STRENGTHS
Rome is a highly intelligent receiver. He runs excellent routes from any position on the field. In the red zone, he is a matchup nightmare because of his size, strong hands, and acrobatic talent, to adjust to the ball in the air. Rome has the high football IQ to be in sync with his quarterback, reading the front seven of a defense, and adjusting his route in a blitz situation. He has those long strides that make it easy for him to separate on deep routes and the size to gain an advantage with his body on the short routes. Because of his outstanding eye/hand coordination, like a gecko, he can keep one eye on the ball to catch it, and one eye on the defender to break a tackle, and gain the needed yardage to move the chains. Also, because of that excellent eye/hand coordination, Rome catches everything thrown to him if it is anywhere near him. Rome has the skills, athletic talent, strong hands, high football IQ, and acrobatic talent to become a franchise receiver for the team that selects him.
CONCERNS
Rome is not quick or explosive coming off the line and to minimize this, his team uses him all over the offense, to give him a free release off the line of scrimmage. His route-running intelligence is excellent but his speed is inconsistent running those routes. I don’t believe Rome is a lazy route runner but I do believe, that he is an arrogant route runner and this at the next level could lead to a lot of problems until he gets humbled and stops trying to trick defensive backs into making mistakes. I’m nitpicking but the speed will be the biggest issue for him to prove in his workouts because, on film, he shows a big inconsistency in using his speed.
BOTTOM LINE: 1.82
Rome reminds me a lot of a bigger version of the Buffalo Bills Stefon Diggs. He runs routes very much in the same manner as Diggs. Also, like Diggs, he has great hands, gecko-like eyes, a high football IQ, and the arrogance to get open anytime he wants to. Also, like Diggs, he will demand you throw the ball to him because Rome is open when he is not open. Rome has those quiet hands running routes that don’t give away the flight of the ball giving him the advantage to make the acrobatic or contested catch. Rome also has the same skill set as Diggs, to make the big catch when the big catch is needed and this is what separates him from most other receivers. His ability to come off the line of scrimmage may be questionable (an easy fix) but his potential to impact on the field is not. Rome is a quality receiver who has the talent to run a team’s passing game through him because of that talent. These are the facts and they are undisputed.
