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Greg Cosell: WRs NFL Draft 2020 (1 Viewer)

JohnnyU

Footballguy
-Jerry Jeudy - best WR in the draft, has an advanced and refined feel for route running and you don't see this very often from college receivers. Subtle understanding of how to set up corners with his footwork and body lean. Has great short area quickness, he's explosive. Talked to him at the SB and he said he studies the great receivers. He has a complete skill set. Reminds me of Odell Beckham coming out of LSU, there are similarities to an Antonio Brown in his prime. He can play outside, he can play in the slot - 70% of his receptions came in the slot this year, but he can play outside as well. CLEARLY the best WR prospect in this draft and there is not a close second. Did he drop too many passes? No, not to me, didn't see that as a problem. 

-CeeDee Lamb - not close to Jeudy, I don't see Lamb at that level. He's tall, he's lanky, I don't think he plays to that size as consistently as he should. Smooth and fluid, but I don't think he's sudden or explosive. He's a good prospect, but not at the level of Jeudy. 

-Henry Ruggs - I actually like him more than Lamb as well. Ruggs fits the modern NFL well - you can use him on jet sweeps, reverses, the screen game. He's as explosive a WR as I've seen on tape in recent years. He's got short area burst, he's got INSTANT effortless acceleration. I mean this guy, from what people are saying in the league, will run in the 4.25 range 40. He's one of those guys. He can line up in multiple positions, he can work all 3 levels of the defense. He's not as advanced as Jeudy as a route runner but he's got some subtleties to him as well. The way he moves, he kind of reminded me of Isaac Bruce type player, because he's got that speed-cut ability. 

-Tee Higgins - I watched Higgins last summer and didn't love him. Watched him again in the last 10 days and I really liked his new tape from 2019. I think he's got really good playspeed, has excellent hands. He's got size, length, movement, hands. He can make contested catches, natural hands catcher. And I think those guys transition well. I think you can line him up as an X receiver, he can be a big slot. In some ways, and people are going to say "you are crazy" because of what this guy has done in the league, but he kind of reminded me a bit of Michael Thomas coming out of Ohio State. And keep in mind that Michael Thomas was a second round pick. Higgins... the more I watched him, the more I liked him. 

-Justin Jefferson - he will be seen as a slot.. 100 out of his 111 catches came from the slot ,that's 90%. To me he profiles as a smooth, polished slot receiver, he's got good size, good length. I think  he can work effectively between the numbers at the short-to-intermediate level. He's not sudden or explosive but I thought he has good feel for working inside, good feel of pace and tempo as a route runner. Good hands, tough, competitive... good slot prospect. The question is where do those get drafted? It's not for me to decide. Can he play outside or is he purely a slot? And in order to play outside you will need to win one-on-one with isolation individual routes and that would be a question. 

-Jalen Reagor - he was interesting to me because when I started to watch him I thought he was more quick than sudden, but the more I watched him I thought he really had some twitch and some speed to him. He's a smaller guy so the question is where does he play? I think he can play both inside and outside. Some teams might see him as a quick slot, others might think he can line up outside. I thought he was pretty nuanced as a route runner. I thought he had a plan, I thought he had nuanced understanding of how to win both off the ball and through his route. There was a defining sense of polish and refinement to his game. Another guy the more I watched, the more I really liked. I think he can line up all over the formation and and be a matchup beast and there is certain explosiveness to his game. Really intriguing prospect. 

-Jauan Jennings - He's not a quick twitch athlete, but boy ... he's a good football player. I really loved his tape. He's 6'3" 206 and that matters, he's a big man. I think he's a big slot. I think he's physical, he's competitive both as a route runner and after the catch. I think his body type and his physical and mental toughness and attitude fits the NFL game as a slot receiver. He won't have vertical dimension, but he plays with competitive mindset, toughness, physicality. Some people think he's not good enough athlete, but I think he can play and be a good player. Really, really liked his tape. 

 
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he's correct in that jeudy's route running is elite (imo, probably top 10 in the nfl too)... but to say lamb isn't even close to jeudy as a WR?

nah, greg. nah. 

 
I generally like Cosell, but him liking Ruggs over Lamb seem a little out there.
🤷‍♂️ Speculation based on likely draft cost, but I'm almost certain Ruggs lands on more of my teams than any other WR (at least of those taken early)

 
His negatives for Dobbins many see as positives. I won't pretend to be a film guy, but even I watched some snaps from Dobbins and was wonder wtf Cosell was talking about. I dont even know if he's watched these guys tbh
Cosell is a film junkie.  It's what he does.  He probably knows more than we do even if I think he is wrong about Ruggs vs Lamb.  All he does is watch film and I mean the real kind, not YouTube videos.

 
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PFF likes Ruggs over Jeudy AND Lamb FWIW
No they don't. They have Jeudy>Lamb>Ruggs. 

-Tee Higgins - I watched Higgins last summer and didn't love him. Watched him again in the last 10 days and I really liked his new tape from 2019. I think he's got really good playspeed, has excellent hands. He's got size, length, movement, hands. He can make contested catches, natural hands catcher. And I think those guys transition well. I think you can line him up as an X receiver, he can be a big slot. In some ways, and people are going to say "you are crazy" because of what this guy has done in the league, but he kind of reminded me a bit of Michael Thomas coming out of Ohio State. And keep in mind that Michael Thomas was a second round pick. Higgins... the more I watched him, the more I liked him. 

-Jauan Jennings - He's not a quick twitch athlete, but boy ... he's a good football player. I really loved his tape. He's 6'3" 206 and that matters, he's a big man. I think he's a big slot. I think he's physical, he's competitive both as a route runner and after the catch. I think his body type and his physical and mental toughness and attitude fits the NFL game as a slot receiver. He won't have vertical dimension, but he plays with competitive mindset, toughness, physicality. Some people think he's not good enough athlete, but I think he can play and be a good player. Really, really liked his tape. 
I thought that same thing with Higgins, where I wasn't a huge fan of his 2018 tape, but liked him  a lot more off last year's. 

Nice to see some Jennings fans. Very good player, who had maybe the worst combine of any player at any position. Probably went from a 2nd rounder to a 5th or 6th rounder, but likely becomes a nice steal for someone. 

 
No they don't. They have Jeudy>Lamb>Ruggs.
They've actually been real confusing, having him go before Jeudy and Lamb in analytic mocks, saying his game translates best to the pro game from their grading, etc.

Big board is Jeudy and Lamb and Ruggs, though. 

 
How old is this article? He talks about what he hears Ruggs is going to run at the combine. I guess it doesn't have to be recent, but if not, posting a date would help with context.

 
How old is this article? He talks about what he hears Ruggs is going to run at the combine. I guess it doesn't have to be recent, but if not, posting a date would help with context.
I read one of their articles a few weeks ago explaining why some rankings vary and after reading it, it made complete sense. I've tried to find the article but I can't find it. Tomorrow I will ask for the article on their facebook page.

Tex

 
Cosell is a film junkie.  It's what he does.  He probably knows more than we do even if I think he is wrong about Ruggs vs Lamb.  All he does is watch film and I mean the real kind, not YouTube videos.
More doesn't mean better. It means that whatever his shortcomings are, they get repeated more often.

 
Has a WR with 3yrs under 800yds receiving ever been touted as the "top WR prospect" in what could very well be the deepest WR class we've seen in the last god knows how many yrs?

Again, I really like Ruggs, he's in my top 5 now (pending landing spot, could be higher) but top? :lol:  

 
Greg Cosell is a film grinder but there are a few things to remember about him as an evaluator:

  • He is looking for traits that he has identified that should translate into success at the NFL level.
  • His evaluations are driven by the impact that a player will deliver to his team as an NFL player and not through a fantasy football lens.
  • A player like Henry Ruggs will evaluate highly for Cosell because the elite speed that Ruggs possesses works to open up the field for an entire offensive scheme by ‘taking the top off the defense.’
  • Cosell’s evaluations are limited to his film study and should not be mistaken for scouting reports which factor in a more complete player profile such as character, work ethic, etc.
  • Cosell is very good at what he does; however, he isn’t infallible as an evaluator, and all film study involves making judgement calls on grading players on traits that show up on the film. Any judgement call is prone to being interpreted differently by each individual who watches the film and are also subject to individual biases.
 
Greg Cosell is a film grinder but there are a few things to remember about him as an evaluator:

  • He is looking for traits that he has identified that should translate into success at the NFL level.
  • His evaluations are driven by the impact that a player will deliver to his team as an NFL player and not through a fantasy football lens.
  • A player like Henry Ruggs will evaluate highly for Cosell because the elite speed that Ruggs possesses works to open up the field for an entire offensive scheme by ‘taking the top off the defense.’
  • Cosell’s evaluations are limited to his film study and should not be mistaken for scouting reports which factor in a more complete player profile such as character, work ethic, etc.
  • Cosell is very good at what he does; however, he isn’t infallible as an evaluator, and all film study involves making judgement calls on grading players on traits that show up on the film. Any judgement call is prone to being interpreted differently by each individual who watches the film and are also subject to individual biases.
Cosell also has certain biases that are easy to figure out if you have been paying attention to him long enough.

A couple examples:

RB must be 220 lbs or they are not foundation RB. 

QB must be tall and have a big arm. He graded Mettenberger higher than Bridgewater.

At least he is consistent and maybe he is on the right side of the odds with some of  these calls but he is as wrong as anyone else about these prospects. I just find it easier to figure out when he is wrong than I can with some other evaluators.

 
Cosell also has certain biases that are easy to figure out if you have been paying attention to him long enough.

A couple examples:

RB must be 220 lbs or they are not foundation RB. 

QB must be tall and have a big arm. He graded Mettenberger higher than Bridgewater.

At least he is consistent and maybe he is on the right side of the odds with some of  these calls but he is as wrong as anyone else about these prospects. I just find it easier to figure out when he is wrong than I can with some other evaluators.
These are great examples of the biases that Cosell holds; however his ‘foundation back’ traits tend to be more around the power represented on film that he sees and he did state that a rough cutoff is around 210 lbs. but is not exclusively tied to this weight threshold. 

Greg Cosell is ultimately looking for a running back that can carry an offensive system built to flow through that RB.

Here are a few examples that reflect his comments:

Greg Cosell's NFL Draft preview: Running backs highlight Day 2 and 3 sleepers

Greg Cosell's NFL draft preview: Dalvin Cook has good NFL skills, but might not be a foundation back

Cosell: Auburn RB Tre Mason can be 'foundation back' in NFL

Cosell has also made it clear that on quarterbacks that he likes players who can play well within the pocket and who can deliver the ball into tight windows. Those players tend to be in the traditional mold with size and a good arm, etc. 

 
Yeah I do care what Cossell has to say, and your description of these things was more nuanced and gracious than mine were Faust. 

 
@Biabreakable you nailed it when you said the following:

At least he is consistent and maybe he is on the right side of the odds with some of  these calls but he is as wrong as anyone else about these prospects. I just find it easier to figure out when he is wrong than I can with some other evaluators.

 
Dr. Dan said:
His negatives for Dobbins many see as positives. I won't pretend to be a film guy, but even I watched some snaps from Dobbins and was wonder wtf Cosell was talking about. I dont even know if he's watched these guys tbh
He watches them religiously. I’ve had the pleasure of watching tape with him at NFL Films with Jaws and Sal Pal. All of those guys are erudite scholars on analysis and film study. Great guys. Have done multiple mock drafts with them. Super smart guys. 

 
He watches them religiously. I’ve had the pleasure of watching tape with him at NFL Films with Jaws and Sal Pal. All of those guys are erudite scholars on analysis and film study. Great guys. Have done multiple mock drafts with them. Super smart guys. 
Nice.  What did you do at NFL Films?

 
Soulfly3 said:
Has a WR with 3yrs under 800yds receiving ever been touted as the "top WR prospect" in what could very well be the deepest WR class we've seen in the last god knows how many yrs?

Again, I really like Ruggs, he's in my top 5 now (pending landing spot, could be higher) but top? :lol:  
Think he has Ruggs #2, he just said JJ was #1

 
By the way, I don't think Ruggs III is ever going to be the fantasy guy that so many hope he'll be. I think he'll be a better football player that stat compiler and it'll always be that way for him. I hear too many people I respect talk about his open field running being not very creative and a little weak, hence his merely average punt and kick return averages.

 
By the way, I don't think Ruggs III is ever going to be the fantasy guy that so many hope he'll be. I think he'll be a better football player that stat compiler and it'll always be that way for him. I hear too many people I respect talk about his open field running being not very creative and a little weak, hence his merely average punt and kick return averages.
I think a major reason Ruggs is being rated that highly is how he'll change the game in real football (speed has to be accounted for with extra safety attention), not how he'll necessarily do in fantasy.

 
I think a major reason Ruggs is being rated that highly is how he'll change the game in real football (speed has to be accounted for with extra safety attention), not how he'll necessarily do in fantasy.
This is exactly what these evaluators are saying on Ruggs is the overall impact that he will have on opening things up for the entire offensive system. They are not evaluating him as a fantasy football prospect.

Brian Baldinger echoes the same observations on Ruggs:

2020 NFL Draft: Who should be the first wide receiver selected?

Excerpt:

Brian Baldinger

Writer | NFL.com 

Ruggs brings element that can't be matched

Henry Ruggs is my No. 1 receiver in this year's draft class simply because he changes the game the most. He brings a different kind of speed that will give defenses major problems -- remember, he ran a 4.27-second 40-yard dash at the NFL Scouting Combine and was disappointed. He's like the Cheetah, Tyreek Hill, but bigger and stronger. That's a dangerous skill set.

 

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