Category Wide Receiver

No-Huddle Series: Iowa State WR Darius Reynolds

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Learn why Darius Reynolds has a chance to develop into a quietly formidable player in the NFL.

As Jon Gruden said during his QB Camp episode with Brandon Weeden, Iowa State is “a pretty good football team. Quietly, they’ve become formidable.” You don’t become that quietly formidable without some quietly formidable players. I think that pair of words fits wide receiver Darius Reynolds.

The Cyclones receiver ran a 4.54-40, bench pressed 225 lbs. 23 times, delivered a 6.77 three-cone drill, and posted a 35-inch vertical leap at nearly 6’2″ and 206 pounds. His three-cone time would have been third-best at the NFL Combine and his bench press reps would have topped Marvin Jones’ 22 reps as the best overall. To give you a little more perspective, all of those numbers beat Justin Blackmon’s workouts. Continue reading →

NY Times Fifth Down Top-Five Series: No.1 WR Michael Floyd

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/7dI0DqRS630]

1. Michael Floyd, Notre Dame (6-2, 220)

From the standpoint of on-field performance, I believe Floyd has the best all-around skills and talents among the receivers in this draft class. This is a talent-rich group, but none of the prospects in this class have all of the qualities that Floyd brings to the game. When evaluating the last two years of receiving talent, I believe the only receiver with more promise is A.J. Green.

One of the factors that might have clouded the picture in the evaluation of this year’s receiver class was the condition of Floyd’s right knee. While Floyd was still healing, he had to gather his steps to accelerate. If he had to make a break to the quarterback, he could not get a great bend on the knee when he had to use his right leg to plant.

However, after watching Floyd get completely healthy, [Read the rest here]

Download the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio for analysis of over 151 prospects at QB, RB, WR, and TE.

NY Times Fifth Down Top-Five Series: No.3 WR Kendall Wright

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/Y6KG1eUf37w]

3. Kendall Wright, Baylor (5-10, 196) (Video above different from video at NY Times)

There was a time that I considered Wright the best receiver in this draft class. He’s not big, but he is physical and that is what you need from an N.F.L. player with his speed and quickness. He has no problem lowering his pads into secondary defenders and bouncing off their hits for extra yardage. He is strong for his build, and his acceleration aids that strength to run through hits or grabs by a defender.

Wright adjusts well to the ball and tracks vertical passes at a high level. He ran by many college cornerbacks who gave him a cushion, without the aid of trickery. He showed that he understood how to find open zones in the Baylor offense, but his change of direction is so good that he will eventually thrive against man coverage.

His routes need refinement. He needs to be more careful about [Read the rest here]

Download the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio for analysis of over 151 prospects at QB, RB, WR, and TE.

No-Huddle Series: Ohio WR Lavon Brazill

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/9zLgtpz_XkA]

If you haven’t seen the announcement about my No-Huddle Series, read here. Since most of you don’t click links when you read (neither do I – at least not all of them), I’ll emphasize what’s important: this series is one-play displays of certain things I like about a player. They are not meant to generate sweeping conclusions of a player’s potential

Player No.1 in this series is Ohio wide receiver Lavon Brazill, a preseason All-American as a junior who missed most of that season due to injury. I have no expectation where Brazill will be drafted, if at all. I think he has skills to potentially develop into an NFL starter. I like what he flashes as a route runner, athlete, and catcher of the football. Here’s one play that embodies much of these positives: Continue reading →

Rankings Insight for This Year’s WR Class

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Marvin Jones can tell a story that keeps cornerbacks guessing a big reason he’s my No.4 WR in the NY Times RSP Series. Photo by John Martinez Pavliga.

When it comes to this series, I usually just provide a teaser of the post to the Fifth Down and link you to the rest. But with today’s receivers,  No.5 WR Greg Childs and No. 4 WR Marvin Jones, I want to discuss the thought process behind their unusually high ranking – and a few general philosophical points with how I rank players. I believe additional perspective is a good thing in this case because many of you reading this post are fantasy owners in addition to football fans and draftniks. Continue reading →

Cal WR Keenan Allen: Creating Separation With His Hands

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Keenan Allen might have DeSean Jackson’s fancy footwork in a 6’3, 205 lbs. frame, but he also flashes some quality hands in more ways than one. Photo by John Martinez Pavliga.

I’ll still be writing about 2012 NFL Draft prospects in the coming months, but with the 2012 Rookie Scouting Portfolio in the books – and available for download – I’m also beginning my work for next year’s draft. See below.

If you’ve been reading my blog for at least a couple of months then you know I have an appreciation for former Cal wide receiver Marvin Jones. As much as I enjoy his technical skill at the position, Jones’ contributions were sometimes overshadowed by the terrific athleticism of his teammate Keenan Allen. The rising junior is 6’3″, 205 lbs. of quick-twitch, X-box-inspired moves once the ball is in his hands. Continue reading →

Arkansas WR Greg Childs: Career Resurrection?

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Ryan Williams is working his way back from a Career Near-Death Experience. See what WR Greg Childs was like before his.

The Career Near-Death Experience. This is one of my favorite Bloomisms of football writing. A Bloomism is what I call the slang that Footballguys and Bleacher Report Draft Analyst Sigmund Bloom (who is also a medalist in some Writer-Olympiad) creates to encompass various football experiences, states of mind, or rights of passage in the sport.

The Career Near-Death Experience is an event where a player faces his career mortality. All players face it at some point. Those that don’t cross to the other side discover a new and better way to approach the game. Former wide receiver Cris Carter had a career near-death experience as drug addict when playing with the Philadelphia Eagles and Coach Buddy Ryan helped save the receiver with a southern fried reprise of the ghost of Christmas Future.

The career near-death experience can also manifest Continue reading →

Juron Criner: “Trust Me”

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Arizona WR Juron Criner is a “Trust Me” player. See below (trust me).

Whether it was in a stadium, the park, the street, or your friend’s back yard, I know you’ve been in a situation where you knew you could take the man assigned to you. All you had to do was convince your quarterback. The fewer the words, the better.

“Trust me.”

Continue reading →

Lloydesque Sleeper: ECU WR Lance Lewis

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[youtube=http://youtu.be/YaVwVL2wYuw]

(Warning, soundtrack not safe for work):

Brandon Lloyd was the subject of the second football-related article I ever wrote. This was two years before I launched the Rookie Scouting Portfolio. Lloyd was a fourth-round pick in his second year with the 49ers and he was beginning to make plays like the ones above.

I have always believed Lloyd was a special player with a high football IQ, flypaper hands and a skill for adjusting his body to the ball that makes one wonder if there really is a Matrix. Only Larry Fitzgerald rivals Lloyd when it comes to this aspect of playing the receiver position at the highest level.

Recently, I came across two college prospects that flash certain skills where they look almost identical to a current NFL star. One of them is Continue reading →

Vertical Goodness: Stephen Hill

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Calvin Johnson was a better prospect than Stephen Hill, but the 2012 Combine Stud has the fundamentals to become a dangerous X receiver.

Because I’m tired of picking on Stephen Hill…

I’ve been critical of the Georgia Tech receiver all week, but I’ve also been saying that the star of the Combine is more than just a gold medal winner 2012’s Underwear Olympics at Lucas Oil Stadium. Hill is a legit prospect with NFL starter upside. Although I’ve spent several pages analyzing what Hill doesn’t do, one play can encompass most of his strengths. On the surface, one good play to several not so good ones might seem heavily weighted to the negative. However, there are certain talents that don’t require lengthy analysis to value. Continue reading →