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ukur-blog-blog · 11 years ago

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2014 NFL Draft: The best wide receiver draft we've seen in years

Without a doubt there's some talent available this year at the receiver position. It would be easy to roll tight ends into this conversation, with quality such as Ebron, ASJ, and Amaro all making their transition into the NFL.

However, I want to focus on 'wide receivers', and the many 'flavours' this position comes in this year. I'll look at 4 potential first round picks and give you my opinion on them. Tweet me @fusionstyle/@ukuroughness with your own thoughts.

Sammy Watkins, Clemson

Your number one guy at this spot is Sammy Watkins out of Clemson. You can't talk about Sammy Watkins without talking speed. He ran track in high school and clocked a 100 meters time of 10.29 seconds, as a 17 year old. You add into that real football talent, a guy who has the agility and body control, that allows him to extend out of his frame and make spectacular catches, you've got a franchise receiver on your hands. He can dominate the outside for years to come.

"...clocked a 100 meters time of 10.29 seconds, as a 17 year old."

The only things you need to tidy up, route running and work over the middle, which will only come with experience in the pro game, there's no reason to believe he won't grow quickly. I could go on about Watkins, but I don't need to, his quality speaks for itself.

Marqise Lee, USC

We talk about Sammy Watkins dominating the outside for years to come, well, Marqise Lee has the potential to be explosive for any team he plays for. At 6 foot, he is smaller than Watkins, but his ability to find gaps in open field and evade tacklers will make up for any size deficiency. Lee also comes with great football smarts, and will setup defenders regularly, to burn them with a burst of speed. Durability (his junior season consisted of consistency ruining shoulder, knee and leg injuries) and ball security are concerns, especially in traffic, but his overall play-making ability will see him go in the early to mid first round.

"...his junior season consisted of consistency ruining shoulder, knee and leg injuries..."

Ultimately, it may be a year or two before we see the best of Lee, but his effect will be immediately felt in the return game. His vision is superb, and if there's a seam to find, I'd trust Lee to find it 9 times out of 10.

Mike Evans, Texas A&M

I started writing this before the combine, and I said to myself I wasn't going to mention too much of what happened in Indianapolis. With Mike Evans I feel I have to, as his performance on Sunday was exceptional. After measuring in at 6'5", 231lbs he decided to run a 4.53 40 yard dash, and went on from that to impress throughout the day, gliding through catching drills with ease, but we already knew his hands were good from his time at Texas A&M. Projected a career No.2 target, this past weekend he may have played himself into more than that.

I like Mike Evans. After seeing more and more highlights you have to love his fight for the ball. He has the raw tools to keep defensive co-ordinators awake for a decade. There will be a 2-3 year period where he will need coaching. Nuances of the game still escape him from time to time, and his route running still needs improving as he admitted;

"Everybody can improve on route running — that’s a quality to have,” Evans said. “My freshman year, I felt my route running wasn’t as good. This past year, I felt I improved."

With receivers it's easy to only think about the passing game, but you can fill a highlight reel full to the brim with run blocking with this guy, and his size allows him to bully defensive backs. Linebackers won't have much fun with him either.

I would be shocked if he's still there at 20 at this point. The Jets will hope he's around at 18. Geno would love this guy.

Kelvin Benjamin, Florida State

Against defensive backs and linebackers alike, this guy is a mismatch coaches love. If you saw his 40 yard dash over the weekend, you'll know his strides are mammoth. Due to his size he may struggle throughout his career being an elite route runner, but the fact he has size, and knows how to use it, allows him to be a hugely productive player. Red zone targets will turn out to be his bread & butter, and although he suffered with drops in his college career, he also proved he was clutch at the most important times. A game winning touchdown catch in the BCS National Championship game is a great example of that.

Coaching will improve his rather large case of 'drop-itus', allowing him to get the ball secured before heading off on the run. If his talent continues to grow he's a No.1 Receiver in the making, but he's a project that I believe is a way from being the finished article at the pro level.

"You watch a lot of receivers. You watch Larry Fitzgerald because he’s a technician and a route runner. You watch Calvin (Johnson), and he goes and gets the ball at the highest point. And then you watch the smaller guys and try to imitate their quickness off the line."

Willingness to learn and be a student of all those around him, will be the biggest keys to weather he fulfils his enormous mismatch potential.

Tweet me @fusionstyle/@ukuroughness with your own thoughts on these 4 great young receivers.

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ukur-blog-blog · 11 years ago

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Clowney and those pesky red flags

I'm going to start off with a couple of quotes from draft guru Mike Mayock;

"It's will be really fun to see him run and see him workout..."

"I see him and there are red flags all over the place..."

None of that is a surprise, or a shock. We've been hearing it from a number of sources, and a number of analysts for months now. Clowney hadn't even made it half way through his college season, and these alarm bells were ringing. Admittedly it wasn't helped by his coach saying things like...

"If he wants to play, we'll welcome him to come play for the team if he wants to. But if he doesn't want to play, he doesn't have to. Simple as that."

...in regards to his absence from the game vs Kentucky this past year.

Despite all this I'd ignored it. I had decided, as a Falcons fan, that our paltry pass rush was in a dire need of the athletic freak that Clowney is, and we should do anything to grab him, even if it meant trading up.

I was sure that the closer we got to events such as the Combine, we would see business mode Clowney appear, and he would stop all the talking by proving that he's #1 pick worthy.

Before he's even begun his workouts, his claims of a 4.4 second 40 have dashed that for me. Just as he could be removing the circus nature of his personality, he added to it. At this point, I'd be throwing up as many red flags as Mayock.

EDIT/ADDITION: Clowney continues to throw up red flags at the combine, only managing 21 reps on the bench press. There was a punter who managed more. This isn't so much about his ability to pump iron, as it is a question of effort and preparation for the task ahead. I'm not quite sure he realises, that this is his job now.

So who do you draft instead? Khalil Mack. Mike Mayock had something to say about him too:

"He can flat out play"

That's the guy I want on my team week one.

What say you?

Comment below or tweet me @UKURoughness/@fusionstyle

#jadeveon clowney #clowney #nfl #NFL Draft #combine #nfl combine #atlanta #Falcons #mayock #mike mayock #khalil mack #spurrier #college football

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