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Not familiar with him. Looks like he's a junior. Has he declared for the draft? I don't have a chance to follow every team, so there are definitely lots of guys who have escaped my notice. I will keep an open mind about anyone who emerges and becomes an NFL draft pick.
I'm not putting much faith in the high school rankings, but I think they provide some support for the idea that he's a quality talent who was underutilized in college.
Big time recruit out of high school. Looks good on paper with 5'11" 220 size and adequate speed. His career at LSU has been kind of a bust though. All four seasons look almost exactly the same. About 75 carries for 420 yards. I think the coaches would've used him more if he were truly an NFL caliber talent, but he never really became an important part of the offense. In his defense, LSU has been reluctant to use one guy as the bell cow in recent seasons. Even Joseph Addai was a RBBC guy there. Williams has not shown me enough to earn a spot on this list, but he's someone who could be worth a late pick if he finds himself on an NFL roster. He has decent physical tools. Just doesn't look special on the field. Not very instinctive or elusive. Goes down easier than you would expect given his listed dimensions. Has some upside though.
Never been a fan of his game and he certainly didn't change my mind when I saw him in the Sun Bowl (20 carries for 27 yards). He should go back to school and try to regain his 2008 form. Some people tout him as a viable NFL prospect and I guess there's the possibility of him being a reasonably high draft pick if he declares, but I don't think he's very impressive. He's a lean back. Tall and thin without much power. Every now and then he makes a highlight reel type juke, but he's really not a speed back. He doesn't have the great explosiveness of Best/Spiller/Devine. I just don't see where he fits in at the next level. He looks mediocre in every facet of the game.
He will get a long look in the 2nd-4th round of the NFL draft because of his production in college. Ward was a better athlete and Welker only succeeds (IMO) because he landed in a perfect situation for his skills. I think Shipley will probably be a WR3 or WR4 in the NFL.
I agree with you on Shipley's ability. I think his value will depend on which team drafts him. I think of it the same as Collie. Would he be as productive/valuable in Cleveland or other run-oriented team? But, if Shipley goes to a team that will take advantage of his abilities (ala Collie), he could be a valuable fantasy asset.Also, his age might work against him. Some teams prefer the younger receivers. Shipley will be in his late 20s by the time his rookie contract runs out
He's an enigma. Solid skills but has shown a serious lack of concentration. IMHO, the offense should have funneled to him, but it never went that way. I think he has the physical ability to be strong at the next level. He's not a dumb kid by any means, but his focus is spotty and that's something that may take some maturing to fix.
First thanks benson_will_lead_the_way. Second monkeysee another guy on this site that has to go by other or another person's insite. This writeup like mine is one person's thoughts on Bradford. I guess he already lost 3 lbs. from 223 too 220. Will he lose inches at the Combine? I say yes.Third monkeysee what round and which team will Bradford get drafted. NFL Stats. I'm saying his stats will look like Joe Kapps when it's all said and done, if he plays in that many games in the NFL. Look it up, I said last year he was too small to play in the Pro's, maybe I should have said in College. Didn't last one game. Again time will tell. Washington will not draft Bradford.
After Dez Bryant, agreed. I did trade Mendenhall straight up for Dez Bryant this off season, with the FULL BELIEF that Mendenhall would break out this year. Next year is the crop of wide receivers to own.
Gilyard looks more explosive to me. He's pretty dangerous on returns. Seems to have a nice burst. Tate has made his fair share of big plays as well, but he just looks so slow off the line. I don't see much burst.Neither one of the two can afford a slow 40 time given their size. If they both run slow times then they'll both be low on my board. I'm less worried about Gilyard based on what I've seen on the field. That may change over the next few months.
2011 is shaping up to be a good WR class. A handful of big names at the top and some compelling depth. I like it more than this year's WR class collectively, but I think Dez is better than any of the 2011 guys.
He's been moving up a lot of Rankings lately. Someone I've been watching since he ripped up beloved Red Raiders in the Cotton Bowl last year....ARG!This kid is something special. Someone I'll will stash on the end of my roster and wait to see how he matures and adjust to the NFL. He'll surely get drafted.loose circuits said:
The only guys who were clearly better are Fitz and Calvin. Dez is right up there with Crabtree as the 3rd-4th best WR prospect of the past five years.
I have admittedly not seen much of him in games. I did watch the highlights you posted in the other thread and the one thing that jumped out at me was that he didn't seem to break any long runs. Most of the highlights were catches in traffic after which he was tackled. The scoring plays seemed to be mostly contested balls in the end zone rather than him breaking long runs. Of course, there really isn't anything wrong with this.My question, to you or others who have actually seen him in games, is does he have much after the catch skills?
No one else looks like a can't-miss prospect, but there are lots of other guys with first round NFL draft potential:Jimmy ClausenSam BradfordCJ SpillerJonathan DwyerJahvid BestRyan MathewsDemaryius ThomasDamian WilliamsGolden TateBrandon LaFellMardy GilyardJermaine GreshamAaron HernandezYou have to figure that a pretty significant percentage of these guys will become quality players in the NFL.
That's a good question. I think they have similar athletic ability, but Bryant is a bit more polished and proven. I'll be curious to see how their results compare at the combine/pro day.Right now I would say they're probably closer in value than most internet pundits realize. Of course, I am operating on the opinion that Thomas is definitely the 2nd most promising WR available in the draft. Other people favor the likes of Tate, Williams, and LaFell.
Yea, he's okay in this department because he's a big guy who can run. Here's how I would sum him up:- He's big enough and smooth enough to be a good possession WR in the short/medium game.
Williams looks like Mendenhall or Benson when he's on, big and a terrific initial burst. Too bad he's barely ever on and had fumblitis. He's a nice deep sleeper in rookie drafts and I expect him to post nice size/speed #s.
You make some valid points. My hunch is that Spiller is overrated. Not nearly as bad as McFadden and probably not quite as bad as Bush, but the versatility and the raw athletic ability help cloud the fact that his pure running back skills are suspect. Bear in mind that he will probably be the first RB chosen in the NFL draft and a consensus top 2 pick in most FF leagues. By ranking him at #3, I'm actually putting up a caution sign.That said, I'm not going to try to outsmart myself too much. How low can you realistically rank someone with freakish athletic gifts who will in all likelihood be a top 20 pick in the draft? He's not without talent. He did some impressive things at Clemson considering the inconsistent supporting cast. He absolutely has the kind of burst, explosiveness, and speed that you look for in a pro back. He's not a bad player or a bad prospect. It's just not quite clear how his skills will translate.
I wouldn't call it love. He's ranked at RB6 and that's about where most draft pundits seem to think he'll be selected. He has NFL size and good production in a tough conference. He has been invited to the Senior Bowl. Like it or not, there's a pretty good chance that he'll be a 2nd-4th round draft pick. Any RB taken that high will figure prominently into the first two rounds of rookie drafts. I think Dixon is probably a backup at the next level, but you never know. It's not as though there are a lot of dynamite talents below him on the list. The depth doesn't excite me much this year. None of the RBs ranked below him look like good bets for success (except maybe Gerhart, who I nearly ranked ahead of him).
Johnson returned punts in college, which suggests that he has plenty of potential in the passing game. He didn't get opportunities as a receiver because USC was hellbent on giving Joe McKnight every opportunity to become Reggie Bush. Johnson absolutely fits the mold of someone who could be a better in the NFL than he was in college. USC bungled that situation. Before we can get too excited about Johnson, we need to see whether or not his throat surgeries will have any long term consequences on his ability to play pro football. His performance at the Senior Bowl and combine should tell us what we need to know. Right now I would say he's the most underrated RB in the draft. Time will tell.
Brandon Minor is the only interesting guy on this list. worth a late round flyer.
Thanks. That video had more of the after catch running. You could see some speed there. I like him more now.EBF said:
It's hard for me to answer this question because I have never played in a 2QB league, so I don't really have a point of reference. What I might try to do is trade the pick (possibly in a package) for a veteran QB. I'm generally not a big fan of using early rookie picks on QBs, but the NFL has seemingly done a better job of scouting the position lately.
I am guessing McClusterShipley?New list of 30-35 players coming soon after the All-Star games.There will be some radical changes and at least one previously unranked name in the top 10.
My guess as well.I am guessing McClusterShipley?New list of 30-35 players coming soon after the All-Star games.There will be some radical changes and at least one previously unranked name in the top 10.
Why is he deceptively fast? Is he overweight? Does he run on an artificial limb? He looked just regular fast to me when I watched him in the BCS Championship game.Or is he deceptively fast in the same way that Bryant Gumbal and Colin Powell are deceptively intelligent?Speed is measured by the amount of time it takes to get from one point to another. There is no deception involved. The color of one's skin does not count as deception since it is in plain sight for everyone to see.People are either intelligent, fast, or gifted based on how gifted they are, not how gifted they are in relation to others of their same race and ethnicity. Deceptively fast is one of the more racist comments that is universally accepted by all.Not calling you a racist, it just always cracks me up when someone calls a white guy deceptively fast.
Not that I disagree with you but I always thought "deceptively fast" meant that in motion they still dont look like they are running all that fast. Some guys look like theyre blazing by and some guys look like they are running in molasses but are still burning everyone.
