Josh Reynolds

This is presumably Matt Waldman though no link was given where I took it from.

2. Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M (6-3, 194)
With the exception of a week where Isaiah Ford snuck into this spot, Josh Reynolds has been my No. 2 receiver since September. Keep in mind, I don’t do
published, soap-opera-style rankings, so it’s not as if
I studied everyone, ranked them and then updated
that ranking as I went.
I happened to watch Reynolds early, and he had a
strong score for his performances that earned him
the No. 2 spot. As I continued studying him and the
rest of this class, Reynolds didn’t budge from this
spot. It’s still a telling indication that I’ve liked him
for a while.
It’s why the lack of buzz surrounding Reynolds was
puzzling. Those of us in the draft community that do
this work year-round understand that we’ll differ on
players, and wide receiver has a great deal of
variation. Even so, I’ve come across only a few
people in the community who are as optimistic about
Reynolds’ talent.
A quick, fluid, and aggressive wide receiver,
Reynolds isn’t a special player at this point, but he
has special moments. Pair those moments with skills
that are good enough for Reynolds to contribute now
and get even better later, and he has the potential of
a secondary starter during the next two years who
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could evolve into a primary weapon by year three or
four.
Reynolds begins routes with good pad level off the
line of scrimmage. He has a number of methods to
work free from press coverage. He’ll reduce his
shoulder, chop, rip, and swim with his hands, and
he’ll pair them with good three- and four-step
release patterns. I’ve even seen Reynolds take the
hyper aggressive approach and shove the defender
off his spot with a punch at the line of scrimmage
before the defender can even react to the snap.
If Reynolds gets downfield early, he’ll stack a
defender on vertical routes and control the pace of
the pattern. Although his 4.52-second 40-yard time
isn’t a fantastic time, it’s solidly starter-caliber.
Reynolds’ frame is tall and wiry. He’s built a lot like
A.J. Green, and his style of play has similarities.
Green ran in the 4.5’s at the NFL Combine. Reynolds,
like Green, has even better acceleration and
quickness. Reynolds’ 4.13-second 20-Shuttle and
6.83-second 3-Cone times are star-caliber numbers.
Reynolds has the raw material and burgeoning tools
to get on top of defenders early and stay there. If
not, he also has the talent to win the ball in the air—
a lot like Green.
Reynolds has some hip bend into hard breaks. If he
can combine the single-step stops that he exhibits on
some routes with this hip bend, he can become a
fine timing route runner in the NFL. Green mastered
the same developmental lesson.
Once he reaches the top of his stems, Reynolds uses
his hands well enough to earn separation against
tight coverage. He can rip or use his forearm to
“frame” his position—a nuance of earning position
that looks like a push-off but isn’t (and it’s legal)—
and earn separation on the turn through the framing.
His turns are often sudden. Combined with the ability
to frame his position, Reynolds can generate enough
separation on a turn to catch the ball and get a step
on the defender who is still close by. His slants have
sudden turns up field.
These skills make Reynolds smooth, fast, efficient,
and productive on speed breaks. He earns good
depth on intermediate and deep routes and will work
back to the quarterback after his breaks. It helps
him earn yards after the catch.
One area where he can improve is his position before
the ball’s arrival is on fade routes. He must learn
when to turn inside or outside with the ball in the air
so he doesn’t invite contact from the defender that
inhibits his attempt on the target.
Reynolds has moments of elite skill as a receiver.
He’s acrobatic with his adjustments and he’s capable
of winning the ball between two defenders. He
contorts his body to win the ball in mid-air and take
a hit but he also makes plays on low throws with
flexibility and technically sound hand position.
His flexibility is also present with his boundary
awareness. He can drag or tap his toes inbounds
after adjusting to the ball in the air.
His tracking of the ball includes difficult scenarios.
Reynolds makes plays on errant passes thrown
behind his break point, extending an arm well behind
his body to one-hand the target while moving in the
opposite direction on a speed break. To heighten the
difficulty, Reynolds can do this when hit head-on.
When Reynolds doesn’t earn position before the
catch, he has the skill to earn it during the act of the
reception. He’ll time his leap to high-point the ball or
extend his arms over the head of the defender ahead
of him and pull the ball away from an off-balanced
angle. Many of his daring displays also happen in the
middle of the field.
As impressive an acrobat as Reynolds is, he has
plays where he’ll misjudge the arrival of the target,
leap unnecessarily, and be forced to trap the ball. He
also experiences focus drops on routes breaking back
to the ball because he’s too focused on running
before he looks the ball into his hands.
Reynolds will drop multiple targets in a game, and it
can be frustrating to watch a receiver make these
simple errors while winning some of the most
difficult targets within the same contest. However,
Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens and Brandon Marshall
are perfect examples of players who did the same
thing as Pro-Bowl receivers in the NFL.
While the perception of Reynolds is that of a onedimensional
deep threat, he’s a dangerous player on
quick-hitting routes. His slant route is a specialty.
He earns quick position and often runs through
contact from the trailing defensive back or flat
defender with snap turns up field. Although much is
made of his thin frame, he has wiry strength to
bounce off hits from defensive backs and continue
down-hill.
He often turns through contact and runs through
wraps to his lower legs to earn extra yards. His stiffarm
is good enough to knock down safeties with its
placement.
He’s an aggressive runner and he’ll initiate contact to
work away from it, much like a good running back in
the open field. Reynolds will deliver a forearm to
initiate contact then spin off and balance-touch, if
necessary, to continue forward.
His patience behind blocks could be better, but it’s a
minor point for a receiver with so many positives. A
more significant issue is ball security. Reynolds
carries the ball mostly under his left arm, and he lets
the security get too loose. There are plays were
Reynolds holds the ball like it’s on fire and he’s
desperate to dunk it in a tub of water.
Blocking is a positive. Reynolds keeps his feet
moving while his hands are in good position, and it
helps him turn or push defenders away from the
path of the ballcarrier.
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Reynolds can deliver an uppercut punch but he must
learn to roll his hips through the contact to maximize
the power of the blow. After the initial strike,
Reynolds will overextend while trying to generate a
push.
Reynolds overruns angles to the assignment and
misses the block. When this happens, he’s usually
taking longer strides than he should. When he cuts
his stride length and exhibits more patience, the
outcomes are in his favor.
Is Reynolds the next A.J. Green? It sounds like it
when I make the comparisons, and Reynolds belongs
in the same area code of playing style. However, for
Reynolds to bear true similarities to Green, he’d have
to be in the same zip code.
Consistent hands and continued attention to routes
and releases could get him within the same post
office, even if different trucks are delivering their
mail. Reynolds earns more comparisons to Green’s
former teammate Marvin Jones than Green himself.
Ultimately, what matters more than the comparisons
is the projected role. Reynolds has WR1 upside if he
puts it all together. However, a better expectation is
consistent WR2 production as an oft-targeted
complement for at least a few years.
Think of Reynolds as a potential WR1 who earns that
role with his second contract.