I'd take Richardson. I dont see anything about Blackmon's game that scream wow, thats a top 5 pick. Not size, not hands, not route running, not speed etc.. I see Michael Crabbtree when I watch him. I don't think he'll be the best WR out of this class, I just don't know who I think will be better than him. Could make case for several.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
Quote: I'd take Richardson. I dont see anything about Blackmon's game that scream wow, thats a top 5 pick. Not size, not hands, not route running, not speed etc.. I see Michael Crabbtree when I watch him. I don't think he'll be the best WR out of this class, I just don't know who I think will be better than him. Could make case for several.
I think that Blackmon will be an elite receiver and I never liked Crabbtree, so I don't agree with that comparison what so ever.
What about Blackmon do you like or makes you think he'll be elite. I probably only saw 4 OK St games this last season, and maybe 4 or 5 the year before.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
Quote: What about Blackmon do you like or makes you think he'll be elite. I probably only saw 4 OK St games this last season, and maybe 4 or 5 the year before.
Quote: What about Blackmon do you like or makes you think he'll be elite. I probably only saw 4 OK St games this last season, and maybe 4 or 5 the year before.
He has elite hands and body control.
That and his ability with the ball in his hands to make YAC. He also plays much bigger then his size would indicate, illustrated nicely by the Sports Science video (10'11" of reach), so it's hard to over throw this cat.
I disagree. He drops a decent amount of passes and I have yet to see him listed anywhere as having elite hands. I think Alshon Jeffery has the best hands in this draft at the WR spot.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
He dropped five passes last season, which may not seem like a lot. But it is when you consider that Jeffery had just one drop last season and Broyles had none. Source: ESPN
He also dropped passes at his pro day. Sorry but the kid lacks elite hands, and seems to have the same focus problem that Braylon had.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
I HATE the dropped pass stat. There are some that I think should be on the QB not the WR, and then some that seem totally catch able that dont get counted.
Yeah, I guess dropped passes are the best measurable for a WR. I mean, just because Jeffrey might look like Casey Hampton going out on routes shouldn't factor into it.
I watched a few Okla. St. games last year, and Blackmon did drop passes. I have no doubt about that and it is concerning, but likely more so for Browns fans because we remember Edwards and we remember how many drops we had in 2011. But I also know that he scored 15 TDs in 2011 and had 113 receptions. I'll take a 96% "catch rate."
While Blackmon had an amazing game vs. Arizona, he also dropped a well-thrown deep ball trying to catch it over his shoulder to keep on running after the catch. Would have been a TD had he caught it.
Of course, he also had 12 catches for 128 yards and 2 TDs that game.
Quote: He dropped five passes last season, which may not seem like a lot. But it is when you consider that Jeffery had just one drop last season and Broyles had none. Source: ESPN
He also dropped passes at his pro day. Sorry but the kid lacks elite hands, and seems to have the same focus problem that Braylon had.
For all of his 5 drops there where probably 10 receptions that where simply amazing.
His body control is freakish and he will get to balls that you would think that there is no way he would/could have.
He does have great body control, but I don't see elite hands. Which is what was said he possessed. I think Blackmon will be a solid WR, but I don't see him being an elite WR at the NFL level. Thus I don't want him in the top 10. Just my opinion.
"The medium for the bad news was ESPN, which figured. The network represents much of what is loud, obnoxious and empty in sports today."
Quote: He does have great body control, but I don't see elite hands. Which is what was said he possessed. I think Blackmon will be a solid WR, but I don't see him being an elite WR at the NFL level. Thus I don't want him in the top 10. Just my opinion.
j/c.... I don;t think you catch 113 passes without having great hands.
The dude catches the ball, has better speed that people anticipated and has been a consistent top performer in a legit college conference. I think as far as prospects for #4 go- he's a great mix of lower risk and meeting a need for the team.
I don't see why we can't take Justin Blackmon AND Alshon Jeffery.
Those two plus Little & Norwood would make it hard for MoMass & Cribbs to see the field.... and when we advance our WR corps to the point where Cribbs would be hard-pressed to get on the field as a WR, I'd say that we'd have improved significantly.
Then, find a 2nd or 3rd round RT prospect and find us a helluva bargain at RB and we're drastically better than we were.
Browns is the Browns
... there goes Joe Thomas, the best there ever was in this game.
I like the measureables on Hill but he hasn't shown alot other than deep speed to this point. If he's there in the second, I'd consider it but not with either of our firsts.
And given his workout, I think someone will overpay for him and take him in the later half of the first round
Quote: He dropped five passes last season, which may not seem like a lot. But it is when you consider that Jeffery had just one drop last season and Broyles had none. Source: ESPN
He also dropped passes at his pro day. Sorry but the kid lacks elite hands, and seems to have the same focus problem that Braylon had.
For all of his 5 drops there where probably 10 receptions that where simply amazing.
His body control is freakish and he will get to balls that you would think that there is no way he would/could have.
That sounds eerily like Braylon Edwards...
***Gordon, I really didn't think you could be this stOOpid, but you exceeded my expectations. Wussy. Manziel, see Josh Gordon. Dumbass.***
Quote: Okay well BE had all the tools to be an elite WR, but what separated him from the great ones was his own self. I don't see that in Justin Blackmon.
Those comparisons are unfounded ... hell I've seen BE drop 5 passes in a game let a lone in a full season.
TO was at or near the top of the drops list year after year. He's also second all-time in TDs. I agree with FL... you're not going to see Justin blackmon's modeling portfolio on his website.
Quote: He dropped five passes last season, which may not seem like a lot. But it is when you consider that Jeffery had just one drop last season and Broyles had none. Source: ESPN
He also dropped passes at his pro day. Sorry but the kid lacks elite hands, and seems to have the same focus problem that Braylon had.
I agree that Blackmon can drop a pass here and there. He does because he can let himself get carried away trying to setup his YAC.
However, to compare him to Jeffrey (let's get a # of targets stat) and Broyles (who was injured before he faced his best competition) does nothing to further your cause.
In addition to drops, I think it's important to look at catches per target. While the QB obviously plays a part here too, it helps form a clearer picture.
Quote: Yes, but if we draft Jeffrey, do we also have to take Salacious Crumb?
What? Salacious Crumb? LOL
I would rather we Draft Mohamed Sanu with pick 37 if we don't take Justin Blackmon at pick 4.
I might consider Jeffrey at pick 67 if we haven't drafted a WR by then, but I would probably just wait and hope that Greg Childs falls to us in round 4.
Quote: It is rather unfortunate that he had to play in such an awful system for a WR.
I think he is so raw, but he is exactly what this team needs. JMHO
Exactly... and at 6'4" he' can go up and get the balls (39" vertical) with an 11'1 broad jump!
Personally, I think he should be considered the #1 WR (no, not just on the combine results) in the draft. He didn't have a lot of chances as a receiver in GT's scheme, but he made the most of the opportunities he had. He had just 28 catches last year but he accumulated 820 yards with those pedestrian number of catches.
Let's say, for example, if he had gotten the opportunity at Georgia, where they threw 434 times as a team (not 162 like GT did) and he had the share of completed passes (he had 28 of the teams 82 completed passes - or about 34%). Georgia completed 257 passes in those 434 attempts. With the ratio of production, he would have caught 87 or 88 passes (depending on your rounding requirements) for something close to 2,600 yards! Let's presume (and I think it's safe to do so) that he wouldn't have averaged more than 29 yards per catch, but just half that. He would still have the 87 or 88 catches for 1,300 yards! Would that kind of production put him in the talk as the #1 overall receiver?
Let's look at it further too. The Yellow Jackets had 11 passing TDs as a team. Hill's haul was 5 TDs (or about 45% of the teams receiving TDs). Georgia had 37 passing TDs as a team. If Hill would have garnered a similar share, he would have had 16 or 17 TDs. Would that kind of production put him in the talk as the #1 overall receiver?
That's just on Georgia. I chose them since he is a local product (a Georgian) and assumed he would stay close to home.
Yeah, I pretty solid in my view that Stephen Hill is probably the best receiver in this class - over Blackmon, Floyd, Wright, Jeffery, et al.
There are far more football players in the League who aren't track and field guys.
Hill will be a project, because he was never taught to play his position. Not his fault, but those are the facts.
Much projection here. Prospects like him don't get drafted ahead of their peers based on pure projection or based on Combine numbers unless your AL Davis that is.
Quote: Hill will be a project, because he was never taught to play his position. Not his fault, but those are the facts.
A project? We have Greg Little as our top receiver. He was traded up for in the second round, was a converted RB and hadn't played the season before he was drafted and he never had the production that Stephen Hill has. It's okay if you've got cream in your pants over one of the other receivers in the draft, but Stephen Hill is a top notch player with no downside other than the system he played in.
Quote: Much projection here. Prospects like him don't get drafted ahead of their peers based on pure projection or based on Combine numbers unless your AL Davis that is.
Maybe you're right. At this time, I'd probably take Heyward-Bey over any of the receivers in this class other than Stephen Hill.
Let's take a look at the early (January) and pre-combine rankings (mid-February) by Mike Mayock (who I happen to think is better than Mel Kiper or any of the other talking heads).
So, why does he think that Stephen Hill is the fourth best receiver in the draft? Because of a lack of production due to the scheme (the option) that GT runs. He has said that there is just not enough evaluation to rank him higher. Of course, when he spoke that 'a lot of scouts told me this kid might blow the roof off - and he did!' then you might want to stand up and take notice.
I'll take Stephen Hill over any of the prima donna WRs in the draft. I would not be surprised to see him gone before the Browns could select him at #22.
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