I haven't looked too much into draft prospects this year; I have a good feel on most of the quarterbacks and I just started looking into the wide receivers. Can someone tell me why Tyler Boyd isn't the universal #1 WR in this draft? Natural hands, great body control, good route runner. Highlight film is a bad way to judge a prospect, but his is littered with ridiculous plays; the type of ones that actually translate to the NFL instead of just 5 minutes worth of running past DBs and catching 80 yard touchdowns. He wins every jump ball so he figures to be a monster in the red zone (despite not being that big). I think he's one of my favorite prospects; he won't jump out because his measurements and 40 time at the combine weren't special, but I prefer prospects who stand out with the actual football stuff.
No, I can't. Like the Heisman, it probably has something to do with the overall play of the player's team, their record, their schedule, the conference they play in, etc. I had never heard of him, but that doesn't mean anything, as I haven't followed college football very much this year or last year. You're right about highlight video, but he does look awesome...hands, body control, route runner, AND PR!!!! He looks very smooth. CBS has him ranked as the #7 WR. This guy looks like a good prospect for us. We need both a #3 WR and an PR. I'd prefer someone more elusive and fast, but love his play in that video.
Lack of top end breakaway speed is a big knock on him. He's is not a sudden or explosive player. He's more of an Erick Decker type who provides a big target. He is also a bit On the slight side frame wise. Plays in a offense that feeds him tons of passes on bubble screens and lacks any other true playmaker. He's really a jack of all trades and master of none type. I love him as a prospect but unless we make a move I see him outside of our range. He's not worth a top 20 pick, but I doubt he falls past the early second, if he did I would love to grab him. He returns kicks and is a tireless worker who is a very good route runner already.
I see everyone enamored with guys like Will Fuller who light up the 40 and it seems like the same old song and dance every year. People talk about "possession receivers" like it's a bad thing; neither Brandon Marshall nor Eric Decker are going to run away from you but they were the best combo in the NFL this year. If you're a good route runner and can win contested balls, you can consistently move the chains and be a force in the red zone, which is all you need. Yeah, Boyd ran a 4.58 and isn't huge (about 6'2 200), but he can run routes and has a great feel for the ball in the air with exceptional hands. I'll always prefer prospects like that over the Breshad Perriman's of the world who ooze with "potential" because of their size and speed but never put it all together.
Good point about him doubling as a return man. If he can come in and be a #3 option with the potential to develop into a starring role once Marshall fades out AND fill our void at punt returner, he couldn't be a more perfect fit. Hopefully he's there in the middle of the second round, I'd love the pick.
If what I saw on that highlight tape is a fair indication of the type of player he is, then I'd love it too. I'd rather get Jason Spriggs there, but after his Combine, I don't think that will happen. I'm starting to think that the Jets are going to have to find an OLB in rounds 3-4 again this year, and they'll be VERY lucky to get Spriggs and Boyd in the first two rounds.
Oops! Sorry. LOL So much for my memory. I must not have looked at that highlights video then. If I did, I'm really losing it! Been too much going on and have been looking at too many prospects.
It probably helps him that so many other WRs are around the same time. How in the heck can WRs run in the 4.7s and 4.8s, however? That's traditional TE slow, and is almost OL and DE slow. That's brutal. Too much pizza and fast food? Have we reached our peak of human speed in terms of evolution?
Watched a little over half that video. Waste of my time. Shows nothing about making tough catches. Just some caught some poorly contested balls. No route running shown. Some good runs/screens blocking for him letting him get good gains. Other than one play where he juked a DB out and managed to escape another on that same play, nothing showed me worth paying attention to him.
He has a ton of behavioral issues and had numerous problems in college. Great player, but he burned bridges so badly that NFL teams are very cautiously looking at him.
The same was true of Brandon Marshall early in his NFL career. If Boyd falls to day 3 I think Marshall would be a good mentor for him.
Watched a bunch of games. Still haven't looked into Boyd's off-field but based on what I saw on the field alone: 1) Tyler Boyd 2) Laquon Treadwell 3) Josh Doctson 4) Sterling Shepard 5) Corey Coleman 6) Will Fuller Might've missed some of the top guys but those are the 6 I watched
The WR that caught my eye during the drills was Tajae Sharpe out of UMass. He's tall and thin at 6'2" 194lbs and looked really smooth running routes and effortless catching the ball. A lot of the WRs I saw looked like they were trying too hard to concentrate either on catching the ball or running the route. When I watched Sharpe he just glided and plucked the ball out of the air without overthinking it.
This WR group is super soft. Nobody stands out besides Treadwell. He's the only guy I feel has elite hands, runs nice routes and has good speed. There could be the odd gem in this class but I don't see it atm.
