N/S Draft News DeSean Jackson WR Cal (1 Viewer)

[stadanko]

He has a future in Arena Football if the NFL doesn't work out.

 

[CargoJon]

Wes Welker is listed at 5"9" and lucky if he'd crack 5'7"......just sayin.

 

[canuckredux]

According to Matt Mayock, there are no 1st round graded WRs in this year's draft.....

It's Mike Mayock and his draft analysis stock is slipping. A few of his observations:

1. Mendenhall, not McFadden, is his #1 RB. Not that that's a bad thing to say; he may very well be, but his reasoning behind it and his tape breakdown were horrible.

2. Brandon Flowers is his #1 CB

3. There are no safeties with a 1st-round grade in this draft.

That being said, the WRs in this draft class are borderline late-1st round picks. A few will go in the 1st, though.

 

[Pdlc]

Very similar to Ted Ginn, remember how high he was chosen.

Desean won't go as high but he'll be drafted late in the 1st.

 

[tristang]

This is another example of why the combine is now the single worst thing to ever happen to the game of football.

Think about it. DeSean Jackson was a projected first rounder. Not high, but still first rounder.

What has changed? He didn't get smaller, he didn't get shorter. Just the text on his bio changed. That's it.

So, if scouts thought he was a first rounder before, what has changed? Nothing. Despite his actual size/weight, he still did everything in college that got him ranked where he was.

Anyone changing their thinking about Jackson is being stupid. If you thought he was a middle to late first rounder, you should still think so.

What you did in college is 5 million times more measurable than what you do at the combine.

 

[MLU]

IMO, Ted Ginn is just pure, unadulterated speed. DeSean Jackson is a playmaker. The guy might be under six foot, but he has the reach of a guy who stands 6-6. He just explodes off the line of scrimmage. I don't know if he can gain much weight either without losing his explosiveness because he has a small frame. He's will never be a #1 WR, but he will score a lot of touchdowns as a #2 receiver opposite a guy like Marques Colton. He's more like Steve Smith than Ted Ginn. Jackson has some serious moves and is a very tough runner.

I'm not turned off, I still like the player, but the 32 NFL franchises will be turned off.

That's just how it is. Recievers who are 5'9 or so don't go in the first round. At least not the early first round. Sinorice Moss (2nd round), Steve Smith Carolina (3rd round), I think Lee Evans is probably the shortest 1st rounder in awhile (5-10, #13 overall). DeSean Jackson may run a phenomenal 40 time and get some consideration but the fact is, sitting at 5-9, he's likely going to slide.

Lee Evans at #13
Santana Moss at #16
Troy Edwards at #13

All listed at 5-10. I have met Troy Edwards on multiple occasions and there's no way in Hades that he's taller than 5-8. If he is, then I'm 6-4.

 

[REALCHRISM]

2nd rounder

Or maybe even early third...at any rate, I would take him...we need a return man and he's a superb return guy...he could be used in the slot sort of like New England utilizes Wes Walker. He's got world-class and has solid hands. He's a solid route-runner and a guy that I would certainly consider drafting if available in the second and definitely if he is there in the third. Also, Steve Smith is only 5'9. Get Jackson in the weight room and he can get bigger.

 

[REALCHRISM]

I'm not turned off, I still like the player, but the 32 NFL franchises will be turned off.

That's just how it is. Recievers who are 5'9 or so don't go in the first round. At least not the early first round. Sinorice Moss (2nd round), Steve Smith Carolina (3rd round), I think Lee Evans is probably the shortest 1st rounder in awhile (5-10, #13 overall). DeSean Jackson may run a phenomenal 40 time and get some consideration but the fact is, sitting at 5-9, he's likely going to slide.

Yeah, I think you're right about Evans. I think Troy Edwards was also similarly size to Evans, but weighed a little bit more.

 

[REALCHRISM]

Very similar to Ted Ginn, remember how high he was chosen.

Desean won't go as high but he'll be drafted late in the 1st.

I don't know if you can say they are similar in size. Ginn is 5'11, which is consider solid height for a WR. He also weighs about 11 pounds more.

 

[LoneStarSaint]

Or maybe even early third...at any rate, I would take him...we need a return man and he's a superb return guy...he could be used in the slot sort of like New England utilizes Wes Walker. He's got world-class and has solid hands. He's a solid route-runner and a guy that I would certainly consider drafting if available in the second and definitely if he is there in the third. Also, Steve Smith is only 5'9. Get Jackson in the weight room and he can get bigger.

Steve Smith is the exception not the rule

 

[LSSpam]

IMO, Ted Ginn is just pure, unadulterated speed. DeSean Jackson is a playmaker. The guy might be under six foot, but he has the reach of a guy who stands 6-6. He just explodes off the line of scrimmage. I don't know if he can gain much weight either without losing his explosiveness because he has a small frame. He's will never be a #1 WR, but he will score a lot of touchdowns as a #2 receiver opposite a guy like Marques Colton. He's more like Steve Smith than Ted Ginn. Jackson has some serious moves and is a very tough runner.


Lee Evans at #13
Santana Moss at #16
Troy Edwards at #13

All listed at 5-10. I have met Troy Edwards on multiple occasions and there's no way in Hades that he's taller than 5-8. If he is, then I'm 6-4.

Yeah but Troy Edwards was a disaster He's more a cautionary tale.

Moss and Evans were both track guys. So was Ginn Jr. who was actually about 5-11/6-0 I think but was just rail thin. Jackson will have to pull a 4.3 40 or something similar and show that sort of speed to stay in the first.

Short receivers shouldn't be avoided like the plague. I actually like a ton of short receivers and was all over Steve Smith from USC last year to complement Colston (who is 5-11). They have their place. The ones with speed usually combine great quickness, which means they get great separation. Guys like Moss and Evans are almost universally gamebreakers.

But that of course is the hang-up, you have to use them in a certain way. You can't rely on them to be physical off the LOS, to run those 8 yard curls that get you first downs or 10 yard fades that get you touchdowns, they're limited in many respects.

Except of course Carolina's Steve Smith. But he's the Allen Iverson of football, he's a unique exception, not the rule.

I just have a hard time seeing any receiver other then Carolina's Steve Smith who is 5-10 or less deserving to go in the top 15.

 

[obwhiteo]

if the kid can play, he can play...and with strength and conditioning programs now-a-days, it won't be hard to him to gain another 15 pounds without losing any speed...heck they might even make him a bit faster.... 15 pound=3 months of training.....

 

[LSSpam]

This is another example of why the combine is now the single worst thing to ever happen to the game of football.

Think about it. DeSean Jackson was a projected first rounder. Not high, but still first rounder.

What has changed? He didn't get smaller, he didn't get shorter. Just the text on his bio changed. That's it.

So, if scouts thought he was a first rounder before, what has changed? Nothing. Despite his actual size/weight, he still did everything in college that got him ranked where he was.

Anyone changing their thinking about Jackson is being stupid. If you thought he was a middle to late first rounder, you should still think so.

What you did in college is 5 million times more measurable than what you do at the combine.

First of all, you're confusing a bunch of people who do mock drafts with NFL scouts. You don't have the faintest idea what NFL scouts thought about Desean Jackson before hand. Most may very well have already heard he was shorter then his media guide said, felt like he looked shorter on the field, and had already had him pigeon holed into a completely different rank then the 50 mocks you've read over the past month. Mock drafts do not equal the collective opinion of the NFL. That mock drafts change doesn't strictly reflect changing NFL attitudes. Usually it just reflects people doing mock drafts becoming more aware of what the NFL opinions were to begin with.

Secondly college level competition isn't NFL competition. It's not the same. It's really not close to the same. By nature there is a lot of "projecting" that goes on from the college level to the NFL level. It's not enough that you were slightly faster then your college competition, that makes you slow in the NFL. You had to be way faster. 5-10 maybe sufficient to catch a jump pass on the sideline in college when you face mostly 5-9 CBs who are less athletic, quite a different matter when you line-up against Nnamdi from Oakland who is 4 inches taller, jumps higher, and out-weighs you by 30 pounds.

So yes, measureables like height, speed, etc, do matter.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. Do you really think they pay attention to an event that has no meaning? And only you see "the truth"?

 

[Pdlc]

5'9 is pretty short

Jason David could look him in his eyes if he ever defends him.

Which might help David from looking in the backfield.

 

[tristang]

First of all, you're confusing a bunch of people who do mock drafts with NFL scouts. You don't have the faintest idea what NFL scouts thought about Desean Jackson before hand. Most may very well have already heard he was shorter then his media guide said, felt like he looked shorter on the field, and had already had him pigeon holed into a completely different rank then the 50 mocks you've read over the past month. Mock drafts do not equal the collective opinion of the NFL. That mock drafts change doesn't strictly reflect changing NFL attitudes. Usually it just reflects people doing mock drafts becoming more aware of what the NFL opinions were to begin with.

Secondly college level competition isn't NFL competition. It's not the same. It's really not close to the same. By nature there is a lot of "projecting" that goes on from the college level to the NFL level. It's not enough that you were slightly faster then your college competition, that makes you slow in the NFL. You had to be way faster. 5-10 maybe sufficient to catch a jump pass on the sideline in college when you face mostly 5-9 CBs who are less athletic, quite a different matter when you line-up against Nnamdi from Oakland who is 4 inches taller, jumps higher, and out-weighs you by 30 pounds.

So yes, measureables like height, speed, etc, do matter.

The NFL is a multi-billion dollar business. Do you really think they pay attention to an event that has no meaning? And only you see "the truth"?

The combine is only useful to get an idea of what players to look at further. And once you have that list of possible players, you then look at the tape.

In order of importance, here is what you should look at:

1. Tape of player in college games
2. Interview/personality
3. Senior bowls
.
.
.
.
4,756. Combine performance