Taking a look at a Jets wider receiver prospect
The New York Jets recently signed former Kansas wide receiver Quentin Skinner as an undrafted free agent. Today we break Skinner down in detail.
Skinner is listed at 6’5” and 195 pounds. He led the Big XII in yards per catch in 2024. He caught 79 passes over the past three seasons and scored 11 career touchdowns.
Background
Skinner was a two-star high school prospect who eventually opted to walk on at Kansas, earning himself a scholarship a few years later.
It took him a while to contribute, as he didn’t play in his first season in 2020 and then played just 13 offensive snaps with no targets in his second season. He did contribute on special teams though.
In 2022, Skinner finally broke out with 26 catches for 440 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. He then followed that up with 29 catches, 587 yards and two touchdowns in 2023.
In 2024, he posted the first two 100-yard games of his career and ended the year as the Big XII leader for yards per catch. He ended up with 24 catches for 557 yards and four scores.
Some analysts felt Skinner could be a late round pick but he was not selected in the 2025 NFL draft in April. After Skinner went undrafted, the Jets signed him to an undrafted free agency deal with $185K guaranteed.
Let’s move on to some more in-depth analysis of what Skinner brings to the table as a player, based on extensive research and film study.
Measurables/Athleticism
Skinner is tall, with a big catch radius, but he is very slender and will need to bulk up to compete at the NFL level. He didn’t participate in the bench press at his pro day workout.
Other than his short shuttle, the rest of his numbers were above average across the board, with his 4.52 in the 40-yard dash and 6.94 three-cone drill especially impressive for a player of his size.
Usage
Skinner has played all three receiver positions at Kansas. He was in the slot just under 30 percent of the time.
He has also handled the ball on jet sweeps and end arounds, with some success. He gained 71 yards on seven such plays, with gains of 20 and 27.
Deep threat
Skinner was mostly considered a deep threat early in his career, but he tried to showcase himself as a more well-rounded player over the past few years.
His numbers on deep balls are stellar and, although he can come up with jump balls and back shoulder throws, there’s no doubt he was capable of getting behind the defense at the college level.
Routes
As noted, Skinner has been trying to prove he’s not a one-trick pony, although a lot of his production on short and intermediate routes exploits the fact that he gets a big cushion due to his downfield threat. Nevertheless, he can break down and come back to the ball or fade to the sideline effectively.
He looks smooth out of the blocks, disguising his release well, and can also be effective on a double-move.
It’s good to see an example of him being physical here and using his size and reach to box out the defender for a clutch conversion.
Hands
Skinner only had a 54 percent catch rate in his college career and had a reputation as someone with unreliable hands after having had some bad drops on potential big plays.
However, he only actually had three drops in his whole career and the low catch rate is largely a product of him being targeted regularly on low-percentage downfield throws. Having said that, he does body catch or bobble catches from time to time.
In terms of the catches he does make, Skinner has some impressive plays on his highlight reel. With his big catch radius, he can go up to get it, go down to scoop up low passes or extend to make diving catches.
He has good body control and is adept at getting his feet inbounds on sideline catches and at the back of the end zone.
Red zone
With his ability to go up and over a defensive back for a catch, Skinner might be a useful red zone option, but he didn’t produce in that role in Kansas. Of his 11 touchdowns for the Jayhawks, only this one came near the goal line.
There was one other 20-yard touchdown which strictly speaking counts as a red zone touchdown but this came on a long pass.
After the catch
Skinner’s yardage after the catch is limited by the fact that he will often go to ground as he secures a catch, often when it’s not necessary. That probably says more about his determination not to drop the ball than his abilities with the ball in his hands.
When he does have the ball, he often goes down on first contact and has fumbled five times in the past three years. He doesn’t really have the strength to break tackles, but he can sidestep or slip a tackle in space sometimes.
Skinner hasn’t been very effective on screen passes with just 15 yards on seven attempts in his career. However, he did have some good success as a rusher, as noted earlier.
Blocking
Skinner is a player whose blocking has been praised, both in terms of his willingness and effort to make a block and his work in improving his blocking technique over the past few years.
He is able to block down on a linebacker from the slot or block out on the perimeter on screen passes, but it’s his effort to stay on his man down the field which stands out most of all.
He had one holding penalty in 2023.
Physicality
Despite his obvious lack of bulk, Skinner does bring some physicality in his style of play, which could serve him well if he can build his strength. In addition to the noted effort as a blocker, he competes well for the ball at the catch point.
On contested catches generally, he has some good production with his ability to go up and over defensive players and hang onto the ball in traffic.
One area he apparently needs to work at is getting off the jam in press coverage to get a cleaner release.
Special Teams
Skinner made good contributions on the special teams units in 2021, although he didn’t play much on special teams thereafter as he had established himself as an offensive contributor.
He blocked on the kickoff return unit, rushed punts and covered kicks and punts. He had three special teams tackles, including some impressive work as a gunner.
Skinner also had two special teams penalties and a couple of missed tackles, though.
Instincts and Intelligence
As noted, Skinner plays all three receiver positions and seems to have a good sense for his blocking assignments. As a receiver, he shows some ability to find open areas in zone coverage and to come back to his quarterback to give him an option when he is forced to extend a play.
He had one false start in 2024.
Attitude
Skinner is regarded as a hard-worker, who is extremely coachable and likes to learn. He is a man of faith with no off-field concerns and displayed some leadership qualities over the past year or two.
He has shown good determination to start off as a walk-on and end up making it all the way to the NFL level.
His on-field discipline was fine as he had six offensive penalties in his career, but just two in the past two seasons.
Injuries
Skinner hasn’t missed any time and doesn’t seem to have been affected by any significant injuries so far in his career.
Scheme Fit
While he has potential as a deep threat, Skinner has some versatility and will be hoping he can develop his all-around skill set with the Jets. However, with competition for roster spots expected to be fierce, if he impresses in any one area in particular, that might help his overall chances.
Conclusions
Skinner’s guaranteed money was the fifth most of the undrafted rookies the Jets signed this year and more than all the other pass catchers, so his chances of sticking around – most likely on the practice squad – are good.
You can’t fail to be reminded of Robby Anderson (now Robbie Chosen), who was a similarly slender deep threat that established he was more than that over his first few seasons after making the roster as a rookie with a strong preseason.
Skinner doesn’t have Anderson’s speed, but he does have an intriguing skill set, which could see him thrive with NFL level coaching. Of course, it’s a long shot, but if he can make a similar impact to Anderson in his debut preseason campaign then Skinner will be on the right track.