2012 NFL Scouting Combine Review: Wide Receivers

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Early Round WR’s who looked good at NFL Combine:

Justin Blackmon:

Despite a talented wide receiver class, Blackmon should be the first receiver off the board.

Blackmon didn’t run the 40 due to a tweaked hamstring, but he did the pass catching drills and looked really good, especially if he wasn’t 100%. Blackmon will still need to show his speed, but he should remain the top WR taken from this class.

Michael Floyd:

Floyd had one of the best all-around days. First he ran unofficial 40 times in the low 4.4’s. Then he went out in the pass catching drills and ran fast quick routes and showed nice hands. He’s still not a perfect prospect, but with that size and speed combo, he could be a top 15 pick.

Stephen Hill:

Hill was a little used receiver in Georgia Tech’s spread offense, but he showed a ton of promise today. He ran unofficial times of 4.30 and 4.31, then put up great numbers in all the other workouts. In the passing drills he showed good speed and hands, making one really nice diving catch. He’s not a refined route runner, but the promise is there and he should be at worst a 2nd round guy.

Brian Quick:

Quick continues to work his way up draft boards with a strong Combine. He didn’t do anything exceptional, but he ran well and did a nice job catching the ball as well. He’s moving up into the 2nd round area.

Marvin McNutt:

McNutt had a really strong day, running unofficial times in the 4.4’s. He did all the drills and looked pretty good. I thought he showed really nice hands as well. He could be working his way into the 3rd round.

Reuben Randle:

Randle didn’t have great speed, but he looked to be quicker than fast, and ran nice routes for a guy who didn’t get to do that much in college.

Top Wide Receivers who struggled:

Kendall Wright:

Wright ran really poorly in the 40, though I wouldn’t fully hold it against him since he is recovering from a foot injury. Wright though needs to improve his speed though if he wants to stay in the first round.

Alshon Jeffery:

Jeffery pulled out at the last minute due to no apparent injury. That is really going to raise some red flags among teams, especially with so many receivers looking good.

Dwight Jones:

Jones actually ran a pretty solid 40 time, but he looked simply lost in the positional drills. He was called out at least once by the coaches for lack of effort. He’s likely to fall to the 3rd or 4th round if not later, unless he can turn things around.

Juron Criner:

Criner had a great Senior Bowl, and came into the Combine with some hype. Unfortunately he had a really bad 40 time, which should keep his stock from going any higher than the 4th round. He did show nice hands, but he needs to show more speed and quickness.

Mohamed Sanu:

Sanu looked like a potential 1st round pick, but he really struggled with both his speed and catching the football consistently.

Late Round Guys Who Impressed:

Keshawn Martin:

Martin put up fantastic workout numbers and went from being undrafted, to now looking like a solid late round choice.

Chris Owusu:

Owusu is an interesting case as two years ago he looked like he had a lot of promise, but back-to-back years filled with concussions made him a huge risk to the point that he might not have been drafted. But he had an amazing Combine and will definitely get some late round looks.

Kashif Moore:

Moore looked to be an undrafted prospect coming into the Combine, but he blew up the workout drills. He looked really good and should be in that 6th round range now.

Devon Wylie:

Wylie really opened some eyes with really good speed and jumping numbers. He’s got nice quickness and hands and could be a nice slot guy at the next level.