Will Juice Wells be one of the steals of the draft?
The New York Giants might not be done adding to their wide receiver room. The good news is that while the 2025 receiver class isn’t as highly touted as the 2024 class, it isn’t devoid of talent by any means. There are receivers who can fit any style of offense and many who’re scheme diverse.
Antwane Wells Jr. (nicknamed “Juice”) transferred from South Carolina to Ole Miss prior to the 2024 season in hopes of rebounding following a 2023 that was derailed by injury. He wasn’t exactly able to do so, as he had to share the ball with a thoroughly talented group of skill position players.
He might not have gotten the opportunities he hoped, but could that make him a potential hidden gem for a team like the Giants?
Prospect: Antwane Wells Jr. (3)
Games Watched: vs. Clemson (2022 – with South Carolina), vs. South Carolina (2024 – with Ole Miss), vs. Arkansas (2024), vs. Georgia (2024)
Red Flags: Foot (2023)
Measurables
Height: 6-foot
Weight: 205 pounds
Strengths
Best traits
- Quickness
- Agility
- Explosiveness
- Big play potential
- Run after catch
Antwane Wells Jr. is a versatile receiving prospect who can create explosive plays in a variety of ways for an offense.
He has a relatively compact build at 6-foot, 205 pounds, which gives him a solid blend of quickness, agility, play strength, and long speed. He doesn’t appear to be an elite athlete on tape, but he’s explosive and a threat to create a big play any time he touches the ball – hence his nickname “Juice”.
Wells is a threat both down the field and with the ball in his hand. South Carolina frequently used him on bubble screens, while Ole Miss used him as a vertical threat. In fact, he averaged the sixth largest average depth of target this year at 17.8 yards downfield (per PFF).
He has great agility and short-area agility, allowing him to change directions suddenly and explode in a new direction. Likewise, he’s able to carry his initial explosiveness into respectable deep speed. Wells might not be a true burner, but he has enough speed to maintain separation and turn short gains into long runs.
Wells is a capable route runner with good savvy throughout his route. He has a varied release package and is able to quickly get into his routes. He does a good job of using misdirection to throw off defenders’ timing as well as running his routes into their chest plate. He’s adept at drawing pass interference or creating separation for himself when working back to the ball.
Weaknesses
Worst traits
- Catch radius
- Blocking
- Route precision
Wells has a versatile game that can fit into a variety of roles and schemes, however he has some limitations.
Most notably, he’s a bit undersized for some roles on the outside and can struggle against big corners in tight coverage. Likewise, he has a relatively limited catch radius which can make it difficult for him to play around DBs or haul in marginal passes.
Wells wasn’t asked to run a particularly diverse route tree at South Carolina or Ole Miss. His route tree usually consisted of bubble screens or deep over, corner, or post routes – with little in between. He’s capable of making sharp breaks and carrying speed through his routes, but he isn’t a precision route runner at this point in his development.
Finally, Wells isn’t much of a blocking receiver. His frame and play strength suggest upside there, but he needs coaching on technique. He’s better suited to being a ball carrier than a blocker as of now.
Game Tape
(Wells is the South Carolina receiver wearing number 3 and a black sleeve on his left calf)
Projection
Antwane “Juice” Wells projects as a rotational receiver who has starting upside in the right situation.
He lacks prototypical size as well as elite athleticism, but he has an intriguing blend of traits that allow him to fill a variety of roles. Wells shares many of the same traits as Victor Cruz, Brandon Aiyuk, and Deebo Samuel, and should be considered a real threat in any offense that schemes him catch-and-run opportunities. That said, Wells’ ball skills make him a threat down the field on vertical routes. He might not be a “number one” receiver, but his versatility should allow him to find a role in most offenses commonly called at the NFL level.
He still has untapped upside and could stand to improve as a route runner and blocker with coaching. As such, teams might want to use him as a situational player as a rookie.
Wells has slipped below the radar thanks to his 2023 foot injury and the wealth of talent at Ole Miss. But he has a chance to be a real hidden gem if he lands with the right team.
Does he fit the Giants?
Yes
Final Word: A late Day 2 or early Day 3 value
