The Next Marques Colston? (1 Viewer)

[VICK-tory]

I got this from Draftsharks, anyone know about Nance?

** DS Exclusive: We were talking to a prominent NFL personnel guy yesterday and asked him to name one player that's completely off the radar, a genuine no-namer that fantasy GMs can shove in their back pocket. "Vikings wideout Martin Nance," he said. "Look for Brad Childress to elevate this kid to starter by the third or fourth game." Huh? We had no idea who Nance was so we looked him up. He was Ben Roethlisberger's big buddy at Miami Ohio. An undrafted free agent to Buffalo in 2006 because of injuries... Wow, interesting prospect at 6'3/215, and in this scattershot Minnesota WR corps anything's possible, right?

 

[a_troll00]

I'll wait until the Vikings have somebody to throw the ball before I get excited about any of their WRs.

 

[Winning IS Everything]

I'll wait until the Vikings have somebody to throw the ball before I get excited about any of their WRs.

I agree, and even then I would only look at Rice and Williamson for now.

 

[mcintyre1]

I'll wait until the Vikings have somebody to throw the ball before I get excited about any of their WRs.

I agree, and even then I would only look at Rice and Williamson for now.

Or Aundrae Allison.

 

[On The Rocks]

When Nance was in the Bills camp, he looked pretty good....from the reports I had read, but for some reason, I don't think he even made it to the final cut let along the practice squad. A lot of fans were really hoping he would make it because it seemed like he made at least one ridiculous circus catch every day.

It think he has great speed, and needed work on route running and needed to gain some football smarts.

I would be curious if he went to Europe to get some pro level experience.

 

[cscmtp]

if you can't make the Bills roster at wide out....i'll pass.

 

[Winning IS Everything]

I did some digging and his 40 time is listed as 4.65 or something like that.......

 

[Ron_Mexico]

I'll wait until the Vikings have somebody to throw the ball before I get excited about any of their WRs.

 

[Andy Dufresne]

Anything is possible. He was teriffic in college until he tore his ACL in 2004. He was one of the surprise undrafteds from the 2006 draft.From footballsfuture:

When people started to take notice of Ben Roethlisberger his junior year, people had no choice but to notice Big Ben’s top target, sophomore Martin Nance. He absolutely exploded onto the college football map that year with 90 catches for 1,498 yards and 11 touchdowns. As a junior, he was off to another fast start. In the first four games of the 2004 season, Nance had 25 catches for 337 yards, and a touchdown. On the first play of the 5th game that season however, Nance injured his knee and missed the rest of the season. He came back this season looking to re-establish himself. Nance did just that, finishing with 81 receptions, 1,107 yards, for 14 touchdowns.

Now that he's two years removed from the injury, who knows?Here's a report on Nance from the end of May OTA's

Nance fights for an opportunityYou would be hard pressed to find very many receivers who had the opportunity to play with a Super Bowl champion quarterback in college and was as productive and steady as Vikings second-year player Martin Nance.A knee injury cost him all of the 2004 season at the University of Miami (OH), but Nance braketed that year with two stellar campaigns. In 2003 while playing with the Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger he broke school records with 90 catches for 1,498 yards and added 11 touchdowns.After recovering from the knee injury in 2005, Nance broke another school record when he hauled in 14 touchdowns to go along with 81 catches and 1,107 yards.So when he went undrafted in 2006 and finally signed as a rookie free agent by the Buffalo Bills there was some question as to why."I don't really know to tell you the truth," says Nance. "I guess they thought I wasn't as fast as they wanted me to be, but it's OK, I just want to compete now and move forward."That's exactly what Nance did in his rookie season, spending the majority of the year on the Vikings' practice sqaud but showing enough throughout the year to earn a promotion to the active roster late in the season and a start in the season's final game against his hometown St. Louis Rams.In that game Nance caught four passes from fellow rookie Tarvaris Jackson and showed a small glimpse into his potential as a quality NFL receiver.Fast forward to 2007 and the first set of OTA workouts and Nance finds himself in a battle for spot in a suddenly crowded receiving corps."I'm excited, I feel like we all bring a unique set of skills to the table and I feel good about the ones I bring," says Nance. "It seems like we're going to have a great group, I just want to be a part of it."At 6-foot-3 and 215 pounds Nance provides the offense with one of the few big targets at the receiver position, something that could really bode well for him as it comes time to trim the roster."For a guy like me the group is just going to make me better and everyone is going to push everyone," explains Nance. "The name of this game is competition so you have to be ready every day to bring something positive."Today's workout was a perfect example of what Nance is hoping to bring to the team as he made several very nice grabs and showed quite a bit more explosion than we saw from his last season. His quicknes has improved and he's drawing good reviews from his coaches and fellow teammates."Oh yeah, Martin looks nice out there," said receiver Jason Carter. "He knows this is a fight and he looks ready to make a push."That fight will continue for a few more months, but right now it looks like Nance could make an impact on the 2007 Vikings, all he needs is a chance."I'm ready, I'm excited and I just want to let people know that I can play at this level," says Nance. "I feel good about my chances, but I know what I have to do to make sure I have a spot and that is perform."

Here's my guess as to who will be on the Vikes roster:WilliamsonRiceWadeAllisonNance McMullenJason Carter, Chandler Williams, and Todd Lowber may make the practice squad if they're lucky.

 

[Jeff Pasquino]

There have been several mentions of Nance on this board.

Start with Page 1 of this search:

Pages involving "Nance".

 

[RD1967]

I'll wait until the Vikings have somebody to throw the ball before I get excited about any of their WRs.

Wait a minute the Vikings have a Starting QB, Jackson a Lock for 900 yards passing and two TD's.

 

[BroadwayG]

Minnesota is not the place to look for a 'Colston.'

Not necessarily rookies, but GB, Tennessee, and Seattle are where I'll be paying attention.

 

[VICK-tory]

I think Minn. is as good as any to look for 'Colston' bc they will be behind more often, their schedule is rough. They don't even have a true no. 1 Wr right now.

 

[Cecil Lammey]

He was on the Ones 2 Watch my first year of writing for FBG's. I covered his games each week, the results are covered in the archives. Here's from the first 2 weeks of the 2005 season.

http://footballguys.com/05lammey_onestowatch2.php

Others on the O2W that year:

Quarterbacks

Matt Leinart, USC

Omar Jacobs, Bowling Green

Vince Young, Texas

Reggie McNeal, Texas A&M

Brad Smith, Missouri

Running Backs

Reggie Bush

DeAngelo Williams

LenDale White

Laurence Maroney

Leon Washington

Wide Receivers

Martin Nance

Derek Hagan

Jarrett Hicks

Mike Hass

Steve Smith

 

[Ozymandias]

Does Yahoo list him as a TE?

 

[Family Matters]

This sleeper is so deep you'll need a roster of over 26 to even think about him. Now he's so far behind the curve that I would be very surprised to see him make something of his career. This is nothing more than a shot in the dark.

 

[Polyethylene Bag]

Anything is possible. He was teriffic in college until he tore his ACL in 2004. He was one of the surprise undrafteds from the 2006 draft.

Here's my guess as to who will be on the Vikes roster:

Williamson

Rice

Wade

Allison

Nance Cortez Hankton

McMullen

Fixed

 

[valhallan]

Does Yahoo list him as a TE?

:(

 

[lions327]

With the sorry state of the Vikings WR corps, I think it is foolish to overlook any of their WR's. They don't have a proven starter on their roster.

 

[Team Legacy]

With the sorry state of the Vikings WR corps, I think it is foolish to overlook any of their WR's. They don't have a proven starter on their roster.

What's foolish is to be looking for a Colston on the Vikes roster. The QB position is in SHAMBLES there. Move along.

 

[BroadwayG]

With the sorry state of the Vikings WR corps, I think it is foolish to overlook any of their WR's. They don't have a proven starter on their roster.

What's foolish is to be looking for a Colston on the Vikes roster. The QB position is in SHAMBLES there. Move along.

This has the Kyle Boller reign over Baltimore written all over it.

 

[Jason Wood]

You have to love late May and early June...every rookie looks like a steal, every journeyman is ready to make their mark, every veteran is healthy and in the best shape of their career, every injured guy is ahead of schedule, and every Pro Bowler is committed to maintaining his level of excellence.

Ah, the dog days of summer, when hope springs eternal!

 

[BigSteelThrill]

if you can't make the Bills roster at wide out....i'll pass.

But they are a top 10 WR corp.... just aske carter can fly .

 

[kurtrudder]

Minnesota is not the place to look for a 'Colston.'Not necessarily rookies, but GB, Tennessee, and Seattle are where I'll be paying attention.

Exactly, forget about any Minnesota receivers for anything this year except maybe Shiancoe.I agree with the teams you have mentioned above as better places to look for that WR to jump out and surprise us in 2007. Jacksonville and San Fran to lesser extents will be watched closely by myself. Tennessee especially will be somewhere I will be paying attention during training camp to see if VY gets some serious rapport going with someone like Roby or Roydell Williams.....or one of those TE's.

 

[lions327]

With the sorry state of the Vikings WR corps, I think it is foolish to overlook any of their WR's. They don't have a proven starter on their roster.

What's foolish is to be looking for a Colston on the Vikes roster. The QB position is in SHAMBLES there. Move along.

If you are in a dynasty, this is why you want to look now. Get them cheap while the QB position is bad. There is no risk this way. It will not be bad forever.

 

[Gottabesweet]

I agree as a Bills fan he looked amazing in camp last year. I watched him multiple times. He never really did much during the pre-season games and didn't make the roster. I was hoping he'd land on the practice squad.

 

[turkishkamel]

With the sorry state of the Vikings WR corps, I think it is foolish to overlook any of their WR's. They don't have a proven starter on their roster.

What's foolish is to be looking for a Colston on the Vikes roster. The QB position is in SHAMBLES there. Move along.

If you are in a dynasty, this is why you want to look now. Get them cheap while the QB position is bad. There is no risk this way. It will not be bad forever.

its much easier to get them two years before they're good than it is when they're already good. if you got the room, find a guy with potential and stash him.

 

[-OZ-]

With the sorry state of the Vikings WR corps, I think it is foolish to overlook any of their WR's. They don't have a proven starter on their roster.

What's foolish is to be looking for a Colston on the Vikes roster. The QB position is in SHAMBLES there. Move along.

If you are in a dynasty, this is why you want to look now. Get them cheap while the QB position is bad. There is no risk this way. It will not be bad forever.

its much easier to get them two years before they're good than it is when they're already good. if you got the room, find a guy with potential and stash him.

Yes, if your league rosters 1000 players, it may be worthwhile to grab Nance now. FWIW (and I'm definitely not trying to pat my back here), I was a fan of Nance in college and thought he'd be a good pick last year. It would be nice to see I was just a year off, but I'm not seeing it.