undisclosed reasons so it would seem maybe Brian Kelly may not have been as cool with his actions as you.
https://www.totalprosports.com/ncaa/lsu-tigers-kayshon-boutte-involved-sex-party/

Hankton doesn't seem particularly "dismissed".

https://twitter.com/coach_hankton?lang=en

But yeah, Wilson is gone...

View: https://twitter.com/_destinywilsonn/status/1600928878909743104


Belton still seems to be there...

https://lsusports.net/staff/jr-belton/

& Phillips seemed to have been hired by Colorado days after the alleged incident (the game was 12/3).

https://coloradobuffaloeswire.usatoday.com/2022/12/09/buffs-hire-lsus-corey-phillips-director-of-player-personnel/

So yeahhh...idk?

 

[Cellar-Door]

Hankton doesn't seem particularly "dismissed".

https://twitter.com/coach_hankton?lang=en

But yeah, Wilson is gone...

View: https://twitter.com/_destinywilsonn/status/1600928878909743104


Belton still seems to be there...

https://lsusports.net/staff/jr-belton/

& Phillips seemed to have been hired by Colorado days after the alleged incident (the game was 12/3).

https://coloradobuffaloeswire.usatoday.com/2022/12/09/buffs-hire-lsus-corey-phillips-director-of-player-personnel/

So yeahhh...idk?

Wilson also released a statement at some point saying it was not true (she since deleted it, likely because she is hoping this dies down).

 

[SMU_Sox]

Boutte was high up on my own board because I don’t adjust for off-field considerations. I believe he’s a classic Z, a move piece, or a slot. If he can recover from his injury sufficiently and buy-in he’s a starter with a nice ceiling. He was Waldman’s WR5.

 

[streeter88]

The off field issues aside, a lot more concern about his explosiveness after the two ankle surgeries in 2021. May not be fully healed as his combine performance was at the bottom of the pile.

https://lsutigerswire.usatoday.com/2023/03/05/lsu-football-kayshon-boutte-struggles-combine-draft-stock-evaluation/

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kayshon-boutte-wr-lsu-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2023/amp/

I don’t know if I’m adding anything new here, but I care a lot less about who was in the party, and a lot more about whether he can regain that explosiveness.

Any of our resident orthopods have an opinion?

 

[Shelterdog]

The off field issues aside, a lot more concern about his explosiveness after the two ankle surgeries in 2021. May not be fully healed as his combine performance was at the bottom of the pile.

https://lsutigerswire.usatoday.com/2023/03/05/lsu-football-kayshon-boutte-struggles-combine-draft-stock-evaluation/

https://www.profootballnetwork.com/kayshon-boutte-wr-lsu-nfl-draft-scouting-report-2023/amp/

I don’t know if I’m adding anything new here, but I care a lot less about who was in the party, and a lot more about whether he can regain that explosiveness.

Any of our resident orthopods have an opinion?

I’m also curious about whether he was suffering from lingering effects of his injury, out of shape, or both

 

[SMU_Sox]

If you watch him vs UGA in the SEC championship game he looked more like himself than he had all season.

 

[streeter88]

Great, but then why was his performance at the Combine so lackluster?

 

[ehaz]

If you watch him vs UGA in the SEC championship game he looked more like himself than he had all season.

Probably because of the orgy.

Great, but then why was his performance at the Combine so lackluster?

Have you seen what NFL coaching staffs look like?

 

[MannyRam]

If you watch him vs UGA in the SEC championship game he looked more like himself than he had all season.

6 receptions for 107 yards and a TD against UGA. The combine performance definitely killed his stock. Hope the Pats can get him right and unlock the talent.

 

[ehaz]

So before the sex party potential suspension...
I don't think he was seen as having "off-field issues" in the sense we think of, like legal issues, sketchy friends, etc.
What he had were concerns about stuff like willingness to listen to coaches, discipline in his injury rehab, general flakiness. His coach says good things about him now, but he was publicly critical of him for a year plus, which is unusual (but also Brian Kelly is a trash person so....).

Overall it seems like his issues were general WR diva behavior, with a dash of work ethic concerns.

Yeah I’ve read rumors about him slacking on his rehab but nothing concrete. What we all know for sure is that he missed some March practices while recovering from ankle surgery and was considering a transfer after Brian Kelly was hired. Brian Kelly called him out in the media for it. Boutte decides to stay and they appeared to make up. Kelly named Boutte an offensive captain after week 6, starts publicly praising him in the media for his work ethic and locker room leadership, and all seems well.

Then the SEC Championship happens in early December. Boutte announces that he will not enter the draft and stay for another year. But a week before the Citrus Bowl, Kelly says that Boutte is “unavailable” and refuses to expand, so Boutte changes his mind and declares for the draft.

 

[BigJimEd]

6 receptions for 107 yards and a TD against UGA.

On 12 targets.

 

[Cellar-Door]

Yeah I’ve read rumors about him slacking on his rehab but nothing concrete. What we all know for sure is that he missed some March practices while recovering from ankle surgery and was considering a transfer after Brian Kelly was hired. Brian Kelly called him out in the media for it. Boutte decides to stay and they appeared to make up. Kelly named Boutte an offensive captain after week 6, starts publicly praising him in the media for his work ethic and locker room leadership, and all seems well.

Then the SEC Championship happens in early December. Boutte announces that he will not enter the draft and stay for another year. But a week before the Citrus Bowl, Kelly says that Boutte is “unavailable” and refuses to expand, so Boutte changes his mind and declares for the draft.

I will say, the crazy person message boards, who are usually pretty tied in say that;
1. The Party story isn't true
2. Boutte had an academic issue, and that's the real reason he reversed course, is that he was likely to be ineligible

 

[Shelterdog]

Great, but then why was his performance at the Combine so lackluster?

I don't think we know. I am curious what our doctors, gym nerds, trainers etc think but it would be surprising to me if someone who hadn't had a truly awful injury (and we don't think bootayyy did) of Bootie's age couldn't get back to or even exceed his pre injury explosivness.

 

[leftfieldlegacy]

Yeah I’ve read rumors about him slacking on his rehab but nothing concrete. What we all know for sure is that he missed some March practices while recovering from ankle surgery and was considering a transfer after Brian Kelly was hired. Brian Kelly called him out in the media for it. Boutte decides to stay and they appeared to make up. Kelly named Boutte an offensive captain after week 6, starts publicly praising him in the media for his work ethic and locker room leadership, and all seems well.

Then the SEC Championship happens in early December. Boutte announces that he will not enter the draft and stay for another year. But a week before the Citrus Bowl, Kelly says that Boutte is “unavailable” and refuses to expand, so Boutte changes his mind and declares for the draft.

Here's what Kelly said about the situation

Brian Kelly admits it: He called out Kayshon Boutte.

Boutte, LSU football's star wide receiver, was not attending workouts ahead of the start of spring practices in March. Although he was still recovering from a second surgery to his right ankle that would keep him out all spring, LSU's first-year coach was disappointed in the junior's absence.
"He's a great player. He's a good kid. But this has been a rough spot for him," Kelly said in March. "And what happens is you tend to get distracted because you're not involved in everything. But he's learning you got to be involved with everything whether you're injured or not."

At the Tiger Athletic Foundation's Coaches Caravan at Walk-On's Sports Bistreaux in Lafayette on Wednesday, Kelly told The Daily Advertiser he "threw a shot across his bow" at Boutte because of his lack of familiarity with him at the time.

"I don't normally send messages in the media to players," Kelly said. "I usually talk to them, but I didn't know him very well. So it was the best way for me to kind of get his attention."
Kelly believes that Boutte responded well, pointing out how the junior needs to be a leader among a younger corps of wide receivers.

"I think he heard it," Kelly said. "And I think his response was appropriate. He was much more engaged.
"He got back out there and he was with the guys, he was engaged. He was helping them and that's what I was looking for."

Boutte is just about to turn 21 this month so I can forgive some immaturity on his part. There can also be a period of depression and malaise in an elite athlete following a severe injury which can cause the athlete to become withdrawn and apathetic.The fact that he responded with an improved attitude is a plus for him. I also don't particularly like when college coaches use the media to send a message to a player. These are still college athletes not NFL players. He should have talked to the kid privately especially since Kelly admits not knowing him well when he said those things. For me, his success will hinge on his recovery from the ankle fracture. Assuming the Patriot's medical staff had ample opportunity to review his records, examine him and work him out prior to the draft then I expect him to perform way above his draft slot.

 

[Bowhemian]

Probably because of the orgy.



Have you seen what NFL coaching staffs look like?

Well played, on both.

 

[Shelterdog]

Boutte is just about to turn 21 this month so I can forgive some immaturity on his part. There can also be a period of depression and malaise in an elite athlete following a severe injury which can cause the athlete to become withdrawn and apathetic.The fact that he responded with an improved attitude is a plus for him. I also don't particularly like when college coaches use the media to send a message to a player. These are still college athletes not NFL players. He should have talked to the kid privately especially since Kelly admits not knowing him well when he said those things. For me, his success will hinge on his recovery from the ankle fracture. Assuming the Patriot's medical staff had ample opportunity to review his records, examine him and work him out prior to the draft then I expect him to perform way above his draft slot.

Just to note that Kelly is such an ass it's unbelievable. He calls out players in the media a lot, and "not knowing a player" isn't a reason to call them out in public rather than privately.

I hear him speaking with a drawl last year, looked up where he went because I never knew he was southern at all.

Turns out the fucker is from Everett, went to St John's Prep and then Assumption.

 

[Dogman]

I attended St. John's Prep 12 years after him and it was well known that Kelly was a POS/asshole when he was there.

 

[boca]

View: https://twitter.com/dougkyed/status/1654262066629459968?s=46&t=SM8KNBQ5qkrf8EOqnMV5BQ

 

[j-man]

athlon and lindy's draft guide had him as the num 1 WR on the board

 

[SMU_Sox]

You can’t cut this guy. He is looking like the guy at LSU. And tbh I like him more than Thornton. Coming out I thought he was a ~top 50 guy.

All he’s done this pre-season is practice hard, soak up hard coaching, act like a professional, and make plays. He’s not getting through waivers. He fell mostly for character reasons and he has probably erased most of them. Remember that slot receiver who came from Miami as a UDFA a few years ago? He didn’t last. Boutte is the opposite of that situation.

He makes it look easy too. He’s a different kind of player than Douglas. The two of them can coexist. Add his ability as a kick returner and I think he can justify a spot on the team.

 

[Jinhocho]

You can’t cut this guy. He is looking like the guy at LSU. And tbh I like him more than Thornton. Coming out I thought he was a ~top 50 guy.

All he’s done this pre-season is practice hard, soak up hard coaching, act like a professional, and make plays. He’s not getting through waivers. He fell mostly for character reasons and he has probably erased most of them. Remember that slot receiver who came from Miami as a UDFA a few years ago? He didn’t last. Boutte is the opposite of that situation.

He makes it look easy too. He’s a different kind of player than Douglas. The two of them can coexist. Add his ability as a kick returner and I think he can justify a spot on the team.

Very much agree with this. They just need to make a spot. I wonder if a bigger name than Thornton gets cut. Earlier in the year, I had thought it might be Parker (since extended) or Bourne (if he was cut people would think BB was sabotaging Mac) and Juju is too new. I guess it still wouldnt surprise me if Bourne was the shock camp cut.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Very much agree with this. They just need to make a spot. I wonder if a bigger name than Thornton gets cut.

Bourne? Over the Cap says we save $5.4M if we cut/trade him. But he’s also Mac’s current security blanket so I find it hard to believe they would. Maybe they’ll just have to go leaner than they want at another position and carry 6 WR.

 

[RorschachsMask]

Bourne? Over the Cap says we save $5.4M if we cut/trade him. But he’s also Mac’s current security blanket so I find it hard to believe they would. Maybe they’ll just have to go leaner than they want at another position and carry 6 WR.

I’d be legitimately shocked if Bourne was cut or traded. I’d be equally shocked if he doesn’t have a big bounce back season.

View: https://twitter.com/tkyles39/status/1693273314473517534?s=20

 

[Eddie Jurak]

You can’t cut this guy. He is looking like the guy at LSU. And tbh I like him more than Thornton. Coming out I thought he was a ~top 50 guy.

All he’s done this pre-season is practice hard, soak up hard coaching, act like a professional, and make plays. He’s not getting through waivers. He fell mostly for character reasons and he has probably erased most of them. Remember that slot receiver who came from Miami as a UDFA a few years ago? He didn’t last. Boutte is the opposite of that situation.

He makes it look easy too. He’s a different kind of player than Douglas. The two of them can coexist. Add his ability as a kick returner and I think he can justify a spot on the team.

I don't know who you mean and now this is bothering me.

 

[Zedia]

I don't know who you mean and now this is bothering me.

Braxton Berrios? Not sure WHAT he means though. He didn’t last through waivers?

 

[Jinhocho]

I don't know who you mean and now this is bothering me.

EDIT: NVM - Berrios was drafted if I recall.

 

[Papi for Prez]

It was Jeff Thomas...there was a good documentary that followed his high school football team from East St. Louis.

 

[Zedia]

It was Jeff Thomas...there was a good documentary that followed his high school football team from East St. Louis.

D’oh, I totally missed the UDFA part. Know I get what he meant, thanks.

 

[Ale Xander]

You can’t cut this guy. He is looking like the guy at LSU. And tbh I like him more than Thornton. Coming out I thought he was a ~top 50 guy.

All he’s done this pre-season is practice hard, soak up hard coaching, act like a professional, and make plays. He’s not getting through waivers. He fell mostly for character reasons and he has probably erased most of them. Remember that slot receiver who came from Miami as a UDFA a few years ago? He didn’t last. Boutte is the opposite of that situation.

He makes it look easy too. He’s a different kind of player than Douglas. The two of them can coexist. Add his ability as a kick returner and I think he can justify a spot on the team.

After his freshman season I thought he was a first round pick. Made plays over future 1st and second round SEC DB’s.

 

[Jake Peavy's Demons]

It was Jeff Thomas...there was a good documentary that followed his high school football team from East St. Louis.

Ha! My guess initially was Jeff Demps. The man, the myth, the legend.

 

[BigSoxFan]

I’d be legitimately shocked if Bourne was cut or traded. I’d be equally shocked if he doesn’t have a big bounce back season.

View: https://twitter.com/tkyles39/status/1693273314473517534?s=20

Agreed. I would cut loose TT before Bourne. He’s a really solid WR and we need him. There are no stars in the group but I actually like where the WR group currently is. You have 3 solid and proven pros in Parker, JuJu, and Bourne and 3-4 young guys with upside in Pop Douglas, Boutte, TT, and maybe Cunningham. Going to be really interesting to see how that group shakes out.