March 8, 2022 • 35 mins
In this episode of the Tape Heads: Draft Season podcast, hosts Bob Wischusen and Greg Cosell discuss the expectations of Wide Receivers at the Combine. Some coaches would love to see helmets and pads added to running routes and for time. Greg says teams look for vertical receivers, which doesn't come from being fast. Players have been more athletic and explosive with so many training advances, but that may not always transfer to football. Teams are putting together offenses that use WR's in several different ways, so the position needs to be more versatile than ever. We evaluate Garrett Wilson, Jameson Williams, Treylon Burks, Drake London, Chris Olave, George Pickens, Jahan Dotson, David Bell, Justyn Ross, and Khalil Shakir. Greg looks at the occasions when a Combine performance is disappointing and how teams can still see positives from a player. We wrap up with which NFL teams are in the market for these WR's.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:04):
Welcome to another week, another edition of tape Heads Draft Season.
Bobo Shusan, Greg Costell, we are taking you right up
to the draft with a podcast that hopefully, if you're
a football nerd like we are, it's just gonna give
you a different take on the draft, draft prep, the
lead up, the prospects, what teams are looking for then
you're getting anywhere else, because this is not the podcast
(00:26):
where we're going to give you mock drafts. This is
not the podcast where we're going to give you, you know,
trade scenarios. This is one where we take a deep
dive behind the draft and how teams prep for it
and what they're looking for and the prospects and how
the way that they are being portrayed sometimes on the
draft boards might not really be the way the teams
(00:46):
are looking at it, maybe a little misleading. Because Greg
Costell has been diving into the xos and o's in
the All twenty two at NFL Films for more than
four decades, longtime radio voice the Jets. That's me, Bobo
Shusan and up Greg. This is you know where I
think we start to as we move through the draft process,
get a much better idea of how teams start to
(01:09):
view some of these prospects because we've now got the
Combine kind of in our rear view mirror, and we're
gonna look at wide receivers today. The wide receivers, some
of them certainly made a name for themselves at the Combine.
But I guess the question would be, I'd lead off
with this, how do you think teams actually in this
day and age look at what these guys do in
(01:30):
shorts and T shirts at the Combine in terms of
measurables and in terms of their forty times and the
shuttle runs at all that as opposed to, you know what,
what they're actually seeing on tape, because wide receivers can
be so varied in college in terms of the systems
that they play in. Yeah, and that's a great starting point.
Five because I think one of the things you see
(01:51):
in college football, and obviously this is separate from the Combine,
but one of the things you see in college football
are very limited pass games. Very often receivers might line
up in one spot in college football, they don't move,
and they only run routes based on lining up in
that one spot. Uh So, the NFL game has become
(02:12):
far more advanced in terms of wide receiver usage. So
many of the old adages, Oh, he's a slot receiver,
he's only an outside receiver. Those things have sort of
fallen by the wayside in the NFL. Now, receivers in
the NFL and NFL schemes much different than college schemes.
They will be used lining up all over the formation, outside, inside,
(02:35):
in motion very rarely in the NFL, and it does happen,
of course, but less so than ever before. Do you
see a receiver in the NFL simply line up in
one spot, And you see that very very often in
college football. How about track speed versus field speed. Let's
just get to the measurables. We saw the combine and
(02:55):
how much I mean, how much teams really care or
how much it moves up or down the draft board,
if at all, If all of a sudden a guy
that was projected to run a four or five goes
and runs a four or four, or a guy we
thought might run a fourth three, Oh boy runs an
upper four four, And all of a sudden, there's a
tenth of a second there that you weren't expecting to see.
You know, the way I always look at that, And
I've actually had conversations with many coaches over the years,
(03:17):
and many coaches have told me that I wish we
would put guys in in a helmet and shoulder pads
to run their forties, because obviously running a forty and
a tract stands is not really representative of how he's
going to play in an NFL game. Um, But the
way I always see that is if you watch tape
of a player, and I watch a lot of tape
(03:38):
of these guys. I'm not watching one or two games.
I'm watching a lot of plays. And let's say a
receiver at the college level is not truly a vertical receiver.
His tape does not show that. Just because he might
then go to the combine and run a four three
eight does not automatically bob make him a vertical receiver
in the NFL simply because he can run fast in
(03:59):
a eight line and shorts and a T shirt. And
I'm not suggesting that that's how mistakes are made, but
I think you have to be careful about allowing time,
speed and shorts and a T shirt and a tract
stands impact what you see on film. What you see
on film coming off the line of scrimmage. Getting into
a route in shoulder pads and in a helmet against
(04:22):
a defensive back is a much better indicator of whether
a player is a vertical receiver than watching him run
a fourth three eight at the combine. So what should
we be looking for to combine? Mean, well, what happens
at the combine. That doesn't make it a waste of
time at least in terms of what happens on the field.
I'm sure these guys are getting some quality time with
the executives. I'm sure that the you know, the coaches
(04:44):
and the and the general managers and the scouts, like
you want to sit down with these guys and look
them in the eye and have a Manda man conversation,
and that's great. You don't have to put them in
shorts and T shirts and have them run around in
Indianapolis to do that. So the on the field stuff
like what what does matter? Well, it's funny you say that,
because I spoke to a lot of teams this week
that felt that the on the field is becoming less
and less important. Because what's happening, Bob, is with all
(05:07):
the sports science technology and the increases in training technology,
guys are going to look better doing drills, They're going
to look more athletic, they're going to look more explosive.
That's just the way of the world now with all
the training advances. So you're going to see each and
every year guys just test better and better and better
(05:28):
for the most part, and then you have to decide
what that ultimately means as far as playing the game
of football. So I think this year, I don't know
the numbers off the top of my head. Um, you know,
I just got home from the Combine, but I know
that there are a lot of really fast forty times,
and there's more explosive vertical jumps and there's more explosive
(05:49):
broad jumps. So guys are doing better and better in
the events that are viewed as explosive. But you still
have to try to figure out what that balances between
that and playing football. So I think we're just going
to continue to see more explosive athletic feats at the
Combine when guys are in shorts and T shirts. Yeah,
(06:10):
I don't think there's any question you you want to
see the game tape more than anything else that has
to be of your at least player evaluation is what
do they look like when they're actually playing football. And
I think the other interesting point that you made to
kind of circle back to this about wide receivers just
in general, we're gonna get to the prospects. We're gonna
run through some of them, like we did last week
with the quarterbacks, but just in general, looking for positional versatility, right,
(06:33):
all of the different schematic changes that there have been
in the last ten or fifteen years in the NFL.
I remember talking to Keishan Johnson, being the longtime voice
of the Jets. When Keishaw was drafted by the Jets,
Wayne Crabett was in the slot, and there was always
that kind of you know, rivalry between the two and
you know, give me the damn ball and Keishawn Colin,
Wayne Curbett the mascot and all that um. But I
(06:55):
remember talking to Keshan about it and saying, you know,
do you think people understand how radically different the two
positions that you guys play are, That what Wayne has
asked to do in the slot is different than what
you are asked to do on the outside. And we
had a great talk back and forth, and now I'm
realizing how somewhat irrelevant that talk is because now you
don't want a guy that just goes all the way
(07:17):
out to the boundary. You don't want a guy that
just lives in the slot. We do label some guys
outside and inside, but now I would think some of
these play callers are looking for a guy I can
move all over the field. And you see, like a
guy like Deebo Samuel that was made as a slot
and outside receiver, all of a sudden, he's spending half
his time with the forty Niners in the offensive backfield, right,
(07:37):
So how much the versatility that these coaches and you know,
offensive you know, play diagrammers are looking for in this position. Now,
I think that's really important. There'll always be a few
guys who are somewhat position specific, and that's okay obviously
if they're very good at that particular position. You know,
(07:57):
we talked about in the NFL, we talk about the
oundre exposition, that's the single receiver to the short side
of the field. There are certain receivers that have those
traits and more often than not, let's say we'll line
up there. But for the most part, now the league,
with all the formation variation, with all the receiver distributions
and locations of receivers that's constantly changing. You want receivers
(08:21):
that you feel that can line up anywhere. I mean, well,
we'll get to tight ends later down the road, but
I know that a lot of coaches I've spoken to
say that they really want tight ends now that can
be that single receiver to the short side of the
field because you can learn so much more about a
defense pre snap for a quarterback, which is ultimately the goal.
(08:43):
But as far as wide receivers, you really don't want
receivers that are just pigeonholed and can only do one
thing because that limits what you can do with your offense,
your route concepts, It limits what you can show the defense.
So right now, receivers even small, all the receivers. We'll
talk coming up about someone like Jahan Dotson from Penn State.
(09:04):
He's one of those guys. He's a hundred and eighty pounds,
but he's not just a slot receiver. As you know,
about ten years ago, we would have said he's a
slot receiver and left it at that. That's not the
case anymore. Yeah, I mean, the Jets have wanted Alijah more.
They drafted him from All miss and you know, he
has the size of kind of the prototypical slot receiver,
(09:25):
but he was outside as much as he was inside
this year, and I think that's some of his best
work outside. So um, yeah, there are there are examples
of that type of a guy all over the league.
Before we get to these specific guys and kind of
go prospect by prospect, how about just wide angle lens?
Is this a good crop of wide receivers this year?
We've we've had some historic classes in the past few years.
(09:46):
Does this one match up. I think it's really good.
I mean, obviously, uh receivers, receivers and corners because they're
they're so valuable now in the NFL, those positions tend
to have the most players drafted almost every draft now
going back I think five or six years. Maybe there's
an exception one year, but I think this is overall
(10:06):
a really strong class of wide receivers, and I think
there's a lot of different flavors. And that's why, you know,
for people who know me, Bob, I'm not a big
list guy, because you know, I don't think you can
compare a pound receiver to a six pound receiver. I
think that's a really difficult comparison because they'll be used
potentially differently. Teams will see them differently. They're not going
(10:30):
to be put in the same box. Now, we've got
all flavors. By the way of the guys we're gonna
talk about, we are all over the place in terms
of body types and measurables and the kinds of receivers
they are. And that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna
break down not only what teams out there might be
the most desperate to get their hands on one of
these guys, but who should be at the top of
the board. And we're gonna take a look at some
(10:51):
of the best receivers in this upcoming draft class. When
we come back, Bobo Shoos and Greg co Cell, it
is tape Heads Draft season. We are back on Tapeds
Draft Season, Bobo Shoos and Greg Costell kind of taking
a deep dive into the wide receiver group this week
because there are and it seems like now with as
prolific as the passing game's arm and it's you know,
(11:14):
when we were growing up, Greg, it wasn't unusual for
your team to be sixty run. Now it is completely
flipped down. Now, I mean, you gotta have some wide
receivers on your team because now sixty forty pass UH
in many instances is the standard of the NFL. So
let's get right to it. How about Garrett Wilson from
Ohio State? Would he be the top prospect to you
(11:36):
in this class because it seems like when we talk
about the different flavors of wide receivers, you're looking for
the guy that can check every box, and he might
be a guy that can check every box. Yeah, I
really like Garrett Wilson. I just want to make one
comment based but what you said about the the ratio,
the run pass ratio. The other factor is the amount
of what we call eleven personnel that the NFL plays up.
(11:57):
By eleven personnel, we mean one back, one type it in,
and three wide receivers. So three wide receivers play the
majority of the snaps in the NFL. So obviously you
need more receivers, quality receivers than ever before. UM. But
so let's take a look at Garrett Wilson. Wilson to
me is a pretty refined, polished route runner. UM. His
(12:21):
tape is really good. He's I would say as a
as a route runner and as a player, he's not
naturally explosive. Now here's a guy that ran I think
a four three eight at the combine, but I don't
view him as a guy you'd say, wow, he's a
vertical dimension. Can he get vertical? Yes? Because he understands
how to run routes. He's smooth, he's fluid, he has
(12:43):
an intuitive understanding of how to set up corners. He's
a pace and tempo guy. He has short area burst,
he knows how to create separation at the top of
his route stem. The player who came to mind when
I watched Garrett Wilson Bob was to find Diggs. I
thought he was very stylistically to Steffine Diggs. Yeah, it's
(13:03):
a great comparison. And the next guy that I think
we should dig into is Jamison Williams because the torn
a c L. You know, I mean, what what do
you do with a player that has that much talent?
Now we live in an era of sports medicine and
sports science where guys tearing a c L and they
come back and eventually become as good as they ever
(13:24):
were before. Many many times, there are many examples of
guys that have torn a c L s and turn
out to be just fine and go right back to
being what they were when they finally are fully recovered.
But as we know, there can be that kind of
year buffer where they're back on the field, but they're
not really themselves for a season or so. So you're
drafting Jamison Williams for the long haul if you draft
(13:45):
I mean's a rookie. How do you take the A
c L and factor that into where teams are going
to view him? Yeah, that is a tough question for
me to answer how a teams might view him. I
can tell you what the player is, UM, and I
think teams will view that differently. Um, he's to me
of the players I've seen, and obviously there's always a
hundred wide receivers, and I haven't seen all a hundred,
(14:08):
so but of the players I've seen, it's been quite
a few. He's the most explosive vertical receiver in college football.
He's got accelerating deep speed. He can get on top
of and run away from corners. He has easy ability
to track the deep ball. There's a natural quickness and
explosiveness to his movement. Um. He can separate as well
(14:28):
on intermediate routes. I thought he showed some detail and
nuance to his route running, which doesn't surprise me given
that he's spent a year in Alabama, where they do
a really really good job coaching wide receivers. I thought
he understood how to use his vertical stem to threaten
corners and then snap off routes. UM. I guess the
only question some might have is will he have the
(14:50):
ability to make tough catches and traffic make contested catches?
I believe you wait a hundred and seventy nine pounds.
But the former Alabama receiver Duvante Smith, who is much thinner,
I think showed this year that maybe that's not as
big a deal as some, including myself, might have thought
it would have been. Um, but there are not many
(15:10):
receivers Bob assuming health with his flat out vertical speed,
big playability. He's an impact receiver and he's a game changer.
And one thing I found out at the combine, and
I've learned these last number of years, when you talk
to coaches now about what they want from offense, the
first thing they now say is exclusive plays well. Traylon
(15:31):
Burke's an interesting story as well because obviously, you know
teams are gonna this might be the classic guy of
I'm gonna let the game tape tell the story and
not be swayed by what happened at the combine. Right, So,
when you when you take another sec wide receiver that
put up big numbers in the league that we all
universally believe has the deepest talent pool, where do you
(15:52):
put Burks? Yeah? I like Brooks a lot. And it's
funny you mentioned that because obviously in this combine where
a lot of guys were in really fast he um so,
but I would say that the tape tells you that
he's not He's not a sudden explosive athlete, but he
has size and stride length, and stride length can often
compensate for the lack of let's say, track speed. I
(16:14):
think he ran a four or five five, But when
you watch his tape, he moves extremely well. He ran
away from the Alabama defense on some vertical throws. Um So,
I would say he does have a size speed profile
that can mismatch corners. He's got the versatility to line
up in multiple locations in the formation, including the backfield.
(16:36):
I would think some teams might see him a little
like a Deebo Samuel or or a cor Daryl Patterson
in the way that he can be deployed lining up
all over the formation. Um, he does have really good
play speed, as I said, and I and he has
really big hands. He just snatches the ball out of
the air. So I thought he was a really strong prospect.
(16:59):
It'll be interesting whoever drafts him, Bob, to see if
they see him in that Deebo Samuel Cordaryl Patterson way,
or if just to get him started to learn the NFL,
if they feel like, hey, he's a receiver and that's
what he is. Yeah, the reason this podcast is so
great listening to you is if I'm again the football
nerve that wants to go to the bar and just
(17:21):
steal everything that you're saying and impress my buddies. Like
imagine sitting at the bar and somebody brings up the name,
you know, trail On Burke's, and you know, well, let
me tell you, let me tell you about his stride length.
You know. I mean, also, your buddies gonna looking at you,
look where did you get that? Don't tell them We're
fine with you stealing our stuff as long as you
subscribe and listen every week, we're good with that. Well,
just as a quick as side. I had to learn
(17:43):
that Bob years ago when I would watch receivers, bigger receivers.
I'm going back ten fifteen years, and I made a
number of mistakes and receivers because of this. Being honest
is I'd watch a bigger receiver and he he didn't
look fast to me, and then his forty time wasn't great,
like Brooks wasn't great, and I'd say, oh boy, this
guy can't run. And then the guy would get to
(18:04):
the NFL and he'd be a vertical threat, and I'd
say to myself, where did I go wrong? And so
I kind of learned that stride length very often compensates
for the fact that you might not be a true,
you know burner. Now, Randy Moss obviously was a true
burner as well, but I remember watching him and a
lot of times they would put him in motion and
(18:25):
he would take three steps and he'd be fifteen yards
down the field. And you know, some of these guys
that have that kind of stride length because they're long,
that's what it looks like, so they can run by
corners even though they're not four three eight guys. Well,
another great example I guess that type of conversation is
Drake London. Right. We kind of started off with two
(18:46):
of the smaller guys, Garrett Wilson Jamison Williams. Now we've
we've got Burke's obviously, I guess six three six two
six three two twenty five pounds. Drake London's a couple
inches taller, right, I mean he's in the six four
six five range to ten to fifteen. He seems to
be getting off the bus more of the prototypical old
(19:07):
school sized wide receivers. How about his skill set? Yeah,
and and again this is purely based on tape study.
And I actually watched his tape from and from one
and I was I guess from obviously, I talked to people.
You know, none of us live under a rock, particularly
at this time of year with the draft. Um, I
didn't see him the way a lot of people do. Um.
(19:29):
He's a size receiver, he's a length receiver. He's a
hands receiver. He's very smooth. He certainly has an understanding
of how to position his body to create just enough
space to catch the ball. Um. He has great body control. Uh,
he can make contested catches. That's his game. He makes tough,
contested catches versus tight coverage. So the question is can
(19:54):
he do that with the same efficiency at the next level.
And that's an open question to me because one thing
he lacks is he doesn't really have in the term
we like to use, he doesn't really have any twitch
or suddenness to his movement. He's kind of a one
speed receiver. He doesn't really have an extra gear. He's
not a vertical accelerator. UM, he doesn't really have top
(20:17):
end speed. So the question is can he make the
kinds of catches in the NFL that he made at
USC because so many were contested. There's no question that
he's smooth, he's a little bit savvy. UM. He works
really well versus off coverage. He can find us voids
(20:37):
and zone coverage. The question to me is can he
really play effectively on the outside UM and be that
boundary X. The player I kept thinking of watching him,
believe it or not, was Marcus Colston with New Orleans
who played really predominantly inside and was really really good
at it. But that's the way I saw Drake London,
(20:58):
a guy that I have a soft spot for and
I called a decent number of his games throughout his
college career at Ohio status Christal Lava. I know that's
the next guy we're going to get to. And I
don't know. When I watched him, at least in college,
he struck me as like a Chris Carter, Like all
he does is catch touchdowns. Right, He doesn't seem I
(21:19):
think to have And I don't know if you agree.
Obviously you did a deeper dive into the tape than
I have done. It's not like he has that one
specific trait that you wrap your arms around with a
lava and say, oh, he's incredibly fast or he's incredibly strong.
He just is a savvy, professional looking wide receiver at
(21:39):
the college level, and every time it seemed like they
threw him the ball, he caught it, and he was
always productive. Caped thirteen touchdowns this past year. I just
I think he's gonna be a really good NFL player.
I don't know if you agree. Yeah, And I think
he's gonna be an interesting guy for teams because I
think what you said it's true. He's very smooth, he's
very fluid. There's a certain amount of route taking isstion
(22:00):
to his game. I think you need to get him
free access off the ball, allowing him to use his
vertical stem to set up and move corners off their spot. UM.
He has a good feel for the pace and tempo
of routes. I think he works best in space. UM.
The one thing that he did not show, and I
would question this. UM. I don't know what's in his head, obviously,
(22:22):
but I think the tape tells you that there'd be
questions about his competitive toughness and his ability to make
tough catches in the middle of the field. I'm not
sure he's a catch through contact player. So I think
you want to get him free access off the ball
or you want him outside. So the question is if
you draft him, is he a compliment because he obviously
(22:42):
does have a certain skill set, or do you draft
him and think this guy is the guy? And I
think that that's an open question. Bob, that's great Cosell
on Bobo schus him. We've got a few more draft
prospects to talk about the wide receiver spot and also
maybe talk about the teams we think might need a
wide receiver the most and where some of these guys
might be in the discussion at the top of the board.
(23:03):
What type of team and what type of receiver might
fit the right type of team. We're gonna get into
that and we come back on Tape Heeds Draft Season.
Back on this latest episode of Tape Heeds Draft Season,
Bobo Shues and Greg co Sell diving into the wide
receivers this week. We've got a few more prospects to
talk about. We also want to talk about some of
(23:23):
the teams towards the top of the board that might
be most interested in adding a receiver, if not in
the first round, maybe high in the second round. As
the Jets broadcaster, I have to think my team is
in the market to add somebody at that position because
they don't really have that, you know, kind of quote
unquote number one guy, or at least they need at
least a one A one B type. And George Pickens
(23:45):
from Georgia, Greg that I think that's the next guy
that we should bring up and talk about again. Getting
off the bus. Looks like that prototypical, tall, lanky, speedy
wide receiver. What are your thoughts on him? I really
loved his tape. I mean, obviously he only played a
couple of games this year. I think he only had
five catches. But by the way, without knowing George Pickens,
I think it says an awful lot about the fact
(24:06):
that he chose to come back when he did not
have to know he would come out bob into the draft.
He could have easily said, hey, I don't need to
do that. But I thought his tape really showed a
high level receiver prospect with all the traits you look for, size, length, speed, hands,
contested catch. I think that's what you want in in
(24:28):
an NFL receiver. And I think he totally fits the
boundary X the single receiver to the short side of
the field. Um I I like, for instance, I like
George Pickens more than I like Drake London based on
tape study. Interesting why, like, what what do you think
are the the differences between the Because most people have
Drake London a lot higher up in their mock drafts
(24:49):
quote unquote than they do George Pickens, Oh for sure.
And of course Pickens is coming off that a c
L which he tour in spring practice last year, but
he obviously came back. Um. I think he's a more
blosive mover than Drake London, and he's probably he doesn't
weigh as much, but he's similar. Uh, he's he's still
a big receiver. He's not as tall, but he's still
(25:11):
a big receiver. But you're talking about a long, smooth,
competitive receiver. He can get vertical more than London can. Um.
I just think that he's a better prospect overall. And
I think if he had played this year, we might
be talking about George Pickens is a top ten pick.
How about Johan Dodson. You mentioned him in the first block,
but you know a guy that's you know, I mean,
(25:33):
he doesn't have that prototypical size. He might be the
most diminutive of all of the wide receivers that get
drafted and maybe the first couple of rounds. Where do
you think about him? Yeah? I really loved his tape
as well. Another player I saw a tape from both one. Um,
he's got explosive traits. He's got the ability to be
a factor at all three levels. You can line him
(25:54):
up anywhere outside and the slot. UM. I thought he
was actually more explosive vertically in one than he was
in twenty twenty. I thought that part of his game
got better. He has accelerating speed to get on top
of the defense. And what really stood out to me
watching his tape, given that he's five eleven eighty pounds
giver take is I thought he was really competitive and
(26:18):
fearless working the middle of the field, and that reflects
a mental toughness that you just can't teach that and
you can't inculcate that with coaching. That's just part of him. UM.
I believe he can be a multidimensional receiver. The player
he reminded me of a lot, and I think he's
better though, is Deonte Johnson from the Steelers. They're very
(26:38):
similar in terms of height and weight. UM and Dotson.
I believe ran a better forty time than Johnson did
at his uh uh combined UM I I would not
be surprised at all if Dodson was a top forty
pick and maybe got into the first round. I think
he's a really strong prospect in today's n FELL where
(27:00):
you move receivers around, create matchups, get them free access
off the ball. Dots into me is a high level prospect. Yeah.
I mean if you if you told NFL teams, I
can guarantee you a better Deante Johnson he'll go in
the first round. I think there's any questions someone is
gonna fall in level the player like that. We'll see
if someone does. How about David Bell from Purdue. Yeah,
(27:22):
David Bell is a really interesting player because again he's
one of those guys that's not explosive UM, but he's
just is a good receiver. And by that I mean
when you think of traits, he's he's got good size,
he's smooth, he's fluid, he's efficient, he understands how to
run routes. He predominantly lined up outside and produce offense,
but he does have extensive experience lining up inside, and
(27:45):
I think he can do both in the NFL. UM
his game is much more about detail and nuance and
the process of route running. He's not a high level
athlete or an explosive athlete, but you can see from
watching his A Bob that the process of understanding route
running and receiving is important to him, and he's made
(28:06):
himself into a technician and a natural receiver. I think
he has the look of a professional receiver. I think
that his his production at the next level will be
a function of team and scheme. But UM in some
ways you know, he reminded me of of let's say
Evan Jefferson when he came out of Florida and got
drafted by the Rams in the second round. Now, obviously
(28:28):
on the Rams, he's not a high volume receiver, but
if he was with a different team, he might be.
So that's why I mentioned with Bell it'll be a
function of team and scheme. But he's a very proficient, efficient,
professional looking receiver. And you talk about the look of
a wide receiver justin Ross from Clemson, he he looks
(28:49):
like all of these other Clemson guys, right, I mean,
it's just another six ft three, six ft four, you know, fluid, athletic,
gifted player. But I don't know that he is as
high on the board for many people as in past
years the top wide receivers out of Clemson are or
(29:10):
have been. So what is he Is he lacking something
that maybe the Sammy Watkins and Tee Higgins of the
world did coming out? What what has him dropped a
little bit compared to other wide receivers from Clemson. I
think I think there's a significant concern about the injury
um and I think that he hasn't you know, played
as I mean, this was not a good year for
Clemson's offense. Uh for the first time in quite a
(29:31):
long time. UM So, I think the combination of the
injury and just lesser production has has people just uncertain
as to what he is if you went back before
the injury and and that and his career continued on
that path. With all the traits you mentioned, Bob, I
don't need to repeat them, you just mentioned them. I
think he'd be in the discussion as a first round
(29:53):
type player, but I think there's just a lot of
question marks. And when there are question marks and you
have a deep receiving class, then those question marks are
are pretty in the forefront of people's minds. Um. I'll
tell you there's probably a receiver you're not going to mention,
but I feel I really want to mention him, if
that's okay here, because I really I really like this kid.
(30:16):
I don't know if you ever did a Cincinnati game,
but I really like Alec Pierce UM and I think
he's one of the more intriguing wide receiver evaluations in
this draft. Given his measurables are really good, he ran
really well, he's a terrific athlete. Now he plays big,
he plays long, he plays fast. He's a classic stride
(30:36):
length guy, as we spoke about already. Um, he's got
great body control because he's such a good athlete. He's
got hands to make contested catches. He'll be a factor
in the red zone. I think he showed somewhat or
of a refined feel for separation at the top of
his route. Stem Um. I think Pierce is And again,
(30:57):
I know this might come across to some and you
of people who listen to this, note that I based
this all on tape. I think that I can easily
compare Alec Pierson Drake London. I think Alec Pierce is
a really strong prospect. Now he's not going to go
in the top ten, I know that, but I think
he's a really strong prospect. I think he's got stride length,
(31:19):
body control, physical competitiveness, really good hands. I think he's
a really good prospect. Well, and keep in mind, folks
are going to say, well, the American Conference is opposed
to the SEC or the a SEC or the Big ten.
And that might be true, But who did he practice
against every day? He practiced against corners that are going
(31:39):
to go I mean, sauce Gardner might be a top
five pick, so like he's practicing against if not two
for and Kobe Bryant on the other side, I mean,
he might be a second round pick. So he practiced
against corners every day at Cincinnati that are absolutely going
to be taken, if not in the like high in
(32:01):
the first round. If we're talking about Sauce Gardner. And
that's that's a great point because it's funny. One of
the things when I'm at the combine and and these
guys speak at the podium, that's one of the things
they talk about all the time. They get asked questions about,
you know, the toughest guys they've had to play against
or whatever, and very often they'll mention their own teammates
who are going to be high picks. So the point
(32:21):
you just made is a phenomenal point because he's going
up against look, Sauce Gardner, whether he's top five, top ten,
top fifteen, he's going to go somewhere in there. And
Brian Is is a really quality corner prospect as well.
So these are players he has to go against every day,
so they are NFL quality players. But you know, he's
just one of those names. Again, That's why when you
(32:43):
asked me overall about the receiving class, a guy like
that is what sticks out there. Probably others, um, there'll
be other names, the Christian Watsons of North Dakota State
players like that. But this is a pretty deep class
and it depends on on your flavor. What are you
looking for in the context of your offense, because so
much of this, Bob, as you know working for a
(33:04):
team for as long as you have is it's scheme adaptability.
Unless a receiver is truly transcendent, and there's not many
of those guys, then you're looking for who fits into
my scheme and what do I have around him so
that I don't just draft the same guy, so that
you know. Obviously the Jets have Elijah More, who they're
(33:25):
very excited about, whose tape I loved a year ago.
They don't want to draft another Elijah More. They don't
want to draft the same guy with the same traits profile, right,
So the Jets are looking at Johan Dotson as much
as they're looking at a George Pickens or a Burkes
or London. I mean that they're know that kind of prototypical,
bigger outside guy, So that was gonna be my last
question before we wrap up this episode of taped's Draft season,
(33:48):
just a couple of minutes on if I'm a fan
of Team X, who do you think in the first
couple of rounds is gonna be looking hardest at wide receiver?
Obviously Jets you just mentioned, I definitely think they're on
that list. And they've up four picks at the top,
like thirty five, so obviously they could early in the
second round spend a pick on a receiver if they
didn't pick one in the first round. But who else
(34:09):
would be on your list you think wants to check
the receiver box. And obviously we're doing this before free agency,
so we'll look at the teams now. The Philadelphia Eagles
will certainly be looking at receiver. Um. I spoke to
a lot of people defensive coaches in the league who
say Davante Smith is outstanding, so he's one receiver they have.
I think they will absolutely be looking for another receiver.
(34:31):
Um I think Indianapolis does not have a first round pick,
but it's a receiver deep draft. They will absolutely be
looking for a receiver. Obviously, they drafted Michael Pittman and
he I think he's quality, but I think beyond that,
they'll absolutely be looking no matter who their quarterback is.
Um I'm trying to think any other teams immediately come
to your mind, Bob, I think New Orleans because of
(34:54):
all the upheaval they've had at wide receiver, I would
think they would be very much in the mix as well.
So look in the NFL, even if you're deep at receiver,
sometimes you're just compelled to take another one because they're
so important, right because of how NFL offenses run now.
So yeah, it's it's a good class. I'll be very
interested to see where these guys go. And uh we
(35:15):
want you to download and subscribe and be with us
on Thursday for the next episode of tape Heeds Draft
season because we're gonna talk defenses, We're gonna talk I
think the most fascinating position in this NFL draft, about
the most fascinating singular prospect maybe in this NFL draft,
and the ups and downs from the combine as well.
We will talk to you in the next episode drops
(35:36):
on Thursday. Thanks for being a taped
Welcome to another week, another edition of tape Heads Draft Season.
Bobo Shusan, Greg Costell, we are taking you right up
to the draft with a podcast that hopefully, if you're
a football nerd like we are, it's just gonna give
you a different take on the draft, draft prep, the
lead up, the prospects, what teams are looking for then
you're getting anywhere else, because this is not the podcast
(00:26):
where we're going to give you mock drafts. This is
not the podcast where we're going to give you, you know,
trade scenarios. This is one where we take a deep
dive behind the draft and how teams prep for it
and what they're looking for and the prospects and how
the way that they are being portrayed sometimes on the
draft boards might not really be the way the teams
(00:46):
are looking at it, maybe a little misleading. Because Greg
Costell has been diving into the xos and o's in
the All twenty two at NFL Films for more than
four decades, longtime radio voice the Jets. That's me, Bobo
Shusan and up Greg. This is you know where I
think we start to as we move through the draft process,
get a much better idea of how teams start to
(01:09):
view some of these prospects because we've now got the
Combine kind of in our rear view mirror, and we're
gonna look at wide receivers today. The wide receivers, some
of them certainly made a name for themselves at the Combine.
But I guess the question would be, I'd lead off
with this, how do you think teams actually in this
day and age look at what these guys do in
(01:30):
shorts and T shirts at the Combine in terms of
measurables and in terms of their forty times and the
shuttle runs at all that as opposed to, you know what,
what they're actually seeing on tape, because wide receivers can
be so varied in college in terms of the systems
that they play in. Yeah, and that's a great starting point.
Five because I think one of the things you see
(01:51):
in college football, and obviously this is separate from the Combine,
but one of the things you see in college football
are very limited pass games. Very often receivers might line
up in one spot in college football, they don't move,
and they only run routes based on lining up in
that one spot. Uh So, the NFL game has become
(02:12):
far more advanced in terms of wide receiver usage. So
many of the old adages, Oh, he's a slot receiver,
he's only an outside receiver. Those things have sort of
fallen by the wayside in the NFL. Now, receivers in
the NFL and NFL schemes much different than college schemes.
They will be used lining up all over the formation, outside, inside,
(02:35):
in motion very rarely in the NFL, and it does happen,
of course, but less so than ever before. Do you
see a receiver in the NFL simply line up in
one spot, And you see that very very often in
college football. How about track speed versus field speed. Let's
just get to the measurables. We saw the combine and
(02:55):
how much I mean, how much teams really care or
how much it moves up or down the draft board,
if at all, If all of a sudden a guy
that was projected to run a four or five goes
and runs a four or four, or a guy we
thought might run a fourth three, Oh boy runs an
upper four four, And all of a sudden, there's a
tenth of a second there that you weren't expecting to see.
You know, the way I always look at that, And
I've actually had conversations with many coaches over the years,
(03:17):
and many coaches have told me that I wish we
would put guys in in a helmet and shoulder pads
to run their forties, because obviously running a forty and
a tract stands is not really representative of how he's
going to play in an NFL game. Um, But the
way I always see that is if you watch tape
of a player, and I watch a lot of tape
(03:38):
of these guys. I'm not watching one or two games.
I'm watching a lot of plays. And let's say a
receiver at the college level is not truly a vertical receiver.
His tape does not show that. Just because he might
then go to the combine and run a four three
eight does not automatically bob make him a vertical receiver
in the NFL simply because he can run fast in
(03:59):
a eight line and shorts and a T shirt. And
I'm not suggesting that that's how mistakes are made, but
I think you have to be careful about allowing time,
speed and shorts and a T shirt and a tract
stands impact what you see on film. What you see
on film coming off the line of scrimmage. Getting into
a route in shoulder pads and in a helmet against
(04:22):
a defensive back is a much better indicator of whether
a player is a vertical receiver than watching him run
a fourth three eight at the combine. So what should
we be looking for to combine? Mean, well, what happens
at the combine. That doesn't make it a waste of
time at least in terms of what happens on the field.
I'm sure these guys are getting some quality time with
the executives. I'm sure that the you know, the coaches
(04:44):
and the and the general managers and the scouts, like
you want to sit down with these guys and look
them in the eye and have a Manda man conversation,
and that's great. You don't have to put them in
shorts and T shirts and have them run around in
Indianapolis to do that. So the on the field stuff
like what what does matter? Well, it's funny you say that,
because I spoke to a lot of teams this week
that felt that the on the field is becoming less
and less important. Because what's happening, Bob, is with all
(05:07):
the sports science technology and the increases in training technology,
guys are going to look better doing drills, They're going
to look more athletic, they're going to look more explosive.
That's just the way of the world now with all
the training advances. So you're going to see each and
every year guys just test better and better and better
(05:28):
for the most part, and then you have to decide
what that ultimately means as far as playing the game
of football. So I think this year, I don't know
the numbers off the top of my head. Um, you know,
I just got home from the Combine, but I know
that there are a lot of really fast forty times,
and there's more explosive vertical jumps and there's more explosive
(05:49):
broad jumps. So guys are doing better and better in
the events that are viewed as explosive. But you still
have to try to figure out what that balances between
that and playing football. So I think we're just going
to continue to see more explosive athletic feats at the
Combine when guys are in shorts and T shirts. Yeah,
(06:10):
I don't think there's any question you you want to
see the game tape more than anything else that has
to be of your at least player evaluation is what
do they look like when they're actually playing football. And
I think the other interesting point that you made to
kind of circle back to this about wide receivers just
in general, we're gonna get to the prospects. We're gonna
run through some of them, like we did last week
with the quarterbacks, but just in general, looking for positional versatility, right,
(06:33):
all of the different schematic changes that there have been
in the last ten or fifteen years in the NFL.
I remember talking to Keishan Johnson, being the longtime voice
of the Jets. When Keishaw was drafted by the Jets,
Wayne Crabett was in the slot, and there was always
that kind of you know, rivalry between the two and
you know, give me the damn ball and Keishawn Colin,
Wayne Curbett the mascot and all that um. But I
(06:55):
remember talking to Keshan about it and saying, you know,
do you think people understand how radically different the two
positions that you guys play are, That what Wayne has
asked to do in the slot is different than what
you are asked to do on the outside. And we
had a great talk back and forth, and now I'm
realizing how somewhat irrelevant that talk is because now you
don't want a guy that just goes all the way
(07:17):
out to the boundary. You don't want a guy that
just lives in the slot. We do label some guys
outside and inside, but now I would think some of
these play callers are looking for a guy I can
move all over the field. And you see, like a
guy like Deebo Samuel that was made as a slot
and outside receiver, all of a sudden, he's spending half
his time with the forty Niners in the offensive backfield, right,
(07:37):
So how much the versatility that these coaches and you know,
offensive you know, play diagrammers are looking for in this position. Now,
I think that's really important. There'll always be a few
guys who are somewhat position specific, and that's okay obviously
if they're very good at that particular position. You know,
(07:57):
we talked about in the NFL, we talk about the
oundre exposition, that's the single receiver to the short side
of the field. There are certain receivers that have those
traits and more often than not, let's say we'll line
up there. But for the most part, now the league,
with all the formation variation, with all the receiver distributions
and locations of receivers that's constantly changing. You want receivers
(08:21):
that you feel that can line up anywhere. I mean, well,
we'll get to tight ends later down the road, but
I know that a lot of coaches I've spoken to
say that they really want tight ends now that can
be that single receiver to the short side of the
field because you can learn so much more about a
defense pre snap for a quarterback, which is ultimately the goal.
(08:43):
But as far as wide receivers, you really don't want
receivers that are just pigeonholed and can only do one
thing because that limits what you can do with your offense,
your route concepts, It limits what you can show the defense.
So right now, receivers even small, all the receivers. We'll
talk coming up about someone like Jahan Dotson from Penn State.
(09:04):
He's one of those guys. He's a hundred and eighty pounds,
but he's not just a slot receiver. As you know,
about ten years ago, we would have said he's a
slot receiver and left it at that. That's not the
case anymore. Yeah, I mean, the Jets have wanted Alijah more.
They drafted him from All miss and you know, he
has the size of kind of the prototypical slot receiver,
(09:25):
but he was outside as much as he was inside
this year, and I think that's some of his best
work outside. So um, yeah, there are there are examples
of that type of a guy all over the league.
Before we get to these specific guys and kind of
go prospect by prospect, how about just wide angle lens?
Is this a good crop of wide receivers this year?
We've we've had some historic classes in the past few years.
(09:46):
Does this one match up. I think it's really good.
I mean, obviously, uh receivers, receivers and corners because they're
they're so valuable now in the NFL, those positions tend
to have the most players drafted almost every draft now
going back I think five or six years. Maybe there's
an exception one year, but I think this is overall
(10:06):
a really strong class of wide receivers, and I think
there's a lot of different flavors. And that's why, you know,
for people who know me, Bob, I'm not a big
list guy, because you know, I don't think you can
compare a pound receiver to a six pound receiver. I
think that's a really difficult comparison because they'll be used
potentially differently. Teams will see them differently. They're not going
(10:30):
to be put in the same box. Now, we've got
all flavors. By the way of the guys we're gonna
talk about, we are all over the place in terms
of body types and measurables and the kinds of receivers
they are. And that's what we're gonna do. We're gonna
break down not only what teams out there might be
the most desperate to get their hands on one of
these guys, but who should be at the top of
the board. And we're gonna take a look at some
(10:51):
of the best receivers in this upcoming draft class. When
we come back, Bobo Shoos and Greg co Cell, it
is tape Heads Draft season. We are back on Tapeds
Draft Season, Bobo Shoos and Greg Costell kind of taking
a deep dive into the wide receiver group this week
because there are and it seems like now with as
prolific as the passing game's arm and it's you know,
(11:14):
when we were growing up, Greg, it wasn't unusual for
your team to be sixty run. Now it is completely
flipped down. Now, I mean, you gotta have some wide
receivers on your team because now sixty forty pass UH
in many instances is the standard of the NFL. So
let's get right to it. How about Garrett Wilson from
Ohio State? Would he be the top prospect to you
(11:36):
in this class because it seems like when we talk
about the different flavors of wide receivers, you're looking for
the guy that can check every box, and he might
be a guy that can check every box. Yeah, I
really like Garrett Wilson. I just want to make one
comment based but what you said about the the ratio,
the run pass ratio. The other factor is the amount
of what we call eleven personnel that the NFL plays up.
(11:57):
By eleven personnel, we mean one back, one type it in,
and three wide receivers. So three wide receivers play the
majority of the snaps in the NFL. So obviously you
need more receivers, quality receivers than ever before. UM. But
so let's take a look at Garrett Wilson. Wilson to
me is a pretty refined, polished route runner. UM. His
(12:21):
tape is really good. He's I would say as a
as a route runner and as a player, he's not
naturally explosive. Now here's a guy that ran I think
a four three eight at the combine, but I don't
view him as a guy you'd say, wow, he's a
vertical dimension. Can he get vertical? Yes? Because he understands
how to run routes. He's smooth, he's fluid, he has
(12:43):
an intuitive understanding of how to set up corners. He's
a pace and tempo guy. He has short area burst,
he knows how to create separation at the top of
his route stem. The player who came to mind when
I watched Garrett Wilson Bob was to find Diggs. I
thought he was very stylistically to Steffine Diggs. Yeah, it's
(13:03):
a great comparison. And the next guy that I think
we should dig into is Jamison Williams because the torn
a c L. You know, I mean, what what do
you do with a player that has that much talent?
Now we live in an era of sports medicine and
sports science where guys tearing a c L and they
come back and eventually become as good as they ever
(13:24):
were before. Many many times, there are many examples of
guys that have torn a c L s and turn
out to be just fine and go right back to
being what they were when they finally are fully recovered.
But as we know, there can be that kind of
year buffer where they're back on the field, but they're
not really themselves for a season or so. So you're
drafting Jamison Williams for the long haul if you draft
(13:45):
I mean's a rookie. How do you take the A
c L and factor that into where teams are going
to view him? Yeah, that is a tough question for
me to answer how a teams might view him. I
can tell you what the player is, UM, and I
think teams will view that differently. Um, he's to me
of the players I've seen, and obviously there's always a
hundred wide receivers, and I haven't seen all a hundred,
(14:08):
so but of the players I've seen, it's been quite
a few. He's the most explosive vertical receiver in college football.
He's got accelerating deep speed. He can get on top
of and run away from corners. He has easy ability
to track the deep ball. There's a natural quickness and
explosiveness to his movement. Um. He can separate as well
(14:28):
on intermediate routes. I thought he showed some detail and
nuance to his route running, which doesn't surprise me given
that he's spent a year in Alabama, where they do
a really really good job coaching wide receivers. I thought
he understood how to use his vertical stem to threaten
corners and then snap off routes. UM. I guess the
only question some might have is will he have the
(14:50):
ability to make tough catches and traffic make contested catches?
I believe you wait a hundred and seventy nine pounds.
But the former Alabama receiver Duvante Smith, who is much thinner,
I think showed this year that maybe that's not as
big a deal as some, including myself, might have thought
it would have been. Um, but there are not many
(15:10):
receivers Bob assuming health with his flat out vertical speed,
big playability. He's an impact receiver and he's a game changer.
And one thing I found out at the combine, and
I've learned these last number of years, when you talk
to coaches now about what they want from offense, the
first thing they now say is exclusive plays well. Traylon
(15:31):
Burke's an interesting story as well because obviously, you know
teams are gonna this might be the classic guy of
I'm gonna let the game tape tell the story and
not be swayed by what happened at the combine. Right, So,
when you when you take another sec wide receiver that
put up big numbers in the league that we all
universally believe has the deepest talent pool, where do you
(15:52):
put Burks? Yeah? I like Brooks a lot. And it's
funny you mentioned that because obviously in this combine where
a lot of guys were in really fast he um so,
but I would say that the tape tells you that
he's not He's not a sudden explosive athlete, but he
has size and stride length, and stride length can often
compensate for the lack of let's say, track speed. I
(16:14):
think he ran a four or five five, But when
you watch his tape, he moves extremely well. He ran
away from the Alabama defense on some vertical throws. Um So,
I would say he does have a size speed profile
that can mismatch corners. He's got the versatility to line
up in multiple locations in the formation, including the backfield.
(16:36):
I would think some teams might see him a little
like a Deebo Samuel or or a cor Daryl Patterson
in the way that he can be deployed lining up
all over the formation. Um, he does have really good
play speed, as I said, and I and he has
really big hands. He just snatches the ball out of
the air. So I thought he was a really strong prospect.
(16:59):
It'll be interesting whoever drafts him, Bob, to see if
they see him in that Deebo Samuel Cordaryl Patterson way,
or if just to get him started to learn the NFL,
if they feel like, hey, he's a receiver and that's
what he is. Yeah, the reason this podcast is so
great listening to you is if I'm again the football
nerve that wants to go to the bar and just
(17:21):
steal everything that you're saying and impress my buddies. Like
imagine sitting at the bar and somebody brings up the name,
you know, trail On Burke's, and you know, well, let
me tell you, let me tell you about his stride length.
You know. I mean, also, your buddies gonna looking at you,
look where did you get that? Don't tell them We're
fine with you stealing our stuff as long as you
subscribe and listen every week, we're good with that. Well,
just as a quick as side. I had to learn
(17:43):
that Bob years ago when I would watch receivers, bigger receivers.
I'm going back ten fifteen years, and I made a
number of mistakes and receivers because of this. Being honest
is I'd watch a bigger receiver and he he didn't
look fast to me, and then his forty time wasn't great,
like Brooks wasn't great, and I'd say, oh boy, this
guy can't run. And then the guy would get to
(18:04):
the NFL and he'd be a vertical threat, and I'd
say to myself, where did I go wrong? And so
I kind of learned that stride length very often compensates
for the fact that you might not be a true,
you know burner. Now, Randy Moss obviously was a true
burner as well, but I remember watching him and a
lot of times they would put him in motion and
(18:25):
he would take three steps and he'd be fifteen yards
down the field. And you know, some of these guys
that have that kind of stride length because they're long,
that's what it looks like, so they can run by
corners even though they're not four three eight guys. Well,
another great example I guess that type of conversation is
Drake London. Right. We kind of started off with two
(18:46):
of the smaller guys, Garrett Wilson Jamison Williams. Now we've
we've got Burke's obviously, I guess six three six two
six three two twenty five pounds. Drake London's a couple
inches taller, right, I mean he's in the six four
six five range to ten to fifteen. He seems to
be getting off the bus more of the prototypical old
(19:07):
school sized wide receivers. How about his skill set? Yeah,
and and again this is purely based on tape study.
And I actually watched his tape from and from one
and I was I guess from obviously, I talked to people.
You know, none of us live under a rock, particularly
at this time of year with the draft. Um, I
didn't see him the way a lot of people do. Um.
(19:29):
He's a size receiver, he's a length receiver. He's a
hands receiver. He's very smooth. He certainly has an understanding
of how to position his body to create just enough
space to catch the ball. Um. He has great body control. Uh,
he can make contested catches. That's his game. He makes tough,
contested catches versus tight coverage. So the question is can
(19:54):
he do that with the same efficiency at the next level.
And that's an open question to me because one thing
he lacks is he doesn't really have in the term
we like to use, he doesn't really have any twitch
or suddenness to his movement. He's kind of a one
speed receiver. He doesn't really have an extra gear. He's
not a vertical accelerator. UM, he doesn't really have top
(20:17):
end speed. So the question is can he make the
kinds of catches in the NFL that he made at
USC because so many were contested. There's no question that
he's smooth, he's a little bit savvy. UM. He works
really well versus off coverage. He can find us voids
(20:37):
and zone coverage. The question to me is can he
really play effectively on the outside UM and be that
boundary X. The player I kept thinking of watching him,
believe it or not, was Marcus Colston with New Orleans
who played really predominantly inside and was really really good
at it. But that's the way I saw Drake London,
(20:58):
a guy that I have a soft spot for and
I called a decent number of his games throughout his
college career at Ohio status Christal Lava. I know that's
the next guy we're going to get to. And I
don't know. When I watched him, at least in college,
he struck me as like a Chris Carter, Like all
he does is catch touchdowns. Right, He doesn't seem I
(21:19):
think to have And I don't know if you agree.
Obviously you did a deeper dive into the tape than
I have done. It's not like he has that one
specific trait that you wrap your arms around with a
lava and say, oh, he's incredibly fast or he's incredibly strong.
He just is a savvy, professional looking wide receiver at
(21:39):
the college level, and every time it seemed like they
threw him the ball, he caught it, and he was
always productive. Caped thirteen touchdowns this past year. I just
I think he's gonna be a really good NFL player.
I don't know if you agree. Yeah, And I think
he's gonna be an interesting guy for teams because I
think what you said it's true. He's very smooth, he's
very fluid. There's a certain amount of route taking isstion
(22:00):
to his game. I think you need to get him
free access off the ball, allowing him to use his
vertical stem to set up and move corners off their spot. UM.
He has a good feel for the pace and tempo
of routes. I think he works best in space. UM.
The one thing that he did not show, and I
would question this. UM. I don't know what's in his head, obviously,
(22:22):
but I think the tape tells you that there'd be
questions about his competitive toughness and his ability to make
tough catches in the middle of the field. I'm not
sure he's a catch through contact player. So I think
you want to get him free access off the ball
or you want him outside. So the question is if
you draft him, is he a compliment because he obviously
(22:42):
does have a certain skill set, or do you draft
him and think this guy is the guy? And I
think that that's an open question. Bob, that's great Cosell
on Bobo schus him. We've got a few more draft
prospects to talk about the wide receiver spot and also
maybe talk about the teams we think might need a
wide receiver the most and where some of these guys
might be in the discussion at the top of the board.
(23:03):
What type of team and what type of receiver might
fit the right type of team. We're gonna get into
that and we come back on Tape Heeds Draft Season.
Back on this latest episode of Tape Heeds Draft Season,
Bobo Shues and Greg co Sell diving into the wide
receivers this week. We've got a few more prospects to
talk about. We also want to talk about some of
(23:23):
the teams towards the top of the board that might
be most interested in adding a receiver, if not in
the first round, maybe high in the second round. As
the Jets broadcaster, I have to think my team is
in the market to add somebody at that position because
they don't really have that, you know, kind of quote
unquote number one guy, or at least they need at
least a one A one B type. And George Pickens
(23:45):
from Georgia, Greg that I think that's the next guy
that we should bring up and talk about again. Getting
off the bus. Looks like that prototypical, tall, lanky, speedy
wide receiver. What are your thoughts on him? I really
loved his tape. I mean, obviously he only played a
couple of games this year. I think he only had
five catches. But by the way, without knowing George Pickens,
I think it says an awful lot about the fact
(24:06):
that he chose to come back when he did not
have to know he would come out bob into the draft.
He could have easily said, hey, I don't need to
do that. But I thought his tape really showed a
high level receiver prospect with all the traits you look for, size, length, speed, hands,
contested catch. I think that's what you want in in
(24:28):
an NFL receiver. And I think he totally fits the
boundary X the single receiver to the short side of
the field. Um I I like, for instance, I like
George Pickens more than I like Drake London based on
tape study. Interesting why, like, what what do you think
are the the differences between the Because most people have
Drake London a lot higher up in their mock drafts
(24:49):
quote unquote than they do George Pickens, Oh for sure.
And of course Pickens is coming off that a c
L which he tour in spring practice last year, but
he obviously came back. Um. I think he's a more
blosive mover than Drake London, and he's probably he doesn't
weigh as much, but he's similar. Uh, he's he's still
a big receiver. He's not as tall, but he's still
(25:11):
a big receiver. But you're talking about a long, smooth,
competitive receiver. He can get vertical more than London can. Um.
I just think that he's a better prospect overall. And
I think if he had played this year, we might
be talking about George Pickens is a top ten pick.
How about Johan Dodson. You mentioned him in the first block,
but you know a guy that's you know, I mean,
(25:33):
he doesn't have that prototypical size. He might be the
most diminutive of all of the wide receivers that get
drafted and maybe the first couple of rounds. Where do
you think about him? Yeah? I really loved his tape
as well. Another player I saw a tape from both one. Um,
he's got explosive traits. He's got the ability to be
a factor at all three levels. You can line him
(25:54):
up anywhere outside and the slot. UM. I thought he
was actually more explosive vertically in one than he was
in twenty twenty. I thought that part of his game
got better. He has accelerating speed to get on top
of the defense. And what really stood out to me
watching his tape, given that he's five eleven eighty pounds
giver take is I thought he was really competitive and
(26:18):
fearless working the middle of the field, and that reflects
a mental toughness that you just can't teach that and
you can't inculcate that with coaching. That's just part of him. UM.
I believe he can be a multidimensional receiver. The player
he reminded me of a lot, and I think he's
better though, is Deonte Johnson from the Steelers. They're very
(26:38):
similar in terms of height and weight. UM and Dotson.
I believe ran a better forty time than Johnson did
at his uh uh combined UM I I would not
be surprised at all if Dodson was a top forty
pick and maybe got into the first round. I think
he's a really strong prospect in today's n FELL where
(27:00):
you move receivers around, create matchups, get them free access
off the ball. Dots into me is a high level prospect. Yeah.
I mean if you if you told NFL teams, I
can guarantee you a better Deante Johnson he'll go in
the first round. I think there's any questions someone is
gonna fall in level the player like that. We'll see
if someone does. How about David Bell from Purdue. Yeah,
(27:22):
David Bell is a really interesting player because again he's
one of those guys that's not explosive UM, but he's
just is a good receiver. And by that I mean
when you think of traits, he's he's got good size,
he's smooth, he's fluid, he's efficient, he understands how to
run routes. He predominantly lined up outside and produce offense,
but he does have extensive experience lining up inside, and
(27:45):
I think he can do both in the NFL. UM
his game is much more about detail and nuance and
the process of route running. He's not a high level
athlete or an explosive athlete, but you can see from
watching his A Bob that the process of understanding route
running and receiving is important to him, and he's made
(28:06):
himself into a technician and a natural receiver. I think
he has the look of a professional receiver. I think
that his his production at the next level will be
a function of team and scheme. But UM in some
ways you know, he reminded me of of let's say
Evan Jefferson when he came out of Florida and got
drafted by the Rams in the second round. Now, obviously
(28:28):
on the Rams, he's not a high volume receiver, but
if he was with a different team, he might be.
So that's why I mentioned with Bell it'll be a
function of team and scheme. But he's a very proficient, efficient,
professional looking receiver. And you talk about the look of
a wide receiver justin Ross from Clemson, he he looks
(28:49):
like all of these other Clemson guys, right, I mean,
it's just another six ft three, six ft four, you know, fluid, athletic,
gifted player. But I don't know that he is as
high on the board for many people as in past
years the top wide receivers out of Clemson are or
(29:10):
have been. So what is he Is he lacking something
that maybe the Sammy Watkins and Tee Higgins of the
world did coming out? What what has him dropped a
little bit compared to other wide receivers from Clemson. I
think I think there's a significant concern about the injury
um and I think that he hasn't you know, played
as I mean, this was not a good year for
Clemson's offense. Uh for the first time in quite a
(29:31):
long time. UM So, I think the combination of the
injury and just lesser production has has people just uncertain
as to what he is if you went back before
the injury and and that and his career continued on
that path. With all the traits you mentioned, Bob, I
don't need to repeat them, you just mentioned them. I
think he'd be in the discussion as a first round
(29:53):
type player, but I think there's just a lot of
question marks. And when there are question marks and you
have a deep receiving class, then those question marks are
are pretty in the forefront of people's minds. Um. I'll
tell you there's probably a receiver you're not going to mention,
but I feel I really want to mention him, if
that's okay here, because I really I really like this kid.
(30:16):
I don't know if you ever did a Cincinnati game,
but I really like Alec Pierce UM and I think
he's one of the more intriguing wide receiver evaluations in
this draft. Given his measurables are really good, he ran
really well, he's a terrific athlete. Now he plays big,
he plays long, he plays fast. He's a classic stride
(30:36):
length guy, as we spoke about already. Um, he's got
great body control because he's such a good athlete. He's
got hands to make contested catches. He'll be a factor
in the red zone. I think he showed somewhat or
of a refined feel for separation at the top of
his route. Stem Um. I think Pierce is And again,
(30:57):
I know this might come across to some and you
of people who listen to this, note that I based
this all on tape. I think that I can easily
compare Alec Pierson Drake London. I think Alec Pierce is
a really strong prospect. Now he's not going to go
in the top ten, I know that, but I think
he's a really strong prospect. I think he's got stride length,
(31:19):
body control, physical competitiveness, really good hands. I think he's
a really good prospect. Well, and keep in mind, folks
are going to say, well, the American Conference is opposed
to the SEC or the a SEC or the Big ten.
And that might be true, But who did he practice
against every day? He practiced against corners that are going
(31:39):
to go I mean, sauce Gardner might be a top
five pick, so like he's practicing against if not two
for and Kobe Bryant on the other side, I mean,
he might be a second round pick. So he practiced
against corners every day at Cincinnati that are absolutely going
to be taken, if not in the like high in
(32:01):
the first round. If we're talking about Sauce Gardner. And
that's that's a great point because it's funny. One of
the things when I'm at the combine and and these
guys speak at the podium, that's one of the things
they talk about all the time. They get asked questions about,
you know, the toughest guys they've had to play against
or whatever, and very often they'll mention their own teammates
who are going to be high picks. So the point
(32:21):
you just made is a phenomenal point because he's going
up against look, Sauce Gardner, whether he's top five, top ten,
top fifteen, he's going to go somewhere in there. And
Brian Is is a really quality corner prospect as well.
So these are players he has to go against every day,
so they are NFL quality players. But you know, he's
just one of those names. Again, That's why when you
(32:43):
asked me overall about the receiving class, a guy like
that is what sticks out there. Probably others, um, there'll
be other names, the Christian Watsons of North Dakota State
players like that. But this is a pretty deep class
and it depends on on your flavor. What are you
looking for in the context of your offense, because so
much of this, Bob, as you know working for a
(33:04):
team for as long as you have is it's scheme adaptability.
Unless a receiver is truly transcendent, and there's not many
of those guys, then you're looking for who fits into
my scheme and what do I have around him so
that I don't just draft the same guy, so that
you know. Obviously the Jets have Elijah More, who they're
(33:25):
very excited about, whose tape I loved a year ago.
They don't want to draft another Elijah More. They don't
want to draft the same guy with the same traits profile, right,
So the Jets are looking at Johan Dotson as much
as they're looking at a George Pickens or a Burkes
or London. I mean that they're know that kind of prototypical,
bigger outside guy, So that was gonna be my last
question before we wrap up this episode of taped's Draft season,
(33:48):
just a couple of minutes on if I'm a fan
of Team X, who do you think in the first
couple of rounds is gonna be looking hardest at wide receiver?
Obviously Jets you just mentioned, I definitely think they're on
that list. And they've up four picks at the top,
like thirty five, so obviously they could early in the
second round spend a pick on a receiver if they
didn't pick one in the first round. But who else
(34:09):
would be on your list you think wants to check
the receiver box. And obviously we're doing this before free agency,
so we'll look at the teams now. The Philadelphia Eagles
will certainly be looking at receiver. Um. I spoke to
a lot of people defensive coaches in the league who
say Davante Smith is outstanding, so he's one receiver they have.
I think they will absolutely be looking for another receiver.
(34:31):
Um I think Indianapolis does not have a first round pick,
but it's a receiver deep draft. They will absolutely be
looking for a receiver. Obviously, they drafted Michael Pittman and
he I think he's quality, but I think beyond that,
they'll absolutely be looking no matter who their quarterback is.
Um I'm trying to think any other teams immediately come
to your mind, Bob, I think New Orleans because of
(34:54):
all the upheaval they've had at wide receiver, I would
think they would be very much in the mix as well.
So look in the NFL, even if you're deep at receiver,
sometimes you're just compelled to take another one because they're
so important, right because of how NFL offenses run now.
So yeah, it's it's a good class. I'll be very
interested to see where these guys go. And uh we
(35:15):
want you to download and subscribe and be with us
on Thursday for the next episode of tape Heeds Draft
season because we're gonna talk defenses, We're gonna talk I
think the most fascinating position in this NFL draft, about
the most fascinating singular prospect maybe in this NFL draft,
and the ups and downs from the combine as well.
We will talk to you in the next episode drops
(35:36):
on Thursday. Thanks for being a taped
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