Interestingly I found this stat. These are highest speeds recorded this season. No surprise Williams had two of top 5, but Burks developing the highest recorded speed is interesting. He may surprise people at the combine and end up in top 10 when it is all said and done.
Great find! Thanks for sharing. This confirms even more that Burks is the WR I want and think that we need.
So rumor and mind you it could be complete made up BS so take it with a grain of salt. but apparently JD told zach he's gonna get him a big WR in free agency and look to address the defense in the draft. If that's the case he could make a run at mike williams, godwin, or devonte adams if one of those 3 shake loose. would also mean we'd likely not see a WR taken high in the draft
The bold part of the post makes a lot of sense to me. Though I do think JD will leave no stone unturned, and if there is a good FA WR for a decent price, he will pull the trigger.
Did you or anyone else watch the games where Burks seemed to have played like total shit, for example LSU or Georgia? What was the reason for poor performances? Any concerns that he is 22 by the draft day and some saying route running is still a weakness? Really don't want to end up with another Mims or even someone better than Mims, which is not saying much, but not great. Not saying Burks is Mims, but Mims also had speed and size combo, good numbers, but had a few deficiencies. Mims was inconsistent, route running was not great. Even though speed was good, he could not get a lot of separation, small YAC, lots of dropped balls, 48.8% contested catch rate, only slightly above average. How does Burks fare in these areas?
Would rather buy the defense in FA + spend draft capital on the offensive weapons. I feel like FA WRs never really go in favor of the team offering the contract.
Mims was nowhere near as physical and did have a big frame like Burks has. He also was not a YAC threat. I watched the Georgia game and some of the LSU game. Georgia railroaded Arkansas in that game. KJ Jefferson was under siege all game long because they kept blitzing Arkansas while they were backed up in their own territory. They had virtually no chance to move the ball when the ball was snapped. I didn’t key on Burks a ton in the LSU game, but LSU suddenly remembered how to play defense in that three game stretch. They held Ole Miss below their season average for points, Alabama almost 20 points below their season average and Arkansas 80 yards below their yearly rushing averages. The offense was setup off the run with a running quarterback and the game was under the lights at Death Valley with Eli Ricks (future first round pick) on him. Not trying to make excuses - he obviously underperformed. But trying to provide context.
Most sought after FAs will end up with extra. At least at WR there are options outside the draft. I remember even Jets getting guys like Marshall and Edwards who produced well, Diggs, Hopkins. Even now Robinson and Mike Williams rumored to hit free market, Rodley is available, and there may be other options too. For something like Edge I just don't recall too many 28 years or younger guy who performed well and not injury prone hitting free agency. Even Lawson was injury risk that JD had to take. That is why I feel that we have to get a stud Edge out of the draft first and foremost, even over WR. Though it would be great to get both.
Marshall produced for one year here although he was good in both Miami and Chicago. Still, he flamed out of both of those organizations quickly. Braylon never had a thousand yard year with a team other than the one who drafted him. Diggs, yes. Hopkins, one injured year, one great year. Can he recover? I think I’ve commented to you before on Robinson but I don’t see anyway he doesn’t go and play with an established quarterback.
I'm wary of many of the free agent wide receivers and would prefer to use the draft. I suppose I'm wary of big money free agents in general though. They'll have some great options at WR at 10.
I don't think it's an insane scenario where Jax takes Neal, Detroit takes Hutch, Houston @3 could very well trade the pick (Flores signing in Houston = Watson stays since they both wanted each other in Miami) or the CB (his name is slipping my mind right now), and end up with a KT at 4. There is no reason to not take a WR @10.
Thanks! One thing I keep reading is that he does not generate separation (along with suboptimal route running, which is a bit concerning for someone who will be 22 by draft). Did you observe that to be true? Mims, though fast at combine, had that separation and route running issue, and it definitely showed in NFL. Also, it would seem that given he was the main weapon, if he were as good as #10 pick suggests, the production numbers would be akin to that of Elijah Moore or Drake London, but it was lower, though still good. Thoughts on that?
The context of who Arkansas coach and quarterback are is important. Sam Pittman is a ground and pound coach (college offense version though) and KJ Jefferson is a big pounding QB that can run the ball up the gut similar to that of Cam Newton. Arkansas ran the ball 45 times a game and passed the ball 24 times a game. They also run a slower ball control offense because their strength is the running game. Ole Miss with Elijah Moore threw the ball 34 times a game in the Air Raid and ran the ball about the same - 46 times a game but were able to run that many more plays because of the pace they play at. USC threw the ball 41 times a game and ran it 33. And if you go back and watch the games, it’s ridiculous how badly Kedon Slovis stared down Drake London. It’s a positive testament to London that he caught so many balls, but let’s use the Utah game as an example. London caught one catch under half of Slovis’s completions.
What about ability to separate and route running for Drake, which are mentioned by multiple scouts as weakness? Have you or anyone else analyze that aspect? Mims had these issues too in College and still does in NFL.
The issues are not created equal. Mims had an inability to separate because he gained a lot of his yardage on deep throws, running by awful Big-12 corners. He didn’t run much of a route tree at Baylor and they played one of the weakest schedules in the country that year. Mims wasn’t jumping over defensive backs to catch bombs, he was just straight up running by them. He also wasn’t asked to run much else. I’m not sure where the separation complaint about Burks comes from. My biggest critique on the issue would be his separation when he’s working back to the ball. Stops, deep outs and chopping his feet/using his upper body to move the defenders. But he has such a big frame that he can catch those contested balls. Mims has a solid weight listed on his profile but if you look at their frames, Mims is slim up too. Burks has wide shoulders, massive hands and big arms. I posted this somewhere in the draft forum and it’s not the typical 3 min highlight tape. It showcases a lot of his plays - short and long gains. I don’t see any separation issues to be honest. Do you? I think @MaximusD163 said it best. Most college prospects are going to be a bit raw in terms of route running except for what now appears to be a huge NFL pipeline of receivers at Alabama and Ohio State.
I think the thought is since you are developing zach getting him proven weapons makes more sense then getting him someone who needs to develop. a FA WR is a known quantity where a draft could could be a moore or mims
Or you get an electric playmaker at 10 that Zach can grow with. I'm a fan of buying a defense this and drafting offensive players for Zach to grow with. They have a veteran presence in the WR room with Corey Davis and I'd target a veteran depth piece similar to Keelan Cole but not as shit. We've already discussed a TE room rework so I won't get into it but pairing one a FA TE with a rookie like McBride or Ruckert would be ideal.
