Tre
Nixon.
Tre
Nixon.
Central Florida· 6'0"· 187 lb· 4.44s 40
"A 6'0", 187-pound UCF slot with 4.44 speed and elite agility testing that produced a 9.78 RAS, but a shortened injury-hit 2020 and a slot-only profile capped him as a Day 3 developmental Z-slot flyer."Pre-draft read
Slot/Z receiver with a lean, wiry frame wins via vertical stems and stacked releases. He exhibits long speed coupled with clean short-area quickness, sinking hips at the top of the stem and snapping out of comebacks and slants. He separates late on deep overs, tracking the ball naturally over both shoulders and attacking it in the air, projecting as a vertical-shot specialist.
Natural hands; attacks the ball at the catch point. Average contested catch win rate. Functional but not diverse release package: wins against off coverage with stem tempo and press with a nod-and-go. Limited counters when physical corners lock hips. Willing but inconsistent blocking effort; average run-strength on stalks. Special teams value as a gunner due to recovery speed.
The New England Patriots' scheme is an adaptable, multiple-front system that emphasizes disciplined gap control and versatility on both sides of the ball.
Nixon can immediately contribute as a rotational slot receiver in spread looks and as a core special teamer, with a ceiling as a reliable vertical threat from the slot.
He would struggle in a run-heavy, pro-style offense that relies on physical receivers to block and win consistently against press coverage on the perimeter.
Nixon's elite athletic profile, particularly his speed and short-area quickness, makes him an intriguing developmental prospect for a team that values versatile route runners and special teams contributors, despite his slot-only projection and injury flags.
UCF Football: Tre Nixon showing off skills
Game film cut-up of Tre Nixon's Central Florida tape.
New England Patriots Wide Receiver Tre Nixon - UCF Highlights
Game film cut-up of Tre Nixon's Central Florida tape.
UCF's Tre Nixon Highlights vs Pittsburgh
Game film cut-up of Tre Nixon's Central Florida tape.
Nixon projects as a developmental vertical-slot receiver with special teams upside, possessing an elite athletic profile for the position. His speed and short-area quickness make him a viable threat to separate on intermediate and deep routes, and his ball tracking indicates potential as a shot play specialist. A team would draft Nixon for his raw athletic traits and project him as a late-round flyer.
He emerged as a full-time starter in Central Florida's up-tempo spread, primarily running vertical and intermediate routes. A shoulder injury in his final season limited his sample, though a productive 2019 season saw him record 49 receptions for 830 yards and seven touchdowns. The injury and a perceived lack of strength against press coverage tempered excitement around his significant athletic testing.
Evaluators sought more contested finishing and diverse release counters. Despite these concerns and a slot-only projection, his elite pro day numbers, including a 4.44 forty-yard dash and 6.81 three-cone, combined to create a 9.78 RAS score that separated him from other Day 3 prospects. He was a consensus seventh-round pick and was selected at pick 242.
- 01
Long speed
Genuine straight-line speed that shows on tape as second-level acceleration on posts and deep overs, forcing safeties into deeper alignments.
- 02
Short-area quickness
Elite three-cone and shuttle times back up the tape; he sinks his hips cleanly on comebacks and slants.
- 03
Ball tracking
Tracks the deep ball naturally over both shoulders and attacks it in the air rather than drifting, an inherited slot trait.
- 04
Route craft in space
Understands leverage against off coverage, uses stem tempo and small head fakes to open cushions, and returns to the quarterback.
- 05
Special-teams gunner value
Recovery speed and body control on the perimeter give him a genuine core-four projection as a gunner.
- 01
Slot-only projection
Frame and play strength profile as a slot and Z rather than a boundary X, limiting scheme fit for some teams.
- 02
Contested-catch finishing
Average win rate when defensive backs get their hands into his frame at the catch point; he does not consistently win through contact.
- 03
Injury flag
Shoulder injury shortened his final college season and shrank the projection sample, adding a durability question.
- 04
Release counters
Beats off coverage with quickness but has limited counters against a physical press corner who rides his hip through the stem.
Relative Athletic Score (Kent Lee Platte) benchmarks combine/pro-day numbers against every measured prospect at the position since 1987. 10.00 is elite; 5.00 is average.
— — — positional median (p50)
- 40 yd
- 4.44sp50
- Vertical
- 35.5inp50
- Broad jump
- 125inp50
- Three-cone
- 6.81sp50
- Shuttle
- 4.27sp50
- Bench
- 18repp50
| Yr | Team | G | Rec | Yds | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Ole Miss | 10 | 1 | 19 | 0 |
| 2018 | UCF | 13 | 40 | 562 | 4 |
| 2019 | UCF | 13 | 49 | 830 | 7 |
| 2020 | UCF | 4 | 18 | 258 | 2 |
| Career | — | 40 | 108 | 1669 | 13 |
A dash means the figure is not published by a source we trust — never a zero we invented.
Athletic Day-3 slot who bounced between rosters as depth and special-teams help — the most honest baseline for a slot-only frame with an injury flag.
Elite testing slot/Z with real long speed who found a role as a vertical-shot specialist and gunner, exactly the ceiling case for this frame.
Traits-first late-round receiver who never converted testing into snaps and cycled through practice squads before falling out of the league.
Everything above is the pre-draft evaluation. This section is what actually happened — updated year over year.
Pre-draft context. Tre Nixon transferred from Ole Miss to UCF and grew into a full-time starter in the Knights' up-tempo spread, catching a heavy diet of vertical and intermediate routes across three seasons before a 2020 shoulder injury shortened the final tape. Pro-day testing in Orlando produced a 4.44 forty, 35.5-inch vertical, 125-inch broad, 6.81 three-cone, 4.27 shuttle and 18 bench reps at 6'0", 187 pounds — a 9.78 athletic score that flagged an elite slot-and-Z athlete rather than a boundary X. The consensus board slotted him in the seventh-round vertical-slot and special-teams-body tier, with the injury year and slot-only projection as the counterweights to the testing profile.
NFL fit — New England. New England took him at pick 242 to stash behind a receiver room that had struggled for speed for years, betting on the testing profile and the slot-and-gunner floor while a veteran quarterback room and a young Mac Jones acclimated. The plan was straightforward: redshirt the frame, develop the release counters, and see if the vertical speed could earn a shot-play package by year two.
Retrospective. Nixon spent his rookie season on injured reserve after a spring hamstring problem, was waived during the 2022 cycle and cycled through practice squads without producing meaningful regular-season offensive snaps. The pick returns are consistent with the seventh-round baseline shifted down by injury luck — a legitimate athletic-testing profile that never got the runway to convert into an NFL role.