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NEWS AND INFORMATION ON THE NFL DRAFT |
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NEWS AND INFORMATION ON THE NFL DRAFT |
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2012 DRAFT PREVIEW: WRsOverview: It is very possible
that for the second year in a row, there will be at least a couple of
WRs that generate plenty of top 5-10 interest this coming April. This
past year, of course, A.J. Green of Georgia went 4th overall to
Cincinnati, while Atlanta made one of the biggest splashes of the 2011
draft when the Falcons moved way up in the opening round and took
former Alabama WR Julio Jones with the 6th pick. As good as Green and
Jones were, juniors Alshon Jeffrey of South Carolina and Oklahoma
State's Justin Blackmon just may be even better pro prospects. Indeed,
Jeffrey is generally considered to be the best non-QB prospect in the
2012 draft class to date. For his part, Blackmon isn't quite as big or
fast as Jeffrey, but is a legitimate Heisman candidate who was
uncoverable last fall when he burned Big XII secondaries for 111
receptions for almost 1,800 yards and 20 scores. Meanwhile, Notre
Dame's Michael Floyd could also end up in the top 15 discussion when
all is said and done this coming April, but will have to deal with the
fallout from a serious drunk driving charge incurred this past spring.
If the red flags do knock the Irish Floyd down a peg or two, he will still be front and centre among a deep group of solid second-tier wideouts that should also include Jeff Fuller of Texas A&M, Greg Childs of Arkansas, Ryan Broyles of Oklahoma, Justin Crier of Arizona, DeVier Posey of Ohio State, Nick Toon of Wisconsin, Jermaine Kearse of Washington and T.Y. Hilton of Florida International among others. A couple of points of note regarding this year's WR group. First, it is a senior-dominated group, although several emerging junior receivers such as Mohamed Sanu of Rutgers and Tavarres King of Georgia could also figure in the second-day mix if they opted to leave school early this winter. So could former Baylor junior Josh Gordon, but the 6-4, 220-pounder has left the team after being suspended idefinitely. The other point of note, is that starting with Jeffrey and Blackmon, there is a lot of impressive size among this year's receiver prospects, but not ncessarily much in the way of sprinter speed. However, there will-be some legitimate track-type guys in the mid-to-later rounds including Chris Rainey of Florida, Chris Owusu of Stanford, Tyron Carrier of Houston, Bert Reed of Florida State, Travis Benjamin of Miami and the Arkansas duo of Jarius Wright and Joe Adams, all of whom run under 4.4 seconds for the 40. Top 20 WR Prospects
Sleeper file: Fact is there are literally dozens of productive receivers with a chance to make an impact at the next level in college football these days. Among names that do kind of pop out, though, are Tulsa WR Damaris Johnson who is already the NCAA’s all-time leader in all-purpose yardage and Virginia Tech's Dyrell Roberts, a big-play threat with typical Hokie speed, while 6-4 Brian Quick of Appalachian State is the top receiving prospect outside the ranks of D1A football in what looks like a bit of down year in small-school receivers. Future file: Go west young man may the theme among young WRs as Southern California appears to have accumulated the best young receiving corps including sophomre Robert Woods, redshirt freshman Kyle Prater and incomin freshman George Farmer, each of whom is considered to be the top guy in his respective class. Meanwhile, other sophomore WRs to watch include Kenny Stills of Oklahoma, Keenan Allen of California and Marquess Wilson of Washington State, while Trovon Reed of Auburn is another talented redshirt freshman. If you have comments or suggestions, e-mail the Editor, Great Blue North Draft Report. The GBN can also be reached by phone at (613) 692-1088 or regular mail at 320 Shadehill Crescent, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, K2J 0L6. Great Blue North Draft Report Privacy Policy. The GREAT BLUE NORTH DRAFT REPORT is a division of SQUITERLAND ENTERPRISES, Ottawa, Ontario,Canada |