Lake McRee

● Good play speed in routes, especially on seams and wheels ● Leans on subtle route hesitation to help loosen coverage ● Catches the ball well and limits drops ● Flexible catch radius — doesn’t require throws to be perfect ● Adequate finisher through contact ● Not a passive blocker and sustains well on the move ● Strong latch hands to drive linebackers and spring runs ● Known as a self-starter; was well-liked behind the scenes at USC ● Off-the-charts toughness — must rein him back to protect himself

● Lighter than ideal; mass and body length aren’t strengths ● Route running needs additional polish ● Needs to sharpen route breaks to better hold coverage ● Has some tightness in his lower body and doesn’t have much make-you-miss ability ● Fumbled twice over past two seasons ● Doesn’t have much blocking pop in his hands ● Can be pulled off balance once defenders get him on his toes ● Torn ACL in left knee during fall camp (Aug. 2019) and missed his junior year of high school; torn ACL in right knee during bowl prep (Dec. 2023) but returned for start of 2024 season; missed three games as a junior because of sprained left knee (Sept. 2024)

A two-and-a-half-year starter at USC, McRee was a Y tight end (55.3 percent of snaps inline) in head coach Lincoln Riley’s RPO spread scheme. He never reached 500 yards receiving in any of his five seasons with the Trojans, as injuries hampered his underclassman years. However, he finished strong and posted career bests as a senior in 2025. McRee is an athletic route runner with quarterback-friendly ball skills. He lacks crisp feet in his route work, which leads to contested windows. He gets after it as a blocker, although he will be limited against stronger, longer-armed trench defenders. Overall, McRee has baseline traits, catch-point skills and alignment versatility to compete for an NFL roster spot — if he stays healthy. 206 Back to table of contents -- 210 of 629 --