Eric McAlister is a 6’4, 195-pound wide receiver from Texas Christian University. McAlister is from Azle, TX, and attended Azle High School, where he became a 3-star recruit and committed to Boise State (2022-2023). After two productive years at Boise State, McAlister transferred back to his home state to play for TCU. He emerged as TCU’s top playmaker in his two years there, and in 2025 garnered numerous accolades for his season, including earning First-Team All-Big 12 honors and Third-Team AP All-American honors, as well as being a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist. Additionally, he earned the Walter Camp Award National Offensive Player of the Week and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week after a 254-yard, 3 TD performance against SMU in 2025. He has a very limited injury history, with the only notable injury being a hamstring injury, which he suffered pregame vs. Arizona State in 2025, which caused him to miss that game and the following game against Colorado.
Athletically, McAlister possesses a tall, large frame with room to add mass. He has good overall speed, he is a long strider, which limits his burst off the line, but makes up for it with a very good top speed, which gives him the ability to break away from defenders late on deep routes. He has adequate play strength while route running, physical DBs who are stronger than him move him off the redline, however if he can put on some mass he will be able to fight them off much easier. He also is physical at the catch point and as a blocker, which I will get to later. Mentally, McAlister is solid. He has a very high competitive toughness when blocking, and is a tenacious and willing blocker who bullies DBs with his larger frame and length. While route running, he attacks the DB’s leverage well and has a good feel for zones, including when the play breaks down. When the ball is in his hands, he turns upfield and gets vertical, and doesn’t dance around trying to make guys miss. There were a few plays that concerned me, two included McAlister running the wrong route or going to the wrong zone which resulted in a pick six and an incompletion. He also had another play where the DB got him to false start. Plays like these don’t normally concern me if it just happens once or twice, but these plays occurred in different games which I did find concerning. One other small thing to note, McAlister always lined up on the right side of the formation. There were only 4 plays in three full games that I saw him aligned to the left side of the formation at the snap.
McAlister has a few areas of his game that are true strengths. His YAC ability was one that was a highlight of his film. TCU had numerous plays designed to get the ball in his hands, and when he does he gets upfield, has very good contact balance, and is shifty in space making him difficult to bring down. Another highlight of his game was his blocking ability. As I said before, he is a tenacious and willing blocker, using his large frame and length to get a hold of DBs and fight them till the whistle. He also is a good deep threat. McAlister runs a good post, go, corner, and deep comeback routes, and is good at contested catches, using his hands to high point the ball. He is a very natural catcher of the football as well. One area of his game that needs improvement is his intermediate route running. He is capable of bending routes well at the break point deep, but struggles to sell vertically, keeping his head high, and throttle down when making 90-degree cuts on intermediate dagger and out routes. He chews his feet and almost looks robotic getting in and out of his breaks, however, I believe he has the ability to overcome this habit with the right coaching. He also has a limited release package, he is solid against press, using his length to get DBs off of him, but doesn’t move guys with his release.
In conclusion, McAlister is a tall, lengthy receiver with good deep route running and YAC ability underneath. Slender frame with room to add weight. Tenacious blocker who uses his frame to box DBs out of the play. Struggles with intermediate routes, but is good at the catch point and is a natural catcher of the football. Can sniff out soft spots in the zone, and his very good contact balance and shiftiness in space make him hard to bring down when the ball is in his hands.
Scheme Fit and Team Fits
McAlister would thrive in a system that designs plays to get the ball in his hands, utilizes his blocking ability in the screen/motion game, and uses him in an X receiver role. The 49ers, Lions, and Steelers would all be great team fits, as they value receivers who are willing and able blockers and can be YAC threats.
NFL Player Comp: Jauan Jennings
McAlister’s pro comp is Jauan Jennings, who is tall with a larger frame, is a physical blocker, and can win contested catches with great contact balance and hands at the catch point, but isn’t the fastest receiver on the field.
Projection: Low End Starter
McAlister will be a solid WR3 for his career, filling a key role in offenses early. His blocking and YAC ability will get him on the field as a rookie for offenses lacking that element in their receiving room, and he will be able to carve out his role from there.
Grade and Round Projection: 4.85, 4th Round Pick
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