2022 NFL Draft Talk

[RashanGary]

More and more, Burks looks like the pick at 22 to me.

If we take a WR at 22.

[Sparkey]

More and more, Burks looks like the pick at 22 to me.

Can he play outside ? Everything I see is he ran short routes off the tackle or over the middle. Rodgers loves throwing outside...

[Joemailman]

Can he play outside ? Everything I see is he ran short routes off the tackle or over the middle. Rodgers loves throwing outside...

I see Burks lining up all over the place. His ability to play inside, outside, and even in the backfield will lead to many different ways to scheme to get him open. And he's pretty good on contested balls. He is not the most polished route runner (he's not Olave), but he's great with the ball in his hands. I think he's a good fit for this offense. He would not have been a good fit in McCarthy's offense.

[Bretsky]

I thought Dotson was 184. 178 seems light. He might be too small, but it is really splitting hairs.

Listened to him and loved his interview; I'd cheer for him as a Packer. He was 178; apparently he's put on 3lbs so currently 181

[Bretsky]

Can he play outside ? Everything I see is he ran short routes off the tackle or over the middle. Rodgers loves throwing outside...

Plenty of data out there showing he can play the outside as well, and he comes down with the 50/50 balls all the time. More I watch him, more I like him.

[HarveyWallbangers]

People who are 6-4 or taller are more rare in general.

But seeing the heights of the 2021 leading receivers and of the all time leading, it brings some perspective. You are just as likely to find a shorter one as you are a tall one. More likely.

Not as a percentage of those that are available at those respective measurements. There are only about 2-4 WRs drafted each year who are 6'4" or taller. Going back to 2014 only 8 of them ran 4.50 or less in the 40.

Also, I think your list might be flawed. If you have Anquan Boldin on that list, you should have Mike Evans.

I was looking at the all-time best RAS scores for WRs. These are the guys that scored higher than Christian Watson all-time

1) Calvin Johnson* (10 RAS, 6'5" 239, 4.35 40, 1.52 10yd split, 42.5" vert, 139" broad)
2) Chase Claypool* (9.99 RAS, 6'4" 238, 4.42 40, 1.56 10yd split, 40.5" vert, 126" broad)
3) Javon Walker (9.98 RAS, 6'3" 210, 4.35 40, 1.50 10yd split, 4.05 shuttle, 6.86 3 cone, 39.5" vert, 128" broad)
4) Andre Johnson* (9.98 RAS, 6'2" 230, 4.41 40, 4.10 shuttle, 39" vert, 132" broad)
5) Vincent Jackson* (9.97 RAS, 6'5" 241, 4.51 40, 1.57 10yd split, 4.00 shuttle, 39" vert, 129" broad)
6) Roy Hall (9.97 RAS, 6'2" 229, 4.41 40, 1.50 10yd split, 4.13 shuttle, 6.65 3 cone, 37.5" vert, 123" broad)
7) Julio Jones (9.97 RAS, 6'3" 220, 4.34 40, 1.50 10yd split, 4.25 shuttle, 6.66 3 cone, 38.5" vert, 135" broad)

Christian Watson (9.96 RAS, 6'4" 208, 4.36 40, 1.45 10yd split, 4.19 shuttle, 6.96 3 cone, 38.5" vert, 136" broad)

* Calvin Johnson and Claypool didn't do shuttle or 3 cone, so they may not have finished higher than Watson if they completed all of the drills.
* Andre Johnson and Jackson didn't do 3 cone.

Note: I'm not including Joe Webb (college QB), Matt Jones (college QB), and Moritz Boehringer (who knows what he was) because they had little to no experience playing WR.

That's pretty good company.

[RashanGary]

Not as a percentage of those that are available at those respective measurements. There are only about 2-4 WRs drafted each year who are 6'4" or taller. Going back to 2014 only 8 of them ran 4.50 or less in the 40.

Also, I think your list might be flawed. If you have Anquan Boldin on that list, you should have Mike Evans.

I was looking at the all-time best RAS scores for WRs. These are the guys that scored higher than Christian Watson all-time

1) Calvin Johnson* (10 RAS, 6'5" 239, 4.35 40, 1.52 10yd split, 42.5" vert, 139" broad)
2) Chase Claypool* (9.99 RAS, 6'4" 238, 4.42 40, 1.56 10yd split, 40.5" vert, 126" broad)
3) Javon Walker (9.98 RAS, 6'3" 210, 4.35 40, 1.50 10yd split, 4.05 shuttle, 6.86 3 cone, 39.5" vert, 128" broad)
4) Andre Johnson* (9.98 RAS, 6'2" 230, 4.41 40, 4.10 shuttle, 39" vert, 132" broad)
5) Vincent Jackson* (9.97 RAS, 6'5" 241, 4.51 40, 1.57 10yd split, 4.00 shuttle, 39" vert, 129" broad)
6) Roy Hall (9.97 RAS, 6'2" 229, 4.41 40, 1.50 10yd split, 4.13 shuttle, 6.65 3 cone, 37.5" vert, 123" broad)
7) Julio Jones (9.97 RAS, 6'3" 220, 4.34 40, 1.50 10yd split, 4.25 shuttle, 6.66 3 cone, 38.5" vert, 135" broad)

Christian Watson (9.96 RAS, 6'4" 208, 4.36 40, 1.45 10yd split, 4.19 shuttle, 6.96 3 cone, 38.5" vert, 136" broad)

* Calvin Johnson and Claypool didn't do shuttle or 3 cone, so they may not have finished higher than Watson if they completed all of the drills.
* Andre Johnson and Jackson didn't do 3 cone.

Note: I'm not including Joe Webb (college QB), Matt Jones (college QB), and Moritz Boehringer (who knows what he was) because they had little to no experience playing WR.

That's pretty good company.

I am not against him. I just think you are missing a lot of good players like Jennings, Sterling Sharpe (5-11.5), OBJ, Antonio Brown and others. I do not think we should be limiting our receivers to the tall ones.

John Metchie is a guy I would love to add in the 3rd round. He is 5-11 and 1/4 inch. 187. He blocks well, releases well and does everything well. Just has an ACL that I would be willing to wait on.

[RashanGary]

Kevin Austin is another one. He has a shot in the middle rounds. You can get receivers later.

[run pMc]

I am not against him. I just think you are missing a lot of good players like Jennings, Sterling Sharpe (5-11.5), OBJ, Antonio Brown and others. I do not think we should be limiting our receivers to the tall ones.

John Metchie is a guy I would love to add in the 3rd round. He is 5-11 and 1/4 inch. 187. He blocks well, releases well and does everything well. Just has an ACL that I would be willing to wait on.

I like Metchie, but probably later than R3 due to that ACL. Seems like a jack-of-all-trades/master-of-none type and I think he's a high floor. I'm not sure he has a high ceiling though.

Either way I think he's a pretty good route runner and 96 catches in the SEC (albeit at a less than 12 ypc) isn't nothing. Between the ACL and an enlarged heart he might be a medical concern for Gute. I could see a team like the Patriots taking a flyer on him.

[run pMc]

Kevin Austin is another one. He has a shot in the middle rounds. You can get receivers later.

Yeah, I'm trying to make sense of him because his production 1st half of season vs. 2nd half is different. Did he make in-season progression or hit a hot streak? I kind of like him though. He's a great athlete and a raw talent still. At a minimum he can play ST while he learns how to play.
I'm sure he's on Gute's radar and if he's there Day 3 I'd be fine if they take him.

[RashanGary]

Yeah, I'm trying to make sense of him because his production 1st half of season vs. 2nd half is different. Did he make in-season progression or hit a hot streak? I kind of like him though. He's a great athlete and a raw talent still. At a minimum he can play ST while he learns how to play.
I'm sure he's on Gute's radar and if he's there Day 3 I'd be fine if they take him.

Go watch his highlight reel. It is the coolest highlight reel in this draft. Pulls down tough catches over and over

[RashanGary]

I would not mind Burks in the first and then either Metchie or Kevin Austin later

[HarveyWallbangers]

I wasn't a big fan of Austin. Austin and Isaiah Weston both tested really well, but they are late round fliers for me.

[HarveyWallbangers]

I am not against him. I just think you are missing a lot of good players like Jennings, Sterling Sharpe (5-11.5), OBJ, Antonio Brown and others. I do not think we should be limiting our receivers to the tall ones.

John Metchie is a guy I would love to add in the 3rd round. He is 5-11 and 1/4 inch. 187. He blocks well, releases well and does everything well. Just has an ACL that I would be willing to wait on.

I'm not opposed to any body type. I actually think there's room for all shapes and sizes in the MLF scheme. However, at 178 pounds I don't know that he can play outside in the NFL, and outside WR is a much bigger need for this team than slot WR. I have fewer concerns about Skyy Moore (or Greg Jennings). They would fit fine on the outside in MLF's scheme. There's another little WR that I think might be able to play outside, Calvin Austin.

[HarveyWallbangers]

A couple of interesting tidbits about Watson:

1) His dad, Tim, was a 6th round pick in 1992 by the GREEN BAY PACKERS.
2) Ty Fryfogle (a WR prospect from Indiana in this year's draft) was the other starting WR on Watson's high school team.
3) People knock his production, but they don't realize that NDSU ran the ball ~700 times and passed ~260 times last year. It's a team that ran the ball over 70% of the time. He also missed 3 games last year. In that context his production was fine. Andy Herman points out in this video that Christian Watson ran the same amount of routes in his career as Jameson Williams. He had more receptions, more yards, and more yards/reception (fewer TDs).