Overview

Position: WR

College: Iowa State

Class: Senior

Age: 22

 

Measurables

Height: 5’10 1/4″

Weight: 194 lbs.

Arm length: 29 1/2″

Hand size: 8 3/4″

 

Athletic testing

40-yard dash: 4.39 sec.

10-yard split: 1.51 sec.

Vertical jump: 41.5”

Broad jump: 134.0”

Bench press: 23 reps

3-cone drill: 6.82 sec.

Short shuttle: 4.17 sec.

 

Strengths

Tremendous speed and acceleration. Terrific overall strength for his strength. Very fast running vertical routes from the slot. Effective sinking and accelerating on vertical routes. Excellent feet and burst to get cornerbacks on their heels with an outside plant and separate deep. Can kick into another gear running deep routes. Effective running clearout routes both in the slot and out wide. Able to split the cornerback and safety on downfield routes. Great running vertical routes towards the hashes from the perimeter. Outstanding tracking ability and catch focus over the shoulder on downfield throws. Glides to maintain speed on out-and-up and flat-to-wheel routes. Shows courage on posts and deeper in-breaking routes. Courageous over the middle in general. Very strong hands in contested situations. Great securing possession catches to his body. Natural hands to reach for throws behind him over the middle. Impressive leaping ability and will attack the ball in the air with his hands. Very good feel for sitting in short and intermediate windows versus zone coverage. Explosive on short posts from the slot. Very clean footwork on comebacks routes. Crisp on out routes and corner routes. Quick to sit and turn on hitches and short routes. Bursts out of breaks towards the pylon in scoring territory. Impressive balance to throttle down after the catch going towards the sideline. Very aware after catching the ball near the sideline. Extremely quick and explosive turning into a runner after the catch. Given handoffs from the backfield out of the shotgun. Outstanding effort and technique as a blocker. Excellent blocking on the perimeter. Physical and combative as a blocker. Showed great effort to tackle after an interception by Arizona State in the Big 12 Championship Game (2024).

 

Weaknesses

Would like to see more consistent burst to separate from off coverage on routes working back to the quarterback. Could be better working back to throws that are left inside. Can have trouble getting off jams from the slot. Needs to be better fighting through route contact on the boundary to stay in bounds. Hands can be inconsistent underneath. Worried about losing ground for first downs when he loops backwards after catching the ball in an attempt to get an angle as a runner. More of a straightforward runner rather than slippery/elusive.

 

NFL comparison

Christian Kirk

 

Conclusion

Overall, Noel is an explosive, tough wide receiver with inside-outside versatility and an ability to attack all three levels. He should come off the board in Round 2 as a fit for any offensive scheme.

 

Big Board ranking: #55 | Positional ranking: #7