Ray_T

yeah, picking him that early is not something I see happening. even round 2 or 3 is a stretch but he has some nice skills. if a coach thinks he can fix some of the guys issues (and some can likely be fixed with pro level coaching) maybe hes a day 2 pick.

yes, not utilizing a player in their highest and best use can also lead to subpar stats. not sure what else to say. I wouldnt draft him on day one. likely not day 2 either. but Day 3 I'd draft him all day long.

possibly. personally I think pro level coaching can fix some of his route running and resolve at least a portion of his drops. there are a couple where I think he just lost focus plain and simple. I'm not sure if that can be fixed with coaching but plenty of good WRs at the pro level will, on occasion have drops like this. but given the amount of depth there is at the position I'd be surprised if this kid went on day 1 of the draft. I think hes likely a day 2 pick.

well, hes not a first round pick. but maybe round 2. intitially I didnt like the drops but then I looked at a couple and specifically the one noted at 0:00 of his tape. that was listed as an example of bad hands but I think that ball was overthrown. I'm not 100% sure it was catchable. I note that the video quality on some of this tape wasnt great but I dont see enough on this play to blame his hands. but at the same time you look at a guy like Marvin Harrison who has a superb catch radius this kid is definitely inferior. but a couple of his so called drops were high balls. the one looked uncatchable, the other was high also but might have been catchable if his technique was a little better. even so he was jumping to get at that ball. I dont necessarily blame him for dropping it. one was an over the shoulder catch, and I think that was more a tracking issue than a hands issue (though could be both) and there are a couple that he just plain dropped. but the tape wasnt as bad as I thought. this guy likely makes a good WR2 but has some WR1 potential. hes likely a 2nd round pick. maybe third? but not round 1.

well, as a QB if you cant play with that group of WR, you probably should just retire.

thing I do like about Penix and Nix, they are quick decision makers. a Trait that usually makes or breaks a QB at the pro level. some talented college guys just cant read and react fast enough to make it work. those who have the faster processing speed have a tendency to have that ability to slow down the game (in their own mind) and make the right call. Thats not to say these guys will be better than the guys drafted ahead of them but it wouldnt surprise me if one of these guys ends up having a decent career.

the scouting report suggests focus drops and hand positioning were the cause of several of the drops focus is a hard thing to coach, but hand positioning is something that is coachable for sure. so it may not be as bad as advertised. that said, assuming this remains an issue hes a good field stretching #4 WR (floor). Hes still smallish, so there will always be physical issues with DB's bullying him and knocking him off his route. likely his max upside is that of a #2 WR. While he does have the potential to be a #1 WR I think the odds of him getting that far is slim given the deficiencies we already know. if he can fix the hands issue, that likely makes him a WR3 or better.

Never a DND list. guy has talent. he just cant stay healthy. hes a late round flyer and if he pans out it could put you over the top at little to no cost. if hes injured as he usually is, you havent bet the farm. its just a late round lotto pick. You can afford to miss on one or two of those. If other people want to take him in the first 3 or 4 rounds, you dont sweat it. risk is way too high to grab a guy like that so early. Even if they announce hes the starter I'd be very scared to draft him in round 4. you also have to remember, a RB always looks good running behind a good line, and the line in Baltimore is better than the line the Chargers will roll out this year. so injury is not the only risk here.

yep. I'd say as a WR, its far easier to look good when you have a good QB.

honestly, this is one of those years that's so deep it wouldnt surprise me at all if its a year like the year marino was drafted. he was like the 5th QB off the board or something. still in the first, but late. I have a feeling one of the later drafted QB's (later than the midpoint of round 1) will light it up. granted I have nothing to base that off of other than there is a lot of depth at the position in this draft but also because drafting QB can be a bit of a crapshoot. I'm not sure Darnold should be anyones guy. but you are correct in the sense hes likely the best QB on the roster so far. but the bar IS very low.

yeah, but if playing out of the slot, you are also taking a lot more hits at the same time as or right after making your catch. So the drop rate for a slot guy will always be higher than your outside WR. Still.... not a stat you like to see.

if doing that, might as well use him to get a top pick. if going full rebuild, then might as well rebuild fully. though I would argue that their line needs help. Not sure you wanna put a rookie in behind that line.

well, nearly all the tools are in the toolbox. Now its mostly a way of figuring out how to use those tools at the pro level and (hopefully) landing with a QB/coach combo that can make good use of his talents. given his speed, there will be plenty of corners giving him a cushon cuz they dont wanna get beat deep. Speed brings a lot of things that make up for deficiencies elsewhere. if running a 4.3 40 I doubt that double coverage matters much if he can easily outrun the coverage. but that wont play a role until hes at a point where teams want to double cover him. So there is time for the pro level coaching to make sure he knows how to deal with that when it comes.

for sure. hes a first rounder. for the record I was not bashing the guy. like I said, its hard to estimate a players true upside when the double coverage was usually on another player on the team. beating double coverage is usually the sign that the guy has the upside of an elite #1 WR. we never saw much of this because that double coverage was usually on Nabers. so its hard to say just what type of upside he truly has. its kind of like Leveon Bell. he could catch balls but his college team didnt utilize that part of his skillset anywhere close to the max of his ability so he was drafted lower in the draft than he should have been because that part of his skillset was not known on draft day. that may actually be the case here. he could possibly be the best WR coming out of the draft. right now that's not the prediction but it is one of the many possible outcomes we could see at the pro level. he could also just end up being that high end #2 WR. Tough to say for sure. its just a shame he had to live in the shadow of Nabers.

yeah, one scouting report I saw said they loved what they saw but they couldnt predict whether he will be a #1 WR as he benefitted from being on a very talented team With Nabers on the other side, he did not see double teams very often. (nor should he) so based on the tape I've seen there are two possibilities. 1) hes as good as advertised and can beat double teams and is a true #1 WR. or 2) he struggles with double teams (especially early in his career) and caps off at being a very good #2 WR. so while there are questions here, I still think he has a fairly high floor. I have questions about his ceiling though the measurables are all there. That said the issue above is one that is not his fault. but when you dont see the double team often, then its hard to say just how high your ceiling actually is. Granted a good, pro level receiving coach should be able to work with him but I do think its likely he doesnt fully break out in year 1 unless there is already a proven alpha WR on the roster to keep the double teams to a minimum. I do not expect him to go early in round 1 so its possible he lands on a pretty good team if he goes late in round 1. I think that would actually be better for his early career upside