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Texas Vike wrote: The author is WAY too dismissive of the competition Doctson has faced. 4 of the top 20 CBs projected for this upcoming draft are from the Big 12, and Doctson has played well against them over the past two years.

Doctson in the 2nd would be a great fit for the Vikes

dead_poet wrote: Not to nitpick but 4 of the top 20 CBs for this draft may not be all that impressive. I mean, would even the 10th best corner be going in the third round?
I'd be OK with that.

At the end of the day, it's safe to say Thomas gets open. Sometimes it's his quickness, technique, style or other deceptive capability but he gets open. And sometimes he's obscenely open, and not because the player's he's playing against are bad. At least once a game, the ball is thrown to him while the opposing defensive back is facing the wrong direction. He does so with precision and sharpness in his routes, running them at textbook depth and correct angles. After watching Doctson and Coleman lose the advantages they create with their athleticism, release or intuition by rounding out routes or signaling them with the subtlety of an elephant, Thomas' route-running is a refreshing and fascinating change. By preventing defensive backs from reading his routes and by taking angles instead of shortcuts, he preserves any advantages he creates in the first three steps of the route.

I like Michael Thomas a lot, and though I think the 23rd overall pick might be a little pricy for him, I wouldn't be upset if the Vikings traded into the bottom of the first round for him. He may not represent the prototype (despite his 6'1", 210-lb frame) but he gets open, gets catches and gets touchdowns.

His issue though is that he won’t separate regularly, and doesn’t actually take advantage of his ability to win contested catches as much as he should do. Treadwell reminds some of Dez Bryant or Michael Irvin, but to me he looks far more like Kenny Britt. Britt has had success at times in the NFL and was a first-round pick himself, so that’s not necessarily a disaster. He was taken with the 30th selection of the draft, in part because of exactly the same concerns over being able to separate. In my opinion, Treadwell is far closer to that area of the draft than a top-five pick.

dead_poet wrote:MONSON: WHY LAQUON TREADWELL IS NOT A TOP WR PROSPECT
http://goo.gl/Go3lLB

Over the last 17 draft classes, there have been only 13 wide receivers to match the speed, vertical, broad, and height of Josh Doctson.

That group includes Calvin, Allen, and Andre Johnson. (as well as Greg Little and Justin Hunter, but Doctson is good at football)

Top WR vertical jumps:

GOLD (tied): Josh Doctson, Sterling Shepard, 41.0
SILVER: Corey Coleman, 40.5
BRONZE: Trevor Davis 38.5

TCU WR Josh Doctson's killed it with the jump drills. 10'11" broad, 41" vertical. #MedalsCount

4.50 / 4.49 for Sterling Shepard. That's actually a little better than I expected

Only 20, too. 2nd youngest WR at Combine RT @NathanZegura: Treadwell's hands are SICK. Just plucks the ball out of the air with 1 hand or 2

Michael Thomas 2nd unofficial forty: 4.57. 10 yd of 1.56

Malcolm Mitchell is one of my personal favorite sleepers in this draft class and makes me be honest with my process

@MattWaldman Strong routes. Fights for ball well. Tough.

Strengths

» Smooth acceleration with little trouble changing speeds
» Shows the flashes of strong, nuanced route-running skills
» Can go up and high point the ball in traffic
» Strong separation at the break points in routes


The athleticism that once made Malcolm Mitchell such a desirable product out of high school is still present despite the injury history. Mitchell glides when he runs, and can change gears with the ball in his hands and as a route runner. He backed up his film with a strong combine performance, including a 4.45 40-yard dash and a really strong 129-inch broad jump. At times you see Mitchell flash some polished route running, particularly with the use of deception and fluid ability to drop his hips.

Mitchell also showed up at the combine with 10-1/2-inch hands, good for the 97th percentile among participants since 1999, and it's another attribute that shows up on film. He has strong hands running routes over the middle, even when the defender bears down for a hit. Plenty of times in 2015, Mitchell made the play the offense needed in contested situations. He mixes strong ball-tracking ability and timing to make up for a lack of height and leaping ability.

1. Corey Coleman, Baylor: 709 yards/season

Scouts Inc.: No. 43 overall
Similar historical prospects: DeAndre Hopkins, Steve Smith

Coleman has a monster projection. As a junior, Coleman gained 1,363 receiving yards and caught an eye-popping 20 receiving touchdowns. Because Baylor passed the ball only 389 times in 2016, Coleman scored a touchdown on 5.1 percent of Baylor's passes. That's an incredible ratio, which has been topped by only four elite players: Randy Moss, Demaryius Thomas, Dez Bryant, and Larry Fitzgerald. Coleman also tested out well physically, posting a position-best 40.5-inch vertical jump at the NFL combine.

Notwithstanding these numbers, there are certainly legitimate concerns regarding Coleman's ability to transition to the NFL level. Baylor coach Art Briles' innovative offense may have inflated the WR's stats, and Coleman did not run a full route tree at Baylor. Nevertheless, Coleman's upside and potential are well worth the price of a first-round selection.

4. Josh Doctson, TCU: 474 yards/season

Scouts Inc.: No. 20 overall
Similar historical prospects: Mark Clayton, Michael Jenkins

Doctson's numbers are similar to Fuller's, but there is one important difference: Fuller posted his numbers as a junior and enters the draft as an underclassman, while Doctson enters the draft as a senior. Senior wide receivers fail at a much greater rate than their junior counterparts. The four least productive wide receivers drafted in the first round from 1996 to 2013 were all seniors (A.J. Jenkins, Rashaun Woods, R. Jay Soward and Marcus Nash), even though most of the first-round picks in this time period were underclassmen.