Matt's thoughts on WRs plus the rest of impressions in January...In
bold, that's the ones I like
...
http://mattwaldmanrsp.com/2016/01/07/early-january-brain-dump/
Wide Receiver
Rashawn Scott does the dirty work.
If there was a code word for “fade route” named after a receiver, I’d call it “Devin Lucien.” The Arizona State receiver is nearly automatic on these routes. The UCLA transfer and his quarterback are locked in with this style of pattern.
Two UCLA receivers that I think will carve out NFL careers are Jordan Payton and Devin Fuller. I’d be surprised if Payton weighs 212 pounds. He looks like he’s 225-230 pounds and a lot of it has to do with how comfortable he is in the physical aspects of the receiving game.
Fuller has skills to build on, the speed to win down field and the versatility to earn a role on special teams. I don’t know for sure if he has the same palette of skills as Nate Washington, but the journeyman receiver who plays well enough to endear himself to a quarterback where ever he goes, comes to mind when I see Fuller’s game.
With more colleges spreading the field, there are more slot receivers worth watching. Casey Martin of Southern Mississippi finds the open zone and makes difficult adjustments to off-target throws. He has a habit with his route running that I hate, but I think it’s easy to eliminate with a little practice and more technique added to his game.
Jaydon Mickens has potential to win against zone and man coverage in the NFL. He’s a pinball after the catch. If Mickens is a pinball, then Jakeem Grant is pinball operated by a joystick with a master video game player doing the work. These two players, despite weighing less than 180 pounds, have the skills to at last earn a cup of coffee as return specialists.
Daniel Braverman might be the best all-around slot prospect of this bunch. He also has the best vertical game of the four.
Will Fuller is a passive catcher of the football. I’ll be providing video evidence and explaining why passive catch techniques are correctable, but they limit a player’s game on the perimeter, in tight coverage, and in the red zone.
There’s a lot of love for
Corey Coleman and much of it is well-deserved. But watch the Oklahoma State game and you’ll see a player who had difficulty against physical coverage. It could be one bad game, but it’s worth noting.
Sterling Shepard is a fave of mine. If you saw my short video tutorial on vertical routes with Shepard as the teacher, you get a glimpse as to why. He’s a tough, smart, versatile football player. I always want those guys on my team.
Rashawn Scott hasn’t had the career that his talent was capable of fulfilling, but if there’s a receiver to follow in Allen Hurns’ footsteps as a surprise NFL starter with an unheralded college career, Scott is one of my nominees. I like how he wins the ball and the intelligence he displays as a runner. The biggest question might be whether he has the maturity to handle the profession of football player–and I’m speculating about this point.
Two players I haven’t seen enough to supply more glowing opinions are Montana’s Jamaal Jones and
Tajae Sharpe. I like what they do around the ball, but there’s a lot more to playing the position to set that up where I think the jury is still out for me as I work through the evaluation process.
I’m thankful Cincinnati’s Chris Moore will be in Mobile. His scheme doesn’t ask him to do enough to deliver as strong of an evaluation as I can perform on most of his peers.
Toledo’s Alonzo Russell frustrates me. I think he relies too much on his physical skills and he has moments where he should be slapping himself in the forehead for what he did or didn’t do.
Tulsa’s Keyarris Garrett and Mississippi State’s
De’Runnya Wilson have greater promise than the grades I’ve currently assigned them after limited exposures to their games. I won’t be surprised if their statuses rise as I see them do more things on the field. Both are big, physical, display hand-eye coordination, and illustrate smarts on the field for their specific roles.
