WRs & TEs in the draft thread, combine & after

Treadwell leads 2016 NFL Draft’s safest picks among WRs

By Chad Reuter

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000639334/article/treadwell-leads-2016-nfl-drafts-safest-picks-among-wrs

With the 2016 NFL Scouting Combine in full swing, I’ll be unveiling my picks for the safest prospects at each position.

Receivers that I consider low-risk selections are not necessarily speed demons, but they can run effective routes, and are tough (and/or crafty) enough to separate themselves downfield without a great 40-yard dash time. And, of course, they need to have reliable hands to make plays with or without a defender nearby. The biggest and/or fastest receiver on the team is not going to help if he can’t bring in the tough catch.

These three wideouts are my safe bets in the 2016 draft class. As with every position group in this series, there is a mix of top-rated prospects and others for whom I project a long NFL career without the early-round hype.

1. Laquon Treadwell, Ole Miss: It’s the time of year where the best players get ripped apart for this or that. I’m not guaranteeing Treadwell will be a superstar receiver in the Julio Jones/Calvin Johnson class, but he’s the best bet you have in this draft of finding a physical pass-catcher who will challenge the strength of even the best cornerbacks in the league on third downs and in the red zone. And when he lines up a smaller cornerback as a blocking target, that guy had better watch out.

Potential landing spots: San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions

2. Rashard Higgins, Colorado State: He’s a natural hands-catcher with excellent foot quickness and route-running ability who can exploit defenses inside and outside. Like Treadwell, Higgins’ 40 time is immaterial, as his new quarterback will immediately trust him to be in the right place at the right time — and catch whatever is thrown his way. Even if he proves to be “quicker than fast,” he will make plays.

Potential landing spots: Los Angeles Rams, Atlanta Falcons, Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots

3. Corey Coleman, Baylor: Yes, he plays in a spread offense with a limited route tree. But Coleman is perfectly capable of running all of the routes. I trust his ability to transition to Sundays, using his explosive cutting ability and acceleration to become both a safety valve and a big-time playmaker at the next level. If guys like Brandin Cooks, Emmanuel Sanders, and T.Y. Hilton can be among the leading receivers in the league, Coleman should fare just fine.

Potential landing spots: Cincinnati Bengals, Dallas Cowboys, San Diego Chargers, Los Angeles Rams

Note: this one’s in 2 threads, here and the qb thread. I just repeated the WR part here for the sake of access. Duplication ain’t an issue. Hope no one minds.

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Joe Marino’s Scouting Combine Notes: Quarterbacks, Wide Receivers and Tight Ends

Written by Joe Marino on February 27, 2016

link: http://draftbreakdown.com/joe-marinos-scouting-combine-notes-quarterbacks-wide-receivers-and-tight-ends/

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Wide Receivers

Pitt’s Tyler Boyd and TCU’s Josh Doctson displayed the most natural, soft hands of any receivers today. These docston insideguys can catch footballs in their sleep. Both have exceptional body control.
Not far behind Boyd and Doctston is Cal’s Kenny Lawler and Colorado State’s Rashard Higgins. They are effortless hands catchers and the ball sticks to their hands.
Notre Dame’s Will Fuller came into today’s drills with numerous drops in games and small hands. With that said, he had a clean day catching the football. That was important for him to show.
UMass WR Tajae Sharpe showed his ability to adjust to the football and had a strong day catching the football. He was locked in and performed well.
Oklahoma WR Sterling Shepard was as good as his tape advertised. After turning in excellent test results, he showed good route-running skills, burst and hands.
Clemson’s Charone Peake and UCLA’s Jordan Payton both had better timed speed than I anticipated. In a class of “slower” receivers, this will boost their stock.
Cincinnati WR Chris Moore tested extremely well today and showed good ball skills. Never waiting for the ball to come to him, he showed the ability to “got get it”.
I had a mild liking for Mississippi State WR Da’Runnya Wilson but his performance was dreadful today. His tests across-the-board were poor and he looked clunky running around. Not ideal for a NFL receiver in any way.

Tight Ends

South Carolina TE Jerell Adams was the fastest tight end today and displayed a massive catch radius.
Ohio State’s Nick Vannett was the most natural hands catcher in the group. He was clean in the gauntlet drill and the ball was securely squeezed away from his body. He ran excellent routes with good change of direction skills and timing.
Montana State’s Beau Sandland struggled catching the football today. The ball was on top of him quickly and he was unable to adjust and secure the ball in the gauntlet. He had several drops.
Stanford’s Austin Hooper who is an intriguing move-piece, ran good routes and confirmed his play speed.

Ohio State’s Nick Vannett was the most natural hands catcher in the group. He was clean in the gauntlet drill and the ball was securely squeezed away from his body. He ran excellent routes with good change of direction skills and timing.

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NICK VANNETT, TE
SCHOOL: OHIO STATE
COLLEGE EXPERIENCE: SENIOR
HEIGHT/WEIGHT: 6-6 / 257 LBS

PLAYER OVERVIEW

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Senior Bowl Practice Report: Day 3

Myles Simmons

http://www.therams.com/news-and-events/article-1/Senior-Bowl-Practice-Report-Day-3/f0356011-e67e-49fb-b71a-5362e6db756a

MOBILE, Ala. — Players looking to make an impact at the Senior Bowl can sometimes be favored or hindered depending on the type of drill the coaches assign. In the North team practice Thursday morning, the Cowboys coaching staff had the team go through a long red zone 7-on-7 period. The favored player? Ohio State tight end Nick Vannett.

He made reception after reception in the period, clearly a favored target for all four North team quarterbacks. At one point, he made four touchdown catches in four snaps during the drill. He showed athleticism, an ability to get open, and a penchant for making tough catches in tight windows.

“I feel like I’ve always been a red-zone threat — just throw it up, I’ll go get it,” Vannett said after practice. “I’ll make a play.”

The former Buckeye won a National Championship last year, but received limited opportunities to make an impact in the passing game in college. Vannett made only 55 receptions for 585 yards in his collegiate career. But one of those receptions came in last year’s title game, as the tight end caught a touchdown late in the first quarter to give Ohio State its first lead of the game.

“I didn’t get many of those opportunities at Ohio State and I just wanted to show everything that I’m good at — show the real Nick Vannett,” he said. “And I think I put that on display this whole week.”

It’s apparent from his stats, but Vannett was primarily a blocking tight end at Ohio State. His experience has shown on the field this week, as he’s been able to take on defensive linemen with success in the run game.

“I did a lot of that at Ohio State so I kind of grew to like it,” Vannett said. “I get a great feeling just knowing that I made a key block and sprung the run on that play. I get just as good a feeling from doing that than I do making plays in the pass game. So I enjoy doing both and I feel like that’s going to add more value to me, being able to do those things.”

Even though he wasn’t known as a pass catcher, Vannett was still a significant piece of Ohio State’s College Football Playoff victories last year. And that’s an experience Vannett said is almost hard to describe, in part because of everything the team had to overcome.

“People didn’t think we were going to get that far after Braxton Miller going down, the loss to Virginia Tech early in the season,” Vannett said. “Everybody was kind of looking forward to next year — they kind of forgot about that year. And we stuck together, grinded it out, and came out on top. Getting to share that with all those guys in the locker room, it was incredible feeling.”

It’s well known how head coach Urban Meyer has recruited and developed talent since his arrival at Ohio State, which is reflected from the team’s four players in Mobile this week.

“It just shows the type of players that we have,” Vannett said. “We have ball players at Ohio State and we were well represented out here. I think we all did really well this whole week. And it’s just awesome to kind of put it on for back home.”

Agamemnon wrote:

Even though TEs are poor compared to the rest of the draft, there are still some players that you would like to have on your team. imo

Vannett sounds great. It’s like a Fisher dream come true. A TE who blocked his entire college career, and then turns out, he can catch…and play all over the formation.

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AFC scout worries on Treadwell’s speed

Laquon Treadwell – WR – MS – Mar. 20 – 7:55 pm et

An AFC Northeastern scout voiced concern that Ole Miss WR Laquon Treadwell is “going to get beat up because he’s slow.”
The scout added that while he’s uneasy about Treadwell’s speed, he “like everything else he does.” Perhaps offering a bit of self-criticism, the scout went on to note that “[y]ou would think scouts would learn about overestimating speed and underestimating tape. He’ll go in the first but not sure how high.” Most mock drafts slot the 6-foot-2, 221-pounder into the mid-to-late first round, with the Los Angeles Rams acting as an easy sort of marker to judge his stock. The Rams hold the 15th pick, which figures to be around where Treadwell’s taken off the board. In a more optimistic assessment, CBS Sports’ Jared Dubin had the Giants selecting Treadwell at No. 10. We would be somewhat surprised if he reaches that high. It’s not out of the question that either Baylor WR Corey Coleman or TCU WR Josh Doctson (or both) will be taken ahead of Treadwell. Mar. 20 – 7:55 pm et
Source: NFL.com

http://www.rotoworld.com/content/playerpages/playerbreakingnews.asp?sport=CFB&id=132057&line=54167&spln=1

from off the net

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alyoshamucci

Treadwell 4.63 40 at Pro Day.

I’m torn for a number of reasons … Looking at Doctson, Coleman, and Treadwell

1) I want a blocker, someone who can run a full route tree. (That’s Treadwell)

2) I want a size/height speed combo … (That’s Doctson)

3) I want a POA winner. (Treadwell AND Doctson)

4) I love speed and agility. (Coleman)

5) I love separation abilities. (Coleman and Doctson)

6) I love guys that we don’t have to coach up. (Treadwell)

Given that list I would rather draft Michael Thomas or Tyler Boyd in round two than not have my wants met by any one player.

That said I have really liked Treadwell’s attitude and would choose him of the three.

Agamemnon wrote:

Look at the weird page I found. It shows this years WRs rated with last years WRs.

If I read it right, according to this, then, WR is okay in 2016, it just lacks the A+ grade elite prospects. In every other way it compares.