Ray_T

I think he may be able to play wide too. I'm not certain of it. but I think its possible. as for the ratings, Most I think are fair. But I'd rate him higher on ball tracking than you do. On the first case, (at 7:23 on your tape) it looks like he tracked the ball well enough to get both hands on the ball. I dont know what more you can ask in terms of tracking. the issue was that the throw was a bit ahead of him and he had to reach to make the catch. I see you also had this categorized as a hands issue and I'd agree with that. on the second case (at 11:22 on your tape) you highligted as poor ball tracking, the ball was clearly overthrown. He dove for the ball and fully stretched out his body and could only get fingertips on the ball. but he fully knew where the ball was. he just didnt have the wheels to catch up to the pass. This combined with some of the other good cases where the ball was in some cases way off target and he adjusted to the ball to make the catch, I was quite impressed with. but I am a bit concerned a bit about his hands. this may or may not be coachable. it looks like (for the most part) when he has to really reach for the ball his hands just are not as good. but keeping in mind that QB's at the NFL level will be far more accurate than what we've seen on the tape, I think he should be ok. He just probably is a #2 receiver (or a highly productive #3) and not a #1 WR. Though I think there is that upside but I dont think its highly likely that he achieves that at the NFL level.

haha I'm with you there. I love players who are playing for a contract. its almost always a good bet.

Thats actually a bit less than I thought he'd get. but at a 4 year term, he likely gets one more big payday. so maybe that's just as good for the player.

ok I just took a look at the ball tracking tape posted online here. other than the one case that was listed as an example where he didnt track the ball, that ball was off by an awful lot. its questionable if the ball was catchable. it is possible that the WR didnt read it the same as the QB and was in the wrong location. but if that's the case, that's not a ball tracking issue that's someone making the wrong read. the other examples of ball tracking looked pretty solid. in the end I think this kid will be a decent pro WR. Granted given his size teams WILL try to jam him at the line, so given his size that is a risk factor for him. a successful Jam at the LOS likely makes him easy to control. Thats where most of the risk is with this kid.

that said, the NFL QB will be far more accurate than the college QB. I have to think it wont be as big an issue at the NFL level if the ball is where it needs to be.

yeah and on a Deep Ball you need that ability. all that speed is no good if you cant track the ball.

fair enough. but they are the same type of player. Their speed was what made them viable as an NFL player. DeSean had the better hands. Heyward Bey had better speed. this kid has better speed than both of them though it is close.

yeah but all 3 had blazing speed. one comp (Jackson) was able to put together a nice career as a top WR. the other(Heyward Bey) was never much more than a field stretching WR3 with the exeception of one season where he was a solid WR2 (975 yards receiving).

I think if he goes anytime in the second round, the team getting him will get good value. I think hed be a first round pick in almost any other year, but the depth at WR in this draft has pushed him down the draft board a bit. Granted not a high first round pick but a first nonetheless. in theory, if a WR needy team (ie. Bills, Chargers) could grab one of the top WR prospects in round 1 and come back to grab him in round 2, they'd be set at the position for a decade (barring injury)

thats the thing. you dont know if you are getting Desean Jackson or Heyward-Bey. could legitimately be either or somewhere in between

after watching some of the tape, I gotta say there is a lot to like here. one catch was batted away by the defender and if hed have done a better job of coming back to the ball that may not have happened. but otherwise I've liked what I've seen a lot. where is he projected to be drafted?

from what I have seen if a team is absolutely in love with a QB they will move heaven and earth to get that player regardless of logic or reason. but this isnt San Fran. the team had a lot of depth and got lucky in grabbing Brock Purdy with a late round pick. if it wasnt for that, they might have cost their franchise a possible superbowl berth. but in the end, this is a team that has the ability to move up. they have 2 firsts already, so they dont need to sacrafice too much in the way of futures to get up there if they really want to. but I would argue that the team actually has lots of holes to fill. and the line wasnt great either. putting a vet like Cousins who is good with his reads and can get rid of the ball quickly is one thing. putting a rookie behind that line may be a completely different matter. personally, I would need to be REALLY SURE about the move if making a move like that.

possibly. I think in a year like this, 2 firsts and a 2nd might do it.. where in the first round are both of those picks?

it may be a good trade comp but its also a good example of why paying this much to move up in any draft is likely a bad idea. in a year where QB are scarce and you are extremely needy at the position I guess that's the price. but QB in this draft are rather plentiful. if they dont move up they will still have a choice of some reasonable prospects. from what I can tell, this might be the best draft for QB's in a generation. if they need a QB they will get one. whether that QB will be the right pick and right fit for the offense may be another matter.

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.