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WR Andy Isabella, BAL (1 Viewer)

I took the pen....2.05.
I watched a couple cut ups of his recently and there was an interception off of a drop that hits his hands. He tries to high point thr ball and there is some contact but it goes right into the safeties hands for an interception.

I sort of agree with Monson about his run after the catch ability. Not very good moves on the quick screen screens.

 
I watched a couple cut ups of his recently and there was an interception off of a drop that hits his hands. He tries to high point thr ball and there is some contact but it goes right into the safeties hands for an interception.

I sort of agree with Monson about his run after the catch ability. Not very good moves on the quick screen screens.
I think he has good vision on screens but needs the blockers. Once he has a lane he’s gone. He might be shifty, who knows? Most of his plays he doesn’t have anyone in front of him left to juke. 

Monson is right about one thing- it would be foolish to pigeon hole him into the slot. He was learning to play the slot at the senior bowl, and excelled. He’s really good on the outside though, and I don’t think you automatically have to be 6’2” to play out there. 

Isabella’s senior bowl highlights includes a screen pass for a td, where he sheds a couple tackles. He looks good in the slot here, especially for being uncomfortable playing there (he said it was frustrating but also said he knew he would have to earn his shot on the outside in the nfl just as he did in college.)

If he lands somewhere with a big armed qb that isn’t afraid to take a risk (gb, det, kc, sea, buf, etc) I love it. If he ends up with a noodle armed qb or a young guy afraid to make a mistake (arz, ten, nyg) i don’t like it as much. 

 
I watched a couple cut ups of his recently and there was an interception off of a drop that hits his hands. He tries to high point thr ball and there is some contact but it goes right into the safeties hands for an interception.

I sort of agree with Monson about his run after the catch ability. Not very good moves on the quick screen screens.
His hands will be the biggest hurdle for him. They are small and he might struggle with contested catches. If he isn't able to separate than he's not going to pan out. Luckily he has the speed to get space. I won't worry much about one INT off his hands, we could probably find a clip of half the WRs in the NFL who have had the same thing happen. Coming into the draft Julio's big knock was that he didn't have good hands. 

 
I think he has good vision on screens but needs the blockers. Once he has a lane he’s gone. He might be shifty, who knows? Most of his plays he doesn’t have anyone in front of him left to juke. 

Monson is right about one thing- it would be foolish to pigeon hole him into the slot. He was learning to play the slot at the senior bowl, and excelled. He’s really good on the outside though, and I don’t think you automatically have to be 6’2” to play out there. 

Isabella’s senior bowl highlights includes a screen pass for a td, where he sheds a couple tackles. He looks good in the slot here, especially for being uncomfortable playing there (he said it was frustrating but also said he knew he would have to earn his shot on the outside in the nfl just as he did in college.)

If he lands somewhere with a big armed qb that isn’t afraid to take a risk (gb, det, kc, sea, buf, etc) I love it. If he ends up with a noodle armed qb or a young guy afraid to make a mistake (arz, ten, nyg) i don’t like it as much. 
If Arizona ends up with Murray, I think that would be a great landing spot for Isabella.

 
Fantasy Labs' Adam Levitan notes that UMass' Andy Isabella met 5-of-7 wide receiver minimum thresholds for fantasy football success.

Isabella (5'9/188) clears all of the athletic thresholds, but he's shorter and lighter than most receivers who have finished as a top-10 fantasy football wide receiver. The size is an obvious concern (his competition at UMass is too), but Isabella was more productive than any of the receivers with a Day 1 or Day 2 projection. Despite being undersized, Isabella is a threat to win downfield with 4.31-speed, so he's a name to remember for re-draft fantasy leagues.

SOURCE: DK Playbook

Apr 14, 2019, 12:04 PM

 
Question for whomever would like to answer: where do you put Isabella in the 2018 wr class? who do you like him better than?
Depends on if it’s where I have them now or where I had them last year. I would say AJ Brown and N’Keal Harry would be in a tier with Moore, Kirk and Sutton, then Isabella and a few others would be in a tier with Ridley, Washington, Gallup, Coutee and Pettis. I’m not a fan of Ridley (age/market share concerns) and Pettis (BMI).

The only things keeping him from my top tier are being 5’9 and playing at UMass. Draft capital/landing spot could hinder that. 

 
Question for whomever would like to answer: where do you put Isabella in the 2018 wr class? who do you like him better than?
I'd put him 3rd behind Ridley and Washington. I'd have him just ahead of Moore, because I consider Newton to be a limiting factor on WR's, where as Ryan and Roethlisberger have proven with multiple guys that they are not. They'd all be in the same tier though, which would also include Metcalf, Arcega-Whiteside, and both AJ and Hollywood Brown from this draft.

 
Question for whomever would like to answer: where do you put Isabella in the 2018 wr class? who do you like him better than?
As a prospect, I'd have 2 WR's (Ridley and Gallup) from last years class ahead of Isabella.  Seems about right.  Hard to say exactly since my groupings were not consistent over the past couple years though.  

 
You might be right.  Seems like a good slot WR with speed to burn but i haven't seen many (any?) mocks with him in the first round. I'm thinking he does, but I'd be cautious.

In the right spot I'm thinking of him as a late first FF pick in PPR. 

I'll have to look closer if you're this high on him.

He did play really well against Georgia, the only top opponent they played last year.  
I figured I'd move this here. 

I havent seen any mocks with him round 1 either, however he has been in plenty of rankings in the top 5 for wr 

I would personally consider him late round 1/early round 2. I like him better than guys like Campbell, Samuel, Marquis Brown

ETA: he commented that it was frustrating playing slot at the senior bowl. That's a concern of mine and it makes it important to see where he lands. He needs the right scheme/coach. Just because he is small and fast doesn't mean he should play slot. TY is about the same size but not as fast and he plays outside. 

What I like about Isabella is he is a great route runner. He is faster than his 40 time (there were errors with the timing equipment). He could very well be faster than Tyreek Hill

 
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TY is about the same size but not as fast and he plays outside. 
As does Antonio Brown, Tyreke Hill, DeSean Jackson and Tyler Lockette - that's why it's silly to say he can only be a slot guy. Isabella is roughly the same size as all those guys and faster than all of them (except for maybe Hill).

 
A survey of NFL evaluators concluded that UMass WR Andy Isabella is WR15.

Isabella (5'9/188) does not get the same love from the NFL as he does from the analytics community. After leading college football in receiving yards by more than 200 yards, Isabella ran a 4.31-second 40-yard dash, but no amount of production and speed can fully make up for his lack of size and competition level. Isabella will be an interesting case study in seeing how much analytics is being incorporated into the draft, but Isabella seems to be on the Day 2/3 borderline.

SOURCE: Evan Silva on Twitter

Apr 20, 2019, 4:38 PM

 
NFL Media's Lance Zierlein compared UMass WR Andy Isabella to Phillip Dorsett.

From a size and speed standpoint, Isabella (5'9/188 with 4.31-speed) and Dorsett (5'10/185 with 4.33-speed) are identical matches, but Zierlein takes it a step further by comparing their somewhat questionable hands. The primary difference between the two receivers besides draft capital is college production. Dorsett's best collegiate season was his 871-yard senior year, and Isabella has had three-straight 800-yard seasons including last year's 102-1,698-13 line. With most NFL-types down on Isabella, it wouldn't be too surprising to see Isabella fall to Round 4.

SOURCE: Lance Zierlein on Twitter

Apr 20, 2019, 7:05 PM

 
I stopped reading after “A survey of NFL evaluators concluded...”

Are NFL decision makers really going to tell the truth? 
yeah at this point it's hard to believe anything NFL personelle say. 

The draft will tell all. I like him but I do worry about his small catch radius and small hands. hard to dispute his production. even if it was at a small school

 
yeah at this point it's hard to believe anything NFL personelle say. 

The draft will tell all. I like him but I do worry about his small catch radius and small hands. hard to dispute his production. even if it was at a small school
He's a small guy, you expect big hands and a large catch radius?  Huh?

 
He's a small guy, you expect big hands and a large catch radius?  Huh?
I believe his hands are smaller than  normal for his height. which makes his smallness even more of a hindrance. I could be wrong on that, but its what I read 

He double/body catches a lot. I've seen him do these little jumps when he catches the ball too. That and he doesnt cut as fast as he should out of his routes for a smaller guy. 

Thst all said, I still like him a lot and plan to use a late 1st if I can. upside is tremendous and his hands didnt stop him from catching 100 balls last season. 

 
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Former NFL Scouting director Greg Gabriel believes UMASS WR Andy Isabella is the "most overrated" wide receiver in the 2019 draft class.

Gabriel notes that Isabella's (5'9/188) "fast but has a very small receiving radius, doesn’t extend to make catches." In another tweet, he added Isabella has "short arms, small hands, ball has to be perfectly thrown." Isabella is by no means a prototypical NFL wideout and also uses his body to catch passes far too frequently. However, his 4.31 wheels, massive collegiate production and a high dominator rating suggest that his unorthodox techniques may be something to ignore. Regardless, he'll likely be a fringe Day 2/3 selection.

SOURCE: Greg Gabriel on Twitter

Apr 21, 2019, 10:47 AM
 
I believe his hands are smaller than  normal for his height. which makes his smallness even more of a hindrance. I could be wrong on that, but its what I read 

He double/body catches a lot. I've seen him do these little jumps when he catches the ball too. That and he doesnt cut as fast as he should out of his routes for a smaller guy. 

Thst all said, I still like him a lot and plan to use a late 1st if I can. upside is tremendous and his hands didnt stop him from catching 100 balls last season. 
I'd like to know his drop rate. If it's low, does it matter how he catches the ball? I see him primarily in the slot and having separation for the vast majority of his targets (not fighting someone for the ball). As long as he comes down with the football, that's the important part.  Granted, pairing him with QBs with lower accuracy (hello Lamar Jackson) may not be the best idea.  As always, landing spot (specifically QB pairing) will play an important role.

 
I'd like to know his drop rate. If it's low, does it matter how he catches the ball? I see him primarily in the slot and having separation for the vast majority of his targets (not fighting someone for the ball). As long as he comes down with the football, that's the important part.  Granted, pairing him with QBs with lower accuracy (hello Lamar Jackson) may not be the best idea.  As always, landing spot (specifically QB pairing) will play an important role.
I swear this isn't meant to pick on you I just see this a lot and for whatever reason tonight it irk'ed me.

I keep hearing this I don't think it presents the whole picture.  "Landing spot" doesn't matter as much, what matters is the pieces around player X who landed there, mainly the QB for these WR's.  Baltimore is a great example, Lamar Jackson is the reason that nobody wants their favorite WR to land there.  It isn't that Baltimore itself is a bad spot for a WR, it's Lamar Jackson is bad for any WR that gets paired with him.  If you don't believe in Lamar Jackson then Baltimore might be ok, assuming you also believe they move on from him in the next ~2-3 years.  But we saw a similar situation play out in Miami.    

The Dolphins didn't torpedo Devante Parker's career by putting him in a scheme that didn't work, they torpedo'd his career because Tannehill was incompetent.  I think that's a very important distinction.  So yes in a way his "landing spot" wasn't great, but the second part of that was Miami's inability to recognize they should have cut the cord on Tannehill earlier than they did.  

Landing spot doesn't dictate value, it's the pieces in that landing spot that do that.  Some franchises have a history of complete ineptitude, until they don't, ie the Browns recently, or the Patriots prior to Belichick and Brady.  Some franchises have a history of excellence in terms of stability, Steelers, Packers, etc. but the "bad" spots change so quickly that I find it hard to knock a guy because of bad spots.  I think it reigns true more so for WR's than RB's as their career's tend to be longer (more time for change, or they move on to force change). 

/end rant, sorry.

Continue with your regularly scheduled programming please.  

 
PFF has Isabella with an 8% drop rate (20 career drops on 250 receptions+drops), which is almost exactly average out of the 70ish WR prospects who they included in their draft guide. And it's basically the same if you just look at his last 2 years (7.8%).

 
I think Parker was likely a bust no matter where he went. It always sounded like his issues were between the ears.

 
I know they’re different players but Isabella gets a knock for his size but Hollywood brown might be the first wr drafted? A week before the draft and suddenly Isabella is a product of perfectly thrown balls? Who was his qb then, because that guy must be the most accurate passer there is to throw 100 perfect passes to him this year. 

Also, @Dr. Dan if you envision him in the slot you haven’t been watching- the guy never played slot until forced to at the senior bowl, and still turned heads. 

I suppose we’ll see but I don’t trust a dang thing I’ll read the next week. I would understand it if he fell but this is the week for misinformation. 

 
I know they’re different players but Isabella gets a knock for his size but Hollywood brown might be the first wr drafted? A week before the draft and suddenly Isabella is a product of perfectly thrown balls? Who was his qb then, because that guy must be the most accurate passer there is to throw 100 perfect passes to him this year. 

Also, @Dr. Dan if you envision him in the slot you haven’t been watching- the guy never played slot until forced to at the senior bowl, and still turned heads. 

I suppose we’ll see but I don’t trust a dang thing I’ll read the next week. I would understand it if he fell but this is the week for misinformation. 
I dont envision him in the slot. IMO that's a lazy projection too often used for smaller wrs. He has been working with Randy Moss to transition to the slot if needed. 

I would be shocked if he falls into round 4 and surprised if he isnt drafted round 2

 
I swear this isn't meant to pick on you I just see this a lot and for whatever reason tonight it irk'ed me.

I keep hearing this I don't think it presents the whole picture.  "Landing spot" doesn't matter as much, what matters is the pieces around player X who landed there, mainly the QB for these WR's.  Baltimore is a great example, Lamar Jackson is the reason that nobody wants their favorite WR to land there.  It isn't that Baltimore itself is a bad spot for a WR, it's Lamar Jackson is bad for any WR that gets paired with him.  If you don't believe in Lamar Jackson then Baltimore might be ok, assuming you also believe they move on from him in the next ~2-3 years.  But we saw a similar situation play out in Miami.    

The Dolphins didn't torpedo Devante Parker's career by putting him in a scheme that didn't work, they torpedo'd his career because Tannehill was incompetent.  I think that's a very important distinction.  So yes in a way his "landing spot" wasn't great, but the second part of that was Miami's inability to recognize they should have cut the cord on Tannehill earlier than they did.  

Landing spot doesn't dictate value, it's the pieces in that landing spot that do that.  Some franchises have a history of complete ineptitude, until they don't, ie the Browns recently, or the Patriots prior to Belichick and Brady.  Some franchises have a history of excellence in terms of stability, Steelers, Packers, etc. but the "bad" spots change so quickly that I find it hard to knock a guy because of bad spots.  I think it reigns true more so for WR's than RB's as their career's tend to be longer (more time for change, or they move on to force change). 

/end rant, sorry.

Continue with your regularly scheduled programming please.  
You don’t think this is obvious to anyone using the term “landing spot”? I’m pretty sure people think Baltimore is a bad “landing spot” because of Jackson and likewise Indianapolis would be a good landing spot due to Luck.

 
I swear this isn't meant to pick on you I just see this a lot and for whatever reason tonight it irk'ed me.

I keep hearing this I don't think it presents the whole picture.  "Landing spot" doesn't matter as much, what matters is the pieces around player X who landed there, mainly the QB for these WR's.  Baltimore is a great example, Lamar Jackson is the reason that nobody wants their favorite WR to land there.  It isn't that Baltimore itself is a bad spot for a WR, it's Lamar Jackson is bad for any WR that gets paired with him.  If you don't believe in Lamar Jackson then Baltimore might be ok, assuming you also believe they move on from him in the next ~2-3 years.  But we saw a similar situation play out in Miami.    

The Dolphins didn't torpedo Devante Parker's career by putting him in a scheme that didn't work, they torpedo'd his career because Tannehill was incompetent.  I think that's a very important distinction.  So yes in a way his "landing spot" wasn't great, but the second part of that was Miami's inability to recognize they should have cut the cord on Tannehill earlier than they did.   

Landing spot doesn't dictate value, it's the pieces in that landing spot that do that.  Some franchises have a history of complete ineptitude, until they don't, ie the Browns recently, or the Patriots prior to Belichick and Brady.  Some franchises have a history of excellence in terms of stability, Steelers, Packers, etc. but the "bad" spots change so quickly that I find it hard to knock a guy because of bad spots.  I think it reigns true more so for WR's than RB's as their career's tend to be longer (more time for change, or they move on to force change). 

/end rant, sorry.

Continue with your regularly scheduled programming please.  
Weird rant, I don't know why you think people don't take all of that into account when they say "landing spot".  I mean you can't really decouple any of that from "landing spot" by definition.  The post you quoted specifically mentions QB specifically.

 
I know they’re different players but Isabella gets a knock for his size but Hollywood brown might be the first wr drafted? A week before the draft and suddenly Isabella is a product of perfectly thrown balls? @Dr. Dan
It's just a narrative stemming from media adjusting to what they're hearing from league sources rather than...well, everything before now.

Is it legit? Or a team trying to torpedo a player's stock so they may be able to get him more affordably? :shrug:

Not a new thing though. Dont think it's worth questioning further until this weekend. 

 
I personally use "landing spot" because I think it includes all of the following: coach/scheme, QB talent, Offensive talent, team success. It's just exhausting to type that every single time. 

 
I swear this isn't meant to pick on you I just see this a lot and for whatever reason tonight it irk'ed me.

I keep hearing this I don't think it presents the whole picture.  "Landing spot" doesn't matter as much, what matters is the pieces around player X who landed there, mainly the QB for these WR's.  Baltimore is a great example, Lamar Jackson is the reason that nobody wants their favorite WR to land there.  It isn't that Baltimore itself is a bad spot for a WR, it's Lamar Jackson is bad for any WR that gets paired with him.  If you don't believe in Lamar Jackson then Baltimore might be ok, assuming you also believe they move on from him in the next ~2-3 years.  But we saw a similar situation play out in Miami.    

The Dolphins didn't torpedo Devante Parker's career by putting him in a scheme that didn't work, they torpedo'd his career because Tannehill was incompetent.  I think that's a very important distinction.  So yes in a way his "landing spot" wasn't great, but the second part of that was Miami's inability to recognize they should have cut the cord on Tannehill earlier than they did.  

Landing spot doesn't dictate value, it's the pieces in that landing spot that do that.  Some franchises have a history of complete ineptitude, until they don't, ie the Browns recently, or the Patriots prior to Belichick and Brady.  Some franchises have a history of excellence in terms of stability, Steelers, Packers, etc. but the "bad" spots change so quickly that I find it hard to knock a guy because of bad spots.  I think it reigns true more so for WR's than RB's as their career's tend to be longer (more time for change, or they move on to force change). 

/end rant, sorry.

Continue with your regularly scheduled programming please.  
It's a fair rant, to be sure, and I agree for the most part.  I specifically called out QB for that reason.  I take no offense by any means. 

I do think BAL would be poor because Jackson will be there for at least 2-3 years + Isabella is coming out as a senior, meaning opportunities won't be great until his age is higher than most.  I'm also not so sure they change from their run first offense even if they do get rid of Jackson eventually.  All of that plays into why I think BAL is a bad place for Isabella to end up.

Also, @Dr. Dan if you envision him in the slot you haven’t been watching- the guy never played slot until forced to at the senior bowl, and still turned heads
I think this is more directed at me since I said I think he will primarily be in the slot.  I understand he didn't play there until the senior bowl, but with small arms and hands, I think a lot of teams will want to push him into the slot.  I'm not saying he won't ever play outside or that he can't, just that I think that is where most teams would put him for the majority of his snaps.  I think he will have to earn outside playing time by proving he can succeed against NFL-caliber talent there.

 
I personally use "landing spot" because I think it includes all of the following: coach/scheme, QB talent, Offensive talent, team success. It's just exhausting to type that every single time. 
And even that is really hard to get a grasp on. Kamara landing behind Ingram and AP looked ominous but without any injuries in front of him he ends up as an RB1. That was kind of a reverse case where his college “landing spot” was bad and hid his true potential. I also think the big part of this is the most difficult to know and that’s the between the ears stuff. Is this the kind of guy who is going to dedicate themselves fully to the craft, get along well with coaches, avoid distractions, etc. That’s just so hard to guage and even we are right, people change.

 
It's just a narrative stemming from media adjusting to what they're hearing from league sources rather than...well, everything before now.

Is it legit? Or a team trying to torpedo a player's stock so they may be able to get him more affordably? :shrug:

Not a new thing though. Dont think it's worth questioning further until this weekend. 
Yea, but what else is there to talk about, TJ Yeldon landing in Buffalo?

To my amateur eye this looks like teams trying to lower a guy's stock. I don't see a receiver this fast and productive falling to the 4th round. At the same time there's talk of less established receivers like Marqise Brown and Parris Campbell possibly going in the 1st. I don't get it.

 
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Yea, but what else is there to talk about, TJ Yeldon landing in Buffalo?

To my amateur eye this looks like teams trying to lower a guy's stock. I don't see a receiver this fast and productive falling to the 4th round. At the same time there's talk of less established receivers like Marqise Brown and Parris Campbell possibly going in the 1st. I don't get it.
I'm not here to tell others what to and what not to talk about, but in years in which I'm engaged in the draft I mostly shut it down before now. If you have a sound starting point and have done your own work then I think as the draft nears you're more likely to make a valuation mistake than anything. React post draft? Maybe. But now? Nah.

I'm only engaged now because I haven't been paying much attention this year. But I'm probably still not going to adjust much from what I put together in January. At least not til this weekend though.

Read everything but believe nothing is always good draft practice, but more so in April than any other month.

 
UMass WR Andy Isabella forced the 6th-most missed tackles (18) among wide receivers in 2018.

This seems surprising given Isabella is 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, but he's very active and elusive with the ball in his hands. Isabella is definitely not your typical underneath slot receiver since he has 4.31-speed and won on deep balls at UMass, but Isabella did have success in that role at times and that's where those forced missed tackles took place. Unfortunately, it doesn't look like Isabella is receiving the same love from the NFL, so don't expect Isabella to be drafted until Round 3 at the earliest.

SOURCE: PFF College on Twitter

Apr 22, 2019, 5:27 PM
 
I swear this isn't meant to pick on you I just see this a lot and for whatever reason tonight it irk'ed me.

I keep hearing this I don't think it presents the whole picture.  "Landing spot" doesn't matter as much, what matters is the pieces around player X who landed there, mainly the QB for these WR's.  Baltimore is a great example, Lamar Jackson is the reason that nobody wants their favorite WR to land there.  It isn't that Baltimore itself is a bad spot for a WR, it's Lamar Jackson is bad for any WR that gets paired with him.  If you don't believe in Lamar Jackson then Baltimore might be ok, assuming you also believe they move on from him in the next ~2-3 years.  But we saw a similar situation play out in Miami.    
Actually Baltimore is a bad landing spot historically because they have drafted a ton of busts at the WR position over the last 2 decades. They haven't had a WR develop into a top or even near the top of their depth chart since they were the Browns. Torry Smith perhaps the most successful of WR they have drafted. Or maybe Stokley but he didn't do anything until he played with Manning.

Ravens draft history

Here are the WR they drafted in draft order

2000    1    Travis Taylor    10    WR    
2005    1    Mark Clayton    22    WR    
2015    1    Breshad Perriman    26    WR    
1998    2    Patrick Johnson    42    WR    
2011    2    Torrey Smith    58    WR    
2007    3    Yamon Figurs    74    WR    
2004    3    Devard Darling    82    WR    
1999    4    Brandon Stokley    105    WR    
2008    4    Marcus Smith    106    WR    
2016    4    Chris Moore    107    WR    
2006    4    Demetrius Williams    111    WR    
2002    4    Ron Johnson    123    WR    
2011    4    Tandon Doss    123    WR    
 

So it isn't just about Lamar Jackson, at least in my view.

Incidentally I was watching Lamar Jacksons throws from last season and he can throw a very accurate ball. He doesn't do it consistently yet. How little the Ravens allowed him to throw the ball is more of a concern to me than his ability to do it.

 
Actually Baltimore is a bad landing spot historically because they have drafted a ton of busts at the WR position over the last 2 decades. They haven't had a WR develop into a top or even near the top of their depth chart since they were the Browns. Torry Smith perhaps the most successful of WR they have drafted. Or maybe Stokley but he didn't do anything until he played with Manning.

Ravens draft history

Here are the WR they drafted in draft order

2000    1    Travis Taylor    10    WR    
2005    1    Mark Clayton    22    WR    
2015    1    Breshad Perriman    26    WR    
1998    2    Patrick Johnson    42    WR    
2011    2    Torrey Smith    58    WR    
2007    3    Yamon Figurs    74    WR    
2004    3    Devard Darling    82    WR    
1999    4    Brandon Stokley    105    WR    
2008    4    Marcus Smith    106    WR    
2016    4    Chris Moore    107    WR    
2006    4    Demetrius Williams    111    WR    
2002    4    Ron Johnson    123    WR    
2011    4    Tandon Doss    123    WR    

So it isn't just about Lamar Jackson, at least in my view.

Incidentally I was watching Lamar Jacksons throws from last season and he can throw a very accurate ball. He doesn't do it consistently yet. How little the Ravens allowed him to throw the ball is more of a concern to me than his ability to do it.
You could also apply this logic to any receiver going to the Pats, which seems irrational to me.

It think it's Lamar Jackson.

 
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You could also apply this logic to any receiver going to the Pats, which seems irrational to me.

It think it's Lamar Jackson.
While its true the Patriots haven't drafted a WR to have good production during the entire Bellechek and Brady era, they also haven't used any first round picks on them during this period either. They have used free agents as starters at the position for the most part, and those players have been productive. Its not really the same as what Baltimore has done.

2006    2    Chad Jackson    36    
2003    2    Bethel Johnson    45        
2013    2    Aaron Dobson    59    
2002    2    Deion Branch    65    
2009    3    Brandon Tate    83    
2010    3    Taylor Price    90    
2013    4    Josh Boyce    102        
2016    4    Malcolm Mitchell    112    

Branch did have a few good years and even got a big contract with another team out of his play, but the others haven't done much.

The Patriots are more likely to draft a TE high than a WR based on their history.

2002    1    Daniel Graham    21    TE    
2004    1    Ben Watson    32    TE    
2010    2    Rob Gronkowski    42    TE        
2006    3    David Thomas    86    TE    
2010    4    Aaron Hernandez    113    TE    
2001    4    Jabari Holloway    119    TE    

 
Taking the history of either New England and/or Baltimore over 18 prior seasons is using a sample size that is far too small to be statistically significant and predictive of future failure. How could one possibly think that a 2019 Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta WR selection is likely to be a failure based on former GM Ozzie Newsome's poor WR draft history from 1996-2018? 

 
Taking the history of either New England and/or Baltimore over 18 prior seasons is using a sample size that is far too small to be statistically significant and predictive of future failure. How could one possibly think that a 2019 Baltimore GM Eric DeCosta WR selection is likely to be a failure based on former GM Ozzie Newsome's poor WR draft history from 1996-2018? 
He is intrinsically linked to the Ravens/Newsome and vice versa. 

Prior to his recent appointment, DeCosta served as the assistant general manager of the Ravens, being heavily involved in both college and pro scouting. Before that, DeCosta was the Director of College Scouting in Baltimore, where he oversaw the NFL draft. DeCosta, who began his career in the NFL as a player personnel assistant in 1996, served as Mid-West Area Scout from 1998 to 2003.

For the past 20 years, DeCosta has worked for former General Manager Ozzie Newsome
 
Especially when the majority of them dont work out. Pretty sure wide receiver has about the biggest bust rate. 
It's something crazy like only 20% of all round 1-4 picks get a 2nd contract with the team that drafted them. The Seahawks are the ultimate example. Schneider and Carrol took over in 2010 and from 2010-2012 they drafted 7 Pro Bowlers at QB, CB, 2 LBs, 2 Ss and LT. Since then they have drafted 2 Pro Bowlers, a punter and kick returner. They looked like geniuses for a while but that was likely just random success. 

 
UMass WR Andy Isabella is Bleacher Report's Matt Miller's WR17.

Most analysts with connections to NFL teams are low on Isabella, and it's usually because of his small catch radius. On top of only being 5-foot-9 and 188 pounds, Isabella has short arms and some #TapeGrinders see issues with his hands. If you're looking at this analytically, you view Isabella in an entirely different light since he ran a 4.31 forty after leading the FBS in receiving by over 200 yards. Players like Isabella have historically had a tough time getting on the coaching staff's good side, but he has the analytical profile of an NFL starter.

SOURCE: Bleacher Report

Apr 24, 2019, 10:24 AM
 

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