For me, the most pro-ready and best all around prospect at WR is Amari Cooper. He would come in and immediately start across from Bowe and eventually replace him as the primary WR.
What's wrong with Sammy Coates?
The guy has all of the tools in the world, I would equate him to Vernon Davis but at the WR position, but he hasn't produced much at all this season. Coates isn't even close to being his team's leading receiver so I'm not going to blame it on the scheme. Physically, Coates looks like a top 10 pick but his production is that of a mid to late rounder. Where would you take him?
Any thoughts on Coates' teammate, D'haquille Williams?
There is a massive difference in production between he and Sammy Coates so far this year; yes, this could be entirely due to Coates being injured from the Arkansas game but Coates only caught one pass in that game and dropped a possible TD pass despite playing 52 snaps against the Razorbacks. Williams is a JUCO transfer with good size, speed, and explosiveness, though not on the same level as Coates as far as pure physical ability goes. Is he a potential #1 WR or just a 2 at best?
Does DGB declare? If so, do you even dare to touch him given his off-field issues?
Despite not playing this season, I think that there is a real possibility that DGB does declare for the 2015 NFL draft; he just doesn't seem like the type of person who would be willing to go through another year of college over getting paid as a pro athlete. If he does declare, what round would you be willing to take a risk on him? The guy has had problems with at least two key NFL issues, abuse of women and weed. DGB has top 5 talent but an off-field reputation that would have him banned from the league if he had committed those acts as a Pro.
Do Jaelen Strong, Kevin White, or Devante Parker have enough speed to be potential #1 WRs? If not, are their other gifts good enough for them to be close to what Larry Fitzgerald has been in the league?
Is Stefon Diggs actually that fast? When I watch him, I don't see the same dimension of speed that guys like Jackson, Wallace, etc have. I'll be very curious to see what he actually runs at the Combine.
Who are you guys keeping your eyes on this year at the WR position? [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Hardy just seems like a guy that will inevitably get pushed down due to measurables, get drafted with a chip on his shoulder, work his ass off and be a mother fer for years.
Or he could bust. Lol
:-) I think he gets pushed down due to positional fit because of measurables. That'll I'll say. Same reason Tyler Lockett isn't going to go in the first round. I don't think either one is going to fail. I think Hardy will be damn good. I just can't see him being on the outside. Put him set back off the line and let him use his agility to beat corners on slants, ins, outs, etc, without a jam. He's perfect for a West Coast team needing a slot guy. Hell, maybe a team does try him outside as an X and it might work in a horizontal system. [Reply]
Positionally at this point, the Chiefs need an X to go with Maclin. It sucks because one of the top two guys (Cooper and White) would be good fits, but I think Parker would be an ideal fit with that big body he's got. I'm more intrigued with DGB doing it, but with all the stuff around him, who knows.
I'm afraid alot of the guys that will go later like Dorsett and Lockett, are going to end up being a little liek you say, slot only guys.
Devin Smith is pretty interesting in that he could be very Desean Jackson ish. [Reply]
Originally Posted by O.city:
Positionally at this point, the Chiefs need an X to go with Maclin. It sucks because one of the top two guys (Cooper and White) would be good fits, but I think Parker would be an ideal fit with that big body he's got. I'm more intrigued with DGB doing it, but with all the stuff around him, who knows.
I'm afraid alot of the guys that will go later like Dorsett and Lockett, are going to end up being a little liek you say, slot only guys.
Devin Smith is pretty interesting in that he could be very Desean Jackson ish.
Originally Posted by :
“Obviously he’s a player who can get behind the secondary, something we really haven’t had the last several years,” Hunt said. “He’s a player that Andy was familiar with and maybe even more important, Jeremy’s familiar with Andy and our offense, so he’s somebody that should ... be effective sooner. He’s another player who is great in the locker room, and finally, Andy thinks he’s one of the best route runners he’s ever had at the position.
Anyone know much about this kid? Just read about his pro-day, from Pitt State, same school that John Brown came from. He looks really natural at catching the ball and tested really well.
Originally Posted by :
Gavin Lutman was a bit of an unknown to scouts as he was unable to attend junior timing day a year ago while Pittsburg State figured out his eligibility. On the field in 2014, Lutman produced 70 receptions for 1,196 yards and 13 scores.
At today's workout, Lutman turned heads with his testing numbers. His measurements were 6-3, 214 pounds, and he then went on to touch 36 inches in the vertical jump, 10-5 in the broad jump and time 4.46 seconds in the 40. Lutman's 3-cone drill was a swift 6.65 seconds and, he was timed at 4.09 seconds in the short shuttle.
Scouts were evidently beside themselves as to not even ranking Lutman through the season. Compared to Jon Brown, the former Pittsburg State star coming off to a tremendous rookie campaign in the NFL, scouts say Lutman, though slower, has a size advantage and is more natural catching at the ball.
Read more at http://walterfootball.com/proday.php...0x1ilPIa1C4.99
Originally Posted by :
Football Outsiders' Playmaker Score disappointingly ranks WR Dorial Green-Beckham as the No. 13 receiver in the class and offers Jonathan Baldwin and Yatil Green as similar historical prospects.
We'll allow FO's Nathan Forster to explain. "Playmaker Score sometimes has trouble with players like Green-Beckham, who had limited college action and thus are less likely to produce a sample size sufficiently meaningful to forecast their futures," Forster wrote. "However, Green-Beckham was not particularly impressive in either of his two seasons of college football." Indeed, DGB had only had only 883 receiving yards during his sophomore season, the most productive of his two campaigns, even though Missouri passed 414 times that year. As Forster pointed out, L'Damian Washington (893 yards) was actually the team's No. 1 receiver that year: "In contrast to Green-Beckham's high draft grade this year, Washington went undrafted in 2014 and has been kicking around various practice squads. Granted, Washington didn't run a 4.49 40-yard dash at 6-5, 237 pounds, but the point is that Green-Beckham's lack of elite production is a red flag in our model."
Man, looks like some of you were right in comparing him to Baldwin. [Reply]
The 2014 wide receiver draft class has only a year in the books, but is on track to possibly become the best ever. Ten rookie wide receivers went over 500 yards receiving in their initial season. Three of those went over 1,000. Although the success of these players is incredible, it can hardly be called surprising. Not only did scouts predict a big year for rookie receivers, but Football Outsiders' system for projecting wide receivers -- Playmaker Score -- anticipated that the 2014 class was loaded with wide receivers who were likely to be successful in the pros.
Can the 2015 draft class match its predecessors' accomplishments? According to Playmaker Score, probably not. Although the 2015 class includes some strong prospects and a sprinkling of interesting sleepers, there are also a number of players with bust potential, rated higher by scouts than by Playmaker Score. It adds up to a potentially good, but not great, class of pass-catchers.
What follows is a ranking of the top receiver prospects for 2015 according to our model, including a projection for the average number of regular-season receiving yards that each wide receiver will gain per year over the course of his first five NFL seasons (for a full explanation of how Playmaker Score works, you can find the criteria at the bottom of this article):
1. Amari Cooper, Alabama
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 643 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 3 overall Similar historical prospects: Marvin Harrison, A.J. Green
Cooper is currently rated by Mel Kiper and Todd McShay as the best wide receiver prospect in this class, and he hits most of Playmaker's buttons. Cooper had an impressive junior campaign, gaining 1,727 receiving yards and 16 touchdowns. Moreover, there is also nothing about Cooper's situation that gives reason to doubt Playmaker's numbers. Unlike many wide receiver prospects in this year's draft, Cooper did not play in the spread, and he faced some of the toughest college defenses in the country. Historically, Cooper probably best compares to Indianapolis Colts great Marvin Harrison as a prospect; Cooper was not quite as dominant as Harrison was at Syracuse, but the mid-'90s Big East wasn't a match for today's SEC, either.
2. Nelson Agholor, USC
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 501 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 37 overall Similar historical prospects: Terry Glenn, Ike Hilliard
Agholor hopes to break USC out of a wide receiver-producing slump that has included first-round busts such as Mike Williams and R. Jay Soward. More recent draft picks Robert Woods and Marqise Lee have had their moments, but haven't yet broken out. Agholor was a reasonably productive receiver at USC, with 1,313 receiving yards and 12 touchdowns.
3. Breshad Perriman, UCF
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 491 Yards/season Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 45 overall Similar historical prospects: Kenny Britt, Darrell Jackson
The son of former Detroit Lions wideout Brett Perriman was a consistently productive receiver for the UCF Knights during his career, including a stellar junior year despite a huge drop-off at quarterback from Blake Bortles to Justin Holman. Perriman enters the draft as an underclassman, has an impressive 19.5 yards per catch average, and his other Playmaker numbers are solid. He put up 40 times of 4.24 and 4.27 at his pro day on Wednesday.
4. Sammie Coates, Auburn
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 461 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 67 overall Similar historical prospects: Demaryius Thomas, Stephen Hill
When Coates was a sophomore, 2.5 percent of Auburn's pass attempts were touchdown passes to Coates. Similarly, Coates dominated his team's passing attack as a junior, gaining 3.16 yards per team attempt. Coates also averaged a superb 21.4 yards per catch and is entering the draft as an underclassman. However, while Coates' rate stats were good, his total stats were not that impressive, with only 741 receiving yards and four touchdowns as a junior. Auburn averaged fewer than 300 passing attempts per year while Coates was on the roster. Indeed, Coates' numbers may simply be a function of an offense where a few deep passes to Coates served as a change-of-pace, rather than a true reflection of Coates' ability as a wide receiver. In that regard, Coates is hauntingly similar to a huge bust that Playmaker Score loved: Stephen Hill. Coates' scouting report is similar; like Hill, Coates is a limited route-runner with inconsistent hands.
5. Jaelen Strong, Arizona State
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 449
Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 27 overall Similar historical prospects: Michael Crabtree, Chris Chambers
Strong had a nice performance at the scouting combine, running a 4.44 40-yard dash and producing a 42-inch vertical jump at 6-foot-2, 217 pounds, but that only helps his projection a little. His college production was good, but not great, given that the Sun Devils passed the ball a healthy 467 times.
6. Devin Smith, Ohio State
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 427 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 25 overall Similar historical prospects: Mike Wallace, Javon Walker
Smith had only 33 receptions as a junior. However, when he caught the ball, he made big plays, averaging 20.7 yards per reception and scoring a touchdown on more than a third of his passes.
7. Tyler Lockett, Kansas State
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 423 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 65 overall Similar historical prospects: Roddy White, Lee Evans
Playmaker Score usually dislikes wide receivers who enter the NFL Draft as seniors, but it makes an exception for Lockett, who was absolutely dominant as a junior. Lockett somehow managed to post 1,264 receiving yards and 11 touchdowns that year, even though Kansas State only passed 314 times.
8. Kevin White, West Virginia
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 406 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 4 overall Similar historical prospects: Michael Floyd, Donnie Avery
Kevin White AP Photo/Julio Cortez Despite his lofty stock, the Playmaker Score is not in love with Kevin White's production. The case against White begins with the fact that he is entering the NFL as a senior, rather than as an underclassman. White's total numbers for his senior year were good: he had 1,447 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns. However, the numbers for senior wide receivers who succeed at the NFL level are often much better than White's, especially considering that the West Virginia Mountaineers threw the ball 534 times. Kendall Wright, for example, entered the draft as a senior, but had more impressive totals: 1,663 receiving yards in only 424 team passing attempts. Jordan Matthews, who entered last year's draft as a senior, had similar total yards numbers (1,477), but did so in fewer team passing attempts (376). White may have impressed with a 4.35 second 40-yard dash at the combine, but all else being equal, the combine 40 isn't a consistent predictor of future NFL success for receivers.
9. DeVante Parker, Louisville
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 404 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 12 overall Similar historical prospects: Bryant Johnson, Peter Warrick
At least Kevin White fans can argue that White played through his senior year because of his two years at junior college. Parker doesn't even have that excuse. Parker has been playing college football for a full four years, and he has never topped 1,000 yards receiving. It's not as if he had a weak supporting cast either: as a junior he had the benefit of catching passes from first-round pick Teddy Bridgewater at his pre-NFL peak. A future starting NFL wide receiver should have put up video game-like numbers in these conditions, but Parker produced only 885 yards. Parker put up some nice per-game numbers as a senior after returning from an early injury, but if Parker had the talent level of a Julio Jones, he would already be in the NFL. [Reply]
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 403 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 87 overall Similar historical prospects: Antonio Brown, Az-Zahir Hakim
Playmaker's 2015 sleeper favorite was a five-star recruit out of high school and had a great freshman season in 2012, catching 54 passes for 848 yards and six touchdowns while also rushing for 114 yards on 20 attempts. These numbers are more impressive in context, as Maryland only attempted 304 passes that year and Diggs was catching passes from a trio of freshman quarterbacks. Diggs is only regarded as a mid-to-late round prospect by conventional wisdom because his sophomore and junior years were marred by injury and inconsistency. It's true that these injury concerns could return to haunt Diggs' professional career, but at the low price of a mid-to-late round pick, the upside that Diggs teased as a freshman is well worth the gamble.
11. Devin Funchess, Michigan
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 402 Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 35 overall Similar historical prospects: Brian Hartline, Greg Little
Funchess drops lower on this list because of his low touchdown rate; he has never scored more than six touchdowns in a single season. Since 2000, only three junior wide receivers have been drafted in the top 100 picks despite never topping 750 yards or six touchdowns in a college season: Hartline, Little, and Yamon Figurs.
12. Phillip Dorsett, Miami (FL)
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 391 yards/season Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 46 overall Similar historical prospects: Mark Clayton, James Jones
The same problems that affect Parker's projection plague Dorsett's as well. Like Parker, Dorsett is entering the draft as a senior and lacks a year of the extremely good production that is typical of the senior wide receivers who go on to succeed in the NFL.
13. Dorial Green-Beckham, Missouri/Oklahoma
Projected yards per first 5 seasons: 373
Scouts, Inc. rank: No. 31 overall Similar historical prospects: Jonathan Baldwin, Yatil Green
Playmaker Score sometimes has trouble with players like Green-Beckham who have had limited college action, and thus are less likely to produce a sample size sufficiently meaningful to forecast their futures. However, Green-Beckham was not particularly impressive in either of his two seasons of college football. During his best season, his sophomore year, Green-Beckham had only 883 receiving yards, even though the Missouri Tigers passed a healthy 414 times. Green-Beckham was not even the Tigers' No. 1 receiver: his teammate L'Damian Washington edged him out with 893 receiving yards. In contrast to Green-Beckham's high draft grade this year, Washington went undrafted in 2014, and has been since kicking around various practice squads. Granted, Washington didn't run a 4.49 40-yard dash at 6-5, 237 pounds, but the point is that Green-Beckham's lack of elite production is a red flag in our model.
Playmaker Score is based on a statistical analysis of all of the Division I wide receivers drafted in the years 1996-2012, and measures the following:
• The wide receiver's projected draft position. These projections use the rankings from ESPN's Scouts, Inc.;
• The wide receiver prospect's best or "peak" season for receiving yards per team attempt (i.e. a wide receiver with 1,000 receiving yards whose team passed 400 times would score a "2.50"); The wide receiver prospect's peak season for receiving touchdowns per team attempt;
• The difference between the prospect's peak season for receiving touchdowns per team and the prospect's most recent season for receiving touchdowns per team attempt (this factor is simply "0" for a player whose peak season was his most recent season);
• The wide receiver's vertical jump from pre-draft workouts; A variable that rewards players who enter the draft as underclassmen and punishes those who exhaust their college eligibility; The wide receiver's college career yards per reception, and;
• The wide receiver's rushing attempts per game during their peak season for receiving yards per team attempt. [Reply]
I'm not shitting you. The best guy in this draft for this system. I'd pull the trigger on him in the second round.
I began mocking this kid in like the 6th round as a sleeper back as early as at least October. You guys know I'm high on this guy. He's not much of a sleeper anymore given everyone seems to know about the kid and he's risen from a late round at best type to a 3rd rounder on many boards. He's got some skills and could be a very good pro. [Reply]
The draft is so deep at WR that some of the lower round guys would probably be better off if they were switched to CB.
Sammie Coates is a great example. He is 6'1, and at 210 lbs he ran a 4.43 forty. He has everything you could want in a WR excep hands. He should have been a cb. [Reply]
