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By Nick Wagoner/Senior Writer
http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... 8257a79b29
MOBILE, Ala. – It is the very nature of the NFL Draft that perceptions will be formed in the court of public opinion long before it’s ever reached its zenith in an actual team’s draft room.
It’s why the natural assumption is that the Rams will go into this year’s NFL Draft looking to claim the top wide receiver on the board. It’s why Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon has been penned in as the best wideout on the board by pundits and wannabe pundits alike.
And while it’s certainly possible that the Rams’ need for play makers will lead to them selecting Blackmon early in April’s draft, it’s also possible that other needs or other players could take them in another direction.
That said, there’s no denying the need to add speed and game breaking ability outside the hash marks in the form of an elite receiver or two. By all indications, it appears it would take something dramatic to remove Blackmon from his spot atop the list at that position but it doesn’t mean there aren’t others who could turn out to be just as productive if not more so.
A simply glance at the NFC champion Giants provides a perfect glimpse that finding top wideouts is an inexact science. Hakeem Nicks is one of their best receivers and he was a first-round pick. Victor Cruz set team receiving records this year and he was an undrafted free agent.
Take it from Ohio State’s DeVier Posey, one of the players jockeying for position in this year’s draft, big time play makers can come from anywhere.
“How I like to talk about it is like track lanes,” Posey said. “The first round guys are in lanes 4 and 5 and they statistically are supposed to win the race. But you have guys out in lane 7 and lane 6 and the track is the same distance around in every lane so that’s what it is. If you are in a NFL camp, you have the same opportunity just like in track to win. It’s a matter of how you run the race.”
At this week’s Senior Bowl, the rosters are dotted with 12 wide receivers. Some come from powerhouse programs like Posey and the Buckeyes; others boast lesser-known credentials such as Appalachian State’s Brian Quick.
In a small sample size of the dozen wideouts in Mobile, there are some intriguing options that the Rams will evaluate and grade in the next three months.
THE LOCAL PRODUCT
If there’s any receiver in the draft that would like nothing more than to come to St. Louis and give the Rams a shot in the arm in the passing games, it’s Iowa’s Marvin McNutt.
That’s because McNutt is a St. Louis native who played his high school ball at Hazelwood Central and was an impressionable youngster in the heyday of the Greatest Show on Turf.
“I would love to come back and play for the Rams,” McNutt said. “I grew up watching as a kid and seeing those guys, just making to the next level would be a great opportunity.”
McNutt, who played quarterback in high school, didn’t play favorites when it came to watching players like Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Kurt Warner.
“Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, the whole crew I didn’t really have a favorite,” McNutt said. “You just watched those guys work together. Those guys were what you would call a crew. I started out as a quarterback but as a kid playing in the street, everybody would pick their favorite players and I always had to be one of the Rams guys.”
At 6’4, 215 pounds, McNutt’s appeal to the Rams would go well beyond the fact that he grew up a fan. After arriving in Iowa City as a quarterback, he quickly made the switch to wideout and took to the position quickly.
“God had a different plan for me. It’s been a blessing from here on out,” McNutt said. “I got to this point where I am here with top talent and it’s just an honor to be here.”
After making the difficult adjustment to the conditioning required to play receiver – i.e. running 50 yards downfield and then back nearly every play – McNutt made a quick adjustment to his new position.
McNutt capped his Iowa career with 170 catches for 2,861 yards and 28 touchdowns. As a senior, McNutt went wild to the tune of 82 catches for 1,315 yards and 12 scores. The scary part is that he’s only scratching the surface on his potential at a position that’s still relatively new to him.
“Oh definitely, that’s what I hope,” McNutt said. “From here I want to just keep on improving every day, coming out ready to work.”
THE FORGOTTEN MAN
A year ago at this time, Texas A&M receiver Jeff Fuller was widely regarded as one of the top receivers in the college game. He even considered making an early exit from College Station to the NFL.
That came on the heels of a breakout junior season in which the physically imposing (6’4, 220 pounds) Fuller put up 72 catches for 1,066 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Fuller’s production dipped a little bit in 2011 after he decided to return to the Aggies as he put up 70 catches but scored half as many touchdowns (six) and lost 3 full yards from his per catch average as he battled hamstring and turf toe injuries.
Finally healthy, Fuller arrived in Mobile this week intent to prove he’s still the top prospect he once was.
“I just want to show everybody I am the same player I was my junior year,” Fuller said. “My senior year wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. I battled injuries all year: hamstrings, turf toe…I’m healthy now and I am just looking forward to playing. I’m having a great time. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to come out and compete healthy so I am just enjoying the trip, working hard and being me, showing what I can do.”
Fuller called his senior season “really hard” and cited dropped balls and missed chances as signs that he wasn’t playing up to the standard he’d set for himself in 2010.
Back at full speed, Fuller believes he has a chance this week to emerge as one of, if not the, best receiver in the draft. Playing for Mike Sherman at Texas A&M has Fuller accustomed to NFL terminology and he says he’s been able to catch on quick to the playbook that Washington coaches Mike and Kyle Shanahan have him working on this week.
What he’s not paying much attention to is his draft stock.
“I try not to pay attention to where I’m at in the draft or if I am jumping down or jumping up,” Fuller said. “I guess I kind of do have a little chip on my shoulder because I didn’t accomplish the things I wanted to accomplish this year. Just for myself, it’s good for me to come out here and be able to do what I can do and compete.”
That doesn’t mean Fuller is ready to take a backseat to any of the receivers here or even Blackmon, against whom he competed the past three years.
“Of course, that’s why I came back,” Fuller said. “That’s what I’m shooting for and that’s what I am working hard every day to be…but I don’t feel I have anything that I need to hide in my game and I don’t put myself behind anybody.”
THE LEGACY
Many associate Ohio State football with great linebackers or even great running backs but as Posey is quick to point out, there is another position that has seen Buckeye after Buckeye come to the NFL and become an impact player: wide receiver.
Posey rattles off the names like family members.
“It’s Wide Receiver U, I like to say,” Posey said. “Back to Paul Warfield, Cris Carter, Joey Galloway, Michael Jenkins, David Boston, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Hartline, Brian Robiskie, Dane Sanzenbacher, Terry Glenn, I know I am missing some people. It’s a great lineage. To be honest, that’s why I picked that place. I wanted to be one of those guys. I wanted to be the next guy.”
Posey seemed on pace to do just that as recently as 2010 when he finished his junior season with a sophomore and junior season in which he compiled 113 catches for 1,676 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Poised for a big senior year, Posey found himself on the sidelines after the NCAA suspended him for 10 games, five for accepting cash and tattoos from a Columbus tattoo parlor and five more for being overpaid for work not rendered.
Quickly, Posey fell off the radar and had his name attached to the always tough to overcome “character” issues. He’s using this week to try to overcome lingering doubts teams are sure to have.
“I felt like missing 10 games a lot of people forgot about me,” Posey said. “So I feel like I kind of want to remind people I can still play. I know I can play at the next level. I just want to remind those people and show what I have.”
THE ELECTRIC RETURNER
Do a quick search on YouTube for Arkansas receiver Joe Adams and you are certain to find your share of jaw dropping plays. What you might not find, though, is a lot of jaw dropping plays from Adams the wide receiver.
Instead, you can see Adam darting away from would be tacklers on special teams or even taking an end around or reverse the distance from 92 yards as he did against Auburn this year.
Not that Adams isn’t capable of big plays in the passing game but he did return more punts (four) for touchdowns in 2011 than he had touchdown catches (three).
So this week, it’s Adams’ goal to make the NFL cognoscenti see that he can hurt opponents on offense as much as special teams.
“(I want to) open up some scouts eyes and GM’s eyes that I can be a great receiver and that I am a great receiver and I can also be a great returner,” Adams said.
Adams is listed at 5’11, 190 pounds but even he admits it’s a generous listing. Still, he looks at players like Carolina’s Steve Smith and knows that it’s not about how big you are.
“They say I am small but I played in the SEC,” Adams said. “I feel like I play like I’m 6 foot, 240 pounds. It’s a point of honor which is why I come out and do my best every day in practice so I can be one of those top guys.”
http://www.stlouisrams.com/news-and-eve ... 8257a79b29
MOBILE, Ala. – It is the very nature of the NFL Draft that perceptions will be formed in the court of public opinion long before it’s ever reached its zenith in an actual team’s draft room.
It’s why the natural assumption is that the Rams will go into this year’s NFL Draft looking to claim the top wide receiver on the board. It’s why Oklahoma State’s Justin Blackmon has been penned in as the best wideout on the board by pundits and wannabe pundits alike.
And while it’s certainly possible that the Rams’ need for play makers will lead to them selecting Blackmon early in April’s draft, it’s also possible that other needs or other players could take them in another direction.
That said, there’s no denying the need to add speed and game breaking ability outside the hash marks in the form of an elite receiver or two. By all indications, it appears it would take something dramatic to remove Blackmon from his spot atop the list at that position but it doesn’t mean there aren’t others who could turn out to be just as productive if not more so.
A simply glance at the NFC champion Giants provides a perfect glimpse that finding top wideouts is an inexact science. Hakeem Nicks is one of their best receivers and he was a first-round pick. Victor Cruz set team receiving records this year and he was an undrafted free agent.
Take it from Ohio State’s DeVier Posey, one of the players jockeying for position in this year’s draft, big time play makers can come from anywhere.
“How I like to talk about it is like track lanes,” Posey said. “The first round guys are in lanes 4 and 5 and they statistically are supposed to win the race. But you have guys out in lane 7 and lane 6 and the track is the same distance around in every lane so that’s what it is. If you are in a NFL camp, you have the same opportunity just like in track to win. It’s a matter of how you run the race.”
At this week’s Senior Bowl, the rosters are dotted with 12 wide receivers. Some come from powerhouse programs like Posey and the Buckeyes; others boast lesser-known credentials such as Appalachian State’s Brian Quick.
In a small sample size of the dozen wideouts in Mobile, there are some intriguing options that the Rams will evaluate and grade in the next three months.
THE LOCAL PRODUCT
If there’s any receiver in the draft that would like nothing more than to come to St. Louis and give the Rams a shot in the arm in the passing games, it’s Iowa’s Marvin McNutt.
That’s because McNutt is a St. Louis native who played his high school ball at Hazelwood Central and was an impressionable youngster in the heyday of the Greatest Show on Turf.
“I would love to come back and play for the Rams,” McNutt said. “I grew up watching as a kid and seeing those guys, just making to the next level would be a great opportunity.”
McNutt, who played quarterback in high school, didn’t play favorites when it came to watching players like Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt and Kurt Warner.
“Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt, the whole crew I didn’t really have a favorite,” McNutt said. “You just watched those guys work together. Those guys were what you would call a crew. I started out as a quarterback but as a kid playing in the street, everybody would pick their favorite players and I always had to be one of the Rams guys.”
At 6’4, 215 pounds, McNutt’s appeal to the Rams would go well beyond the fact that he grew up a fan. After arriving in Iowa City as a quarterback, he quickly made the switch to wideout and took to the position quickly.
“God had a different plan for me. It’s been a blessing from here on out,” McNutt said. “I got to this point where I am here with top talent and it’s just an honor to be here.”
After making the difficult adjustment to the conditioning required to play receiver – i.e. running 50 yards downfield and then back nearly every play – McNutt made a quick adjustment to his new position.
McNutt capped his Iowa career with 170 catches for 2,861 yards and 28 touchdowns. As a senior, McNutt went wild to the tune of 82 catches for 1,315 yards and 12 scores. The scary part is that he’s only scratching the surface on his potential at a position that’s still relatively new to him.
“Oh definitely, that’s what I hope,” McNutt said. “From here I want to just keep on improving every day, coming out ready to work.”
THE FORGOTTEN MAN
A year ago at this time, Texas A&M receiver Jeff Fuller was widely regarded as one of the top receivers in the college game. He even considered making an early exit from College Station to the NFL.
That came on the heels of a breakout junior season in which the physically imposing (6’4, 220 pounds) Fuller put up 72 catches for 1,066 yards and 12 touchdowns.
Fuller’s production dipped a little bit in 2011 after he decided to return to the Aggies as he put up 70 catches but scored half as many touchdowns (six) and lost 3 full yards from his per catch average as he battled hamstring and turf toe injuries.
Finally healthy, Fuller arrived in Mobile this week intent to prove he’s still the top prospect he once was.
“I just want to show everybody I am the same player I was my junior year,” Fuller said. “My senior year wasn’t as good as I wanted it to be. I battled injuries all year: hamstrings, turf toe…I’m healthy now and I am just looking forward to playing. I’m having a great time. It’s been a long time since I’ve been able to come out and compete healthy so I am just enjoying the trip, working hard and being me, showing what I can do.”
Fuller called his senior season “really hard” and cited dropped balls and missed chances as signs that he wasn’t playing up to the standard he’d set for himself in 2010.
Back at full speed, Fuller believes he has a chance this week to emerge as one of, if not the, best receiver in the draft. Playing for Mike Sherman at Texas A&M has Fuller accustomed to NFL terminology and he says he’s been able to catch on quick to the playbook that Washington coaches Mike and Kyle Shanahan have him working on this week.
What he’s not paying much attention to is his draft stock.
“I try not to pay attention to where I’m at in the draft or if I am jumping down or jumping up,” Fuller said. “I guess I kind of do have a little chip on my shoulder because I didn’t accomplish the things I wanted to accomplish this year. Just for myself, it’s good for me to come out here and be able to do what I can do and compete.”
That doesn’t mean Fuller is ready to take a backseat to any of the receivers here or even Blackmon, against whom he competed the past three years.
“Of course, that’s why I came back,” Fuller said. “That’s what I’m shooting for and that’s what I am working hard every day to be…but I don’t feel I have anything that I need to hide in my game and I don’t put myself behind anybody.”
THE LEGACY
Many associate Ohio State football with great linebackers or even great running backs but as Posey is quick to point out, there is another position that has seen Buckeye after Buckeye come to the NFL and become an impact player: wide receiver.
Posey rattles off the names like family members.
“It’s Wide Receiver U, I like to say,” Posey said. “Back to Paul Warfield, Cris Carter, Joey Galloway, Michael Jenkins, David Boston, Santonio Holmes, Ted Ginn, Anthony Gonzalez, Brian Hartline, Brian Robiskie, Dane Sanzenbacher, Terry Glenn, I know I am missing some people. It’s a great lineage. To be honest, that’s why I picked that place. I wanted to be one of those guys. I wanted to be the next guy.”
Posey seemed on pace to do just that as recently as 2010 when he finished his junior season with a sophomore and junior season in which he compiled 113 catches for 1,676 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Poised for a big senior year, Posey found himself on the sidelines after the NCAA suspended him for 10 games, five for accepting cash and tattoos from a Columbus tattoo parlor and five more for being overpaid for work not rendered.
Quickly, Posey fell off the radar and had his name attached to the always tough to overcome “character” issues. He’s using this week to try to overcome lingering doubts teams are sure to have.
“I felt like missing 10 games a lot of people forgot about me,” Posey said. “So I feel like I kind of want to remind people I can still play. I know I can play at the next level. I just want to remind those people and show what I have.”
THE ELECTRIC RETURNER
Do a quick search on YouTube for Arkansas receiver Joe Adams and you are certain to find your share of jaw dropping plays. What you might not find, though, is a lot of jaw dropping plays from Adams the wide receiver.
Instead, you can see Adam darting away from would be tacklers on special teams or even taking an end around or reverse the distance from 92 yards as he did against Auburn this year.
Not that Adams isn’t capable of big plays in the passing game but he did return more punts (four) for touchdowns in 2011 than he had touchdown catches (three).
So this week, it’s Adams’ goal to make the NFL cognoscenti see that he can hurt opponents on offense as much as special teams.
“(I want to) open up some scouts eyes and GM’s eyes that I can be a great receiver and that I am a great receiver and I can also be a great returner,” Adams said.
Adams is listed at 5’11, 190 pounds but even he admits it’s a generous listing. Still, he looks at players like Carolina’s Steve Smith and knows that it’s not about how big you are.
“They say I am small but I played in the SEC,” Adams said. “I feel like I play like I’m 6 foot, 240 pounds. It’s a point of honor which is why I come out and do my best every day in practice so I can be one of those top guys.”