Wide Receiver - scouting the prospects

[Since1971]

Marcus Easley WR Connecticut 6-2, 216, 4.40
Saw every UConn game this year and this kid is a stud. Belichick is paying attention to Uconn players.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

Marcus Easley WR Connecticut 6-2, 216, 4.40
Saw every UConn game this year and this kid is a stud. Belichick is paying attention to Uconn players.

I liked him in their bowl game and he reportedly had a good week of practice at the TvN game.

 

[Box_O_Rocks]

UC's Gilyard dreams of playing for Bengals

The Bengals have the No. 21 overall selection. The team doesn’t pick again until the 54th overall selection...
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“My goal is not to be a first-round draft pick, but to be drafted,” Gilyard said. “I feel like I’m that much closer to my goal with a strong showing at the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala. I would love to be drafted by any team, but like I said it would be a dream come true to go to Cincinnati.”
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Gilyard received a lot of tough love while in Mobile and embraced the pro coaching.

“Personally, I wanted the coaches to be real strict on me at the Senior Bowl, and they were,” he said. “The whole experience was a good one. I thanked Lions receivers coach Shawn Jefferson for taking me from a B-minus player to an A-plus player in a week.

“Coach was really nitpicking, which I loved and was used to it. That’s just going to make me a better player. The coaches helped me outwork all the competition during that week. Now I’m ready to move another step closer to obtaining my dream.”

 

[Defsoul]

Has anyone seen Terrell Hudgins from Elon play? He is a FCS All American and holds several NCAA Division I records such as receiving yards (5,250) and receptions (395). He seems to be a pretty big dude at 6 ft 2 in and 236 lb.

 

[BradyManny]

This.

Multiple vacancies at slot, 3, and four, plus a "1" extension issue on the horizon. For example:

1: Moss... Who else presently with the team is capable of even 1b duty, let alone 1a or big dawg 1 roles? Depth is my concern.
2: Which for argument's sake we'll call the slot. Edelman is "penciled in," he's not a given. Further, depth again raises it's knobby head.
3: Tate is "penciled in," but based on college production. Depth, 'nuff said.
4: ?
5: Aiken
Stanback = #3 QB & WR... :confused2:
Slater = Aiken, sorta.
Darnell Jenkins = PSquad mystery.
Welker: PUP, perhaps a late returner (Heavenly Father, grant Wes a bionic knee and "full" recovery; in Christ's Name. Amen).

NE is a 3-5 wide formation team at present, there is a depth issue at all but #5, there are open battles to be fought at 2, 3, & 4. The NFL is now more than ever an offensive-based league and the Pats need to create the competition for those three spots and the #1 depth role in the offseason. Some advocate Stallworth, fine, he's a 4 to pencil in, but he's not enough and I'm not intrigued by the WR Free Agent pool. Perhaps some trades will occur, it's now waiver time and there might be some cuts that could help, but overall I see the draft as the better resource - sad as it is to say that.

I'm firmly with Box on this one. Whether wide receiver is your #1 priority or not, I can't see how one can argue its the quickest way to upgrade this team. Legitimate #3 and #4 wideouts might take that 27 points a game and bump it closer to the 38 it was in 2007.

No matter what improvements we make on defense, it will never be that drastic, production-wise. There is no greater upside on this team than in improving its wide receiver corp to be the deep group it used to be, in which our #3 WR was a mismatch against their #3 CB.

Mardy Gilyard looks like everything the Patriots want in a receiver.

Add him, Deion Branch, throw in a rehabbing Brandon Tate, and hopefully Wes Welker by week 6-9, and you have yourself the best wide receiving group we'd have since 2007.

If Gilyard and Golden Tate were both available in round 2, I'd take them both. Our wide receiving group of the future would then be: Gilyard, Tate, Tate, Edelman. All for the price of 2 2nd rounders, a 3rd and a 7th. Not too shabby.

 

[ayjackson]

UFA options per sportingnews:

1. Antonio Bryant
2. Kevin Walter
3. Derick Mason
4. Terrell Owens
5. Chris Chambers
6. Nate Burleson

 

[ctpatsfan77]

If Gilyard and Golden Tate were both available in round 2, I'd take them both. Our wide receiving group of the future would then be: Gilyard, Tate, Tate, Edelman. All for the price of 2 2nd rounders, a 3rd and a 7th. Not too shabby.

Nothing against them, but I'd rather have one of those two and a later-round guy like Marcus Easley (raw, but potentially a steal), Blair White (a Gaffney type), or Kerry Meier (a QB conversion like Edelman, except that he's actually played WR for a couple of years).

 

[chevss454]

Randy turns 33 next week and is entering his contract year. Before the 2011 season starts you need to re-sign him and plan for a 34 year old WR who might be 35 before he again plays football if there's a lockout. I can very much see BB weighing the relative value of a top tier WR in the Polianed NFL vs. a top quality DL or rush LB or an OT.

Box, 3 weeks ago I wouldn't have agreed with you that WR is the biggest need. But after watching the playoffs and especially Brees and Favre spread the ball around to 7-8 receivers successfully, I am fully on board with you.

On balance, the Pats defense rated well enough to compete.

For all the success the Pats had on offense, I think it's fair to say when it was needed most in a key situation, the offense was lacking. Why? Not enough weapons which (especially evident after Welker's injury) made the Pats all too easy to be defended. We have already seen what Brady can do to a defense when he has a number of options.

I am solidly in your corner regarding the value of a top-tier WR, whether by FA or the draft. Other positions need to be addressed but looking back at 2009, it's easy to see the Pats were 1 (or 2) good WR away from paydirt.

 

[DaBruinz]

UFA options per sportingnews:

1. Antonio Bryant
2. Kevin Walter
3. Derick Mason
4. Terrell Owens
5. Chris Chambers
6. Nate Burleson

I'd only want either Bryant or Walter on this team.. Mason has been done for awhile. T.O. is still a cancer. Chambers is one of the worst WRs in the league and Burleson doesn't do much.

 

[alvinnf]

I'd only want either Bryant or Walter on this team.. Mason has been done for awhile. T.O. is still a cancer. Chambers is one of the worst WRs in the league and Burleson doesn't do much.

I think D.Mason would be a great addition. He is a great tactical reciever who would be able to exploit teams over playing Moss......

 

[ayjackson]

I think that if you want a one year stop gap, Terrell Owens fits that bill. I'm not sure I could stomach that.

Let's face it, injuries to Chad Jackson and Brandon Tate (coupled with Chad's subsequent bust) have put us behind the eightball here.

 

[chevss454]

For 2010, WR is a major issue with the residual hangover from 2009 - I don't know the top rated WRs in this draft well enough to advocate for one in round one, but I do know Mardy Gilyard and Antonio Brown who can be Deion Branch-type playmakers with a Tommy Brady pulling the trigger. Teamed with Moss, Edelman, and Tate you've got some WR/PR/KR depth for all WR positions.

Dez Bryant and Golden Tate are out of reach, imo.

Mardy Gilyard, Cin; Slot/speed;KR; 6" 180;4.51 speed; rnd 1-2

Dexter McCluster, Miss; Slot/speed;KR; 5'8 165; 4.42; rnd 1-2

Arrelious Benn, Ill; multipurpose;KR; 6'2" 220; 4.5; rnd 1-2

Damian Williams, USC (JR); multi-purpose; 6'1" 195; 4.49 speed; rnd 1-2

Brandon LaFell, LSU; multi-purpose; 6"3" 204; 4.54; rnd 1-2

Taylor Price, Oh; multipurpose; 6' 198; 4.36; rnd 2-3

Desmon Briscoe, Kansas (JR) Tall target; 6'3" 200; 4.6; rnd 3

Jordan Shipley, Texas;KR; Slot/speed; 6" 190; 4.47; rnd 2-3

Demaryius Thomas, GT (JR);Tall target; 6"3" 229; 4.59; rnd 2

Eric Decker, Minnesota; multipurpose; 6"3" 215; 4.54; rnd 4 (injured)

Jacoby Ford, Clemson; Slot/speed;KR; 5'9" 180; 4.37; rnd 4-5

Danario Alexander, Missouri; Tall target; 6'5" 220; 4.6; rnd 5-6

I have highlighted those I like a lot relative to rnd projected. If your binky was left off the list, I apologize.
Gilyard is tougher than his frame would suggest and he is a smooth route runner. Has terrific athletic ability and routinely makes highlight reel catches.
Plus, he is KR as is Benn but I doubt Benn will do that in the NFL. Benn is bigger and stronger but isn't as fast twitch as Gilyard. Benn could drop into rnd 2 and could be a great value there.
Alexander of MO could be a steal in rnds 5-6.

 

[BradyManny]

Nothing against them, but I'd rather have one of those two and a later-round guy like Marcus Easley (raw, but potentially a steal), Blair White (a Gaffney type), or Kerry Meier (a QB conversion like Edelman, except that he's actually played WR for a couple of years).

Fair enough. Worth noting we have a bunch of 7th round picks with the comp picks coming, so we can take a stab at finding another Edelman, for sure.

With Gilyard & Tate, I think Gilyard is clearly my preferred prospect, IMO - he looks like a taller, even shiftier Deion Branch. But Tate has played in an offense under Weis, and that might be huge in helping him transition. With either guy, they'd need to be in the right value range - I wouldn't spend a 1st on either, for instance.

 

[chevss454]

Fair enough. Worth noting we have a bunch of 7th round picks with the comp picks coming, so we can take a stab at finding another Edelman, for sure.

That could be Kyle Williams of Arizona St.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

That could be Kyle Williams of Arizona St.

Who's that?

 

[chevss454]

Who's that?

Kyle Williams, Arizona State, NFL Draft - CBSSports.com - NFLDraftScout.com

5'10", 185, 4.48 speed.

 

[Coach42]

I think if we have learned anything about the Patriots over the last couple of years its that it takes quite a bit more than just speed and hands to make the grade at wide out. I think WR for the Pats is the most difficult position to project. If you look at the players who have had success in the system Brown, Branch, Givens, Moss, Welker, Gaffney, and Patten the common thread seems to be intelligence. Not to say the guys who have come here and failed are stupid but the common thread with Galloway, Jackson, Johson, Gabriel, Hayes etc. is that they could never,"Get on the same page" with Brady. I'm not 100% sure what "get on the same page" is but I would say football IQ is in the neighborhood.

Having said that I don't know how to give an accurate projection of the type of WR the Pats could be after. If you look at the group of guys who didn't make it they are much more athletic (minus Moss of course) than the guys who did. They are also physically (again minus Moss) bigger. So that seems to rule out 40 times, Ht., strength, etc. If I was forced to guess the type of player that would do well for the Pats I would think a guys like Gilyard or Shipley, good solid intelligent, consistent, route runners. I think Benn and Ford are the anti-Pats WRs. Anyway WR seems to be the OLB of the offense.

 

[captain stone]

I'd only want either Bryant or Walter on this team.. Mason has been done for awhile. T.O. is still a cancer. Chambers is one of the worst WRs in the league and Burleson doesn't do much.

I agree. Walter is my first choice as a UFA WR; Bryant is a distant 2nd; the rest - not interested.

 

[Badluck]

if golden tate is there with our 1st second rounder do you want him?

 

[eagle eye]

I would do whatever it takes to get Golden Tate, imo the guy is going to be a superstar, he just has so much to offer. I am firmly in the camp that believes that offense is most important. Look at the Saints, they got their offense right last year and took the line this year with their D of not trying to do too much and it was hugely successful. If we get Tate I am certain that Brady throws over 40 tds next season. Of course we have to add a guard also but there is not that much needed on offense imo.

Yeah we need a DE/OLB or even two but imo the order should be WR and then play the second rounders to get the best you can with the OG the most important remaining piece.

We all know BB at this stage though, what I mean is he will probably take Tebow and another DT, an MLB and a TE.