Faust
MVP
Jacksonville Jaguars used scouting and stats in harmony during 2014 NFL draft
Doug Farrar
Excerpt:
Doug Farrar
Excerpt:
Allen Robinson, WR, Penn State — Second round, 61st overall pick
As it was when the Seahawks took Colorado receiver Paul Richardson in the second round (and as Seattle’s area scout confirmed when asked about Richardson’s specific value), receivers who dominate in offenses not built for the passing game can often be projected to explode with productivity when they hit the NFL. Of course, there are schematic issues to overcome, and the coverages will be much tougher and more diverse, but Robinson’s dominance in Penn State’s offense — in 2013, he caught 97 passes for 1,432 yards and six touchdowns on a team that completed 233 passes for 3,110 yards and 21 scores — was a big indicator of his NFL potential. And in Jacksonville, the scouts and stats agreed completely on this.
“It’s a very interesting question. And I’ll point to a stat that’s publicly available that I’d looked at before, and I thought was really interesting. Out scouts were incredibly high on Allen, and this was another case of the statistics saying something good about a player’s ability. And it concurred with what they were thinking. Allen averaged 14.2 yards after the catch on screen passes, and Penn State threw a lot of screens. Allen was a very important part of Penn State’s offense, and if you were going to play Penn State, one would think that [an opponent] would spend a lot of time scheming to try and limit the damage Allen Robinson does to you. I thought it was very impressive, the numbers he was able to put up. And again, that’s a case of the tape matching up the stats.”