Full 2024 NFL Draft profile for Tennessee wide receiver Ramel Keyton with the latest rankings, testing results, scouting report, career recap and more.
Patrick Brown
Ramel Keyton came to Tennessee as a touted blue-chip wide receiver prospect in 2019, but it wasn’t until late in his career that he became a productive player for the Vols. His emergence as a viable injury replacement for star wideout Cedric Tillman was a telling part of Tennessee’s 11-win season in 2022, when Keyton made the game-changing catch in the Florida win and delivered other timely performances when his team needed it. Despite some inconsistency as a full-time starter, Keyton still delivered a career-best season in 2023 and now is looking to get an opportunity to play at the next level during or after the NFL Draft this week.
Here’s a look at the latest draft rankings and a full profile for Keyton.
LATEST NFL DRAFT RANKINGS
- CBS Sports: —
- ESPN: No. 249 overall, No. 39 wide receiver
- Pro Football Focus: —
- Pro Football Network: —
- Mel Kiper (ESPN): No. 62 wide receiver
- Jordan Reid (ESPN): —
- Matt Miller (ESPN): No. 413 overall, No. 56 wide receiver
- Sporting News: —
- The Athletic (Dane Brugler): No. 50 wide receiver
TENNESSEE PRO DAY RECAP
Measurements:
- Height: 6-foot-2
- Weight: 191 pounds
- Hand: 9 7/8 inches
- Arm: 32 3/4 inches
- Wingspan: 6 feet, 7 1/8 inches
Testing:
- 40-yard dash: 4.47 seconds
- Vertical jump: 33.5 inches
- Broad jump: 10 feet, 4 inches
- Three-cone drill: 7.07 seconds
- 20-yard shuttle: 4.42 seconds
- Bench press (225 pounds): —
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NFL.COM SCOUTING REPORT
Grade: 5.62 (Candidate for bottom of roster or practice squad)
Projection: Priority free agent
Analysis: Linear receiver with good size but several holes to fill to be a “make-it” prospect at the next level. Keyton played all five seasons at Tennessee, with the bulk of his production landing over the last two seasons. He’s not bad getting off of press coverage, but he’s a build-up runner lacking early acceleration. His route-running and ball skills will need a serious upgrade.
Top strengths: Angular frame carries good size and length. Averaged 18.2 yards per catch over the last two seasons. Drives back on the throw when needed. Adjusts his path to stack cornerbacks on deep throws. Willing combatant when fighting for yards after the catch.
Main weaknesses: Routes are run at a monotonous speed. Inefficient routes are too rounded and lack burst. Ball-tracking and finishing do not come naturally for him. Fails to adjust and shield defenders on deep throws. Hands and overall ball skills are suspect.
***Full NFL.com Draft Breakdown from analyst Lance Zierlein***
RECRUITING RANKINGS (2019)
- 247Sports: Four-star (95 rating), No. 115 overall player, No. 19 wide receiver, No. 13 prospect in Georgia.
- 247Sports Composite: Four-star (0.9503), No. 111 overall player, No. 17 wide receiver, No. 13 prospect in Georgia.
CAREER CAPSULE
Keyton came to Tennessee the year ahead of a loaded 2020 class from Marietta High School in Georgia, where he was teammates with:
- Five-star tight end Arik Gilbert (LSU → Georgia → Nebraska).
- Four-star quarterback Harrison Bailey (Tennessee → UNLV → Louisville).
- Four-star edge BJ Ojulari (LSU), a 2023 second-round draft pick.
- Three-star Power 5 signees in wide receiver Ricky White (Michigan State → UNLV), safety Rashad Torrence II (Florida) and offensive lineman Jake Wray (Colorado).
- A diamond-in-the-rough in running back Kimani Vidal, a current draft prospect 4,000-yard career rusher at Troy, where he was the Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year in 2023).
After a prep career in which he totaled more than 3,300 yards and hauled in 33 touchdowns, Keyton chose Tennessee over Auburn, Penn State, Ole Miss, Florida, Georgia, Clemson and others, but he played sparingly as part of a loaded wide receiver room as a freshman in 2019. (That was when the Vols had future NFL wideouts in Jauan Jennings, Marquez Callaway and Joshua Palmer, plus redshirting senior Brandon Johnson and redshirt freshman Tillman). Keyton popped up with a 41-yard catch in the win against Mississippi State and caught two passes for 60 yards in a start for the suspended Jennings in the TaxSlayer Gator Bowl, but didn’t do much else behind the Jennings-Callaway-Palmer trio.
Keyton started three times during the pandemic-impacted 2020 season, but caught just nine passes for 76 yards and did not play in the final three games of Tennessee’s miserable three-win season. He caught just seven passes for 72 yards as a reserve in 2021. Through three seasons, Keyton totaled just 20 catches on 39 targets for 252 yards.
He went into the 2022 season as a backup with Tennessee trotting out Tillman coming off his breakout season and transfer Bru McCoy as its starting wideouts, but Tillman’s ankle injury in the third game of the season forced Keyton into the starting lineup and he delivered more often than not. His full-extension diving catch for a 43-yard gain just before halftime was part of a game-swinging touchdown drive in the win against Florida, and he had five catches for 78 yards in the win against Alabama and caught two touchdown passes against UT Martin. Keyton capped the season with four catches for 76 yards and the game-sealing 46-yard touchdown in the Orange Bowl victory against Clemson.
If the 2022 season was about the plays Keyton made, last season was about the plays he didn’t as Tennessee’s passing game lacked efficiency and explosiveness. Keyton still set career highs in catches (35) and yards (642), led the Vols with six touchdown catches and averaged 18.3 yards per catch (third-best in the SEC), but he caught just 35 of 63 targets and, per Pro Football Focus, had four drops and caught just four of 11 contested targets. Keyton caught three passes or less in nine of 13 games, though he had touchdowns in three straight early-season games (Austin Peay, Florida and UTSA) and went off for four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns in his final game in Neyland Stadium.
In 55 games for the Vols, Keyton started 24 times and caught 86 passes for 1,456 yards and 11 touchdowns with a 16.9-yard per-catch average, and now he’s hoping to make it at the next level.
