2. Josh Reynolds, Texas A&M (6-3, 194)
With the exception of a week where Isaiah Ford snuck into this spot, Josh Reynolds has been my No. 2 receiver since September. Keep in mind, I don’t do published, soap-opera-style rankings, so it’s not as if I studied everyone, ranked them and then updated that ranking as I went.
I happened to watch Reynolds early, and he had a strong score for his performances that earned him the No. 2 spot. As I continued studying him and the rest of this class, Reynolds didn’t budge from this spot. It’s still a telling indication that I’ve liked him for a while.
It’s why the lack of buzz surrounding Reynolds was puzzling. Those of us in the draft community that do this work year-round understand that we’ll differ on players, and wide receiver has a great deal of variation. Even so, I’ve come across only a few people in the community who are as optimistic about Reynolds’ talent.
A quick, fluid, and aggressive wide receiver, Reynolds isn’t a special player at this point, but he has special moments. Pair those moments with skills that are good enough for Reynolds to contribute now and get even better later, and he has the potential of a secondary starter during the next two years who 32 could evolve into a primary weapon by year three or four.
Reynolds begins routes with good pad level off the line of scrimmage. He has a number of methods to work free from press coverage. He’ll reduce his shoulder, chop, rip, and swim with his hands, and he’ll pair them with good three- and four-step release patterns. I’ve even seen Reynolds take the hyper aggressive approach and shove the defender off his spot with a punch at the line of scrimmage before the defender can even react to the snap.
If Reynolds gets downfield early, he’ll stack a defender on vertical routes and control the pace of the pattern. Although his 4.52-second 40-yard time isn’t a fantastic time, it’s solidly starter-caliber.
Reynolds’ frame is tall and wiry. He’s built a lot like A.J. Green, and his style of play has similarities. Green ran in the 4.5’s at the NFL Combine. Reynolds, like Green, has even better acceleration and quickness. Reynolds’ 4.13-second 20-Shuttle and 6.83-second 3-Cone times are star-caliber numbers.
Reynolds has the raw material and burgeoning tools to get on top of defenders early and stay there. If not, he also has the talent to win the ball in the air— a lot like Green.
Reynolds has some hip bend into hard breaks. If he can combine the single-step stops that he exhibits on some routes with this hip bend, he can become a fine timing route runner in the NFL. Green mastered the same developmental lesson.
Once he reaches the top of his stems, Reynolds uses his hands well enough to earn separation against tight coverage. He can rip or use his forearm to “frame” his position—a nuance of earning position that looks like a push-off but isn’t (and it’s legal)— and earn separation on the turn through the framing. His turns are often sudden. Combined with the ability to frame his position, Reynolds can generate enough separation on a turn to catch the ball and get a step on the defender who is still close by. His slants have sudden turns up field. These skills make Reynolds smooth, fast, efficient, and productive on speed breaks. He earns good depth on intermediate and deep routes and will work back to the quarterback after his breaks. It helps him earn yards after the catch.
One area where he can improve is his position before the ball’s arrival is on fade routes. He must learn when to turn inside or outside with the ball in the air so he doesn’t invite contact from the defender that inhibits his attempt on the target.
Reynolds has moments of elite skill as a receiver. He’s acrobatic with his adjustments and he’s capable of winning the ball between two defenders. He contorts his body to win the ball in mid-air and take a hit but he also makes plays on low throws with flexibility and technically sound hand position. His flexibility is also present with his boundary awareness. He can drag or tap his toes inbounds after adjusting to the ball in the air. His tracking of the ball includes difficult scenarios. Reynolds makes plays on errant passes thrown behind his break point, extending an arm well behind his body to one-hand the target while moving in the opposite direction on a speed break. To heighten the difficulty, Reynolds can do this when hit head-on.
When Reynolds doesn’t earn position before the catch, he has the skill to earn it during the act of the reception. He’ll time his leap to high-point the ball or extend his arms over the head of the defender ahead of him and pull the ball away from an off-balanced angle. Many of his daring displays also happen in the middle of the field. As impressive an acrobat as Reynolds is, he has plays where he’ll misjudge the arrival of the target, leap unnecessarily, and be forced to trap the ball. He also experiences focus drops on routes breaking back to the ball because he’s too focused on running before he looks the ball into his hands.
Reynolds will drop multiple targets in a game, and it can be frustrating to watch a receiver make these simple errors while winning some of the most difficult targets within the same contest. However, Chad Johnson, Terrell Owens and Brandon Marshall are perfect examples of players who did the same thing as Pro-Bowl receivers in the NFL. While the perception of Reynolds is that of a onedimensional deep threat, he’s a dangerous player on quick-hitting routes. His slant route is a specialty.
He earns quick position and often runs through contact from the trailing defensive back or flat defender with snap turns up field. Although much is made of his thin frame, he has wiry strength to bounce off hits from defensive backs and continue down-hill. He often turns through contact and runs through wraps to his lower legs to earn extra yards. His stiffarm is good enough to knock down safeties with its placement.
He’s an aggressive runner and he’ll initiate contact to work away from it, much like a good running back in the open field. Reynolds will deliver a forearm to initiate contact then spin off and balance-touch, if necessary, to continue forward. His patience behind blocks could be better, but it’s a minor point for a receiver with so many positives. A more significant issue is ball security. Reynolds carries the ball mostly under his left arm, and he lets the security get too loose. There are plays were Reynolds holds the ball like it’s on fire and he’s desperate to dunk it in a tub of water.
Blocking is a positive. Reynolds keeps his feet moving while his hands are in good position, and it helps him turn or push defenders away from the path of the ballcarrier. 33 Reynolds can deliver an uppercut punch but he must learn to roll his hips through the contact to maximize the power of the blow. After the initial strike, Reynolds will overextend while trying to generate a push.
Reynolds overruns angles to the assignment and misses the block. When this happens, he’s usually taking longer strides than he should. When he cuts his stride length and exhibits more patience, the outcomes are in his favor.
Is Reynolds the next A.J. Green? It sounds like it when I make the comparisons, and Reynolds belongs in the same area code of playing style. However, for Reynolds to bear true similarities to Green, he’d have to be in the same zip code. Consistent hands and continued attention to routes and releases could get him within the same post office, even if different trucks are delivering their mail. Reynolds earns more comparisons to Green’s former teammate Marvin Jones than Green himself.
Ultimately, what matters more than the comparisons is the projected role. Reynolds has WR1 upside if he puts it all together. However, a better expectation is consistent WR2 production as an oft-targeted complement for at least a few years. Think of Reynolds as a potential WR1 who earns that role with his second contract.
~ max ~
“The consciousness of good intentions disdains ambiguity.” - Alexander Hamilton
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 04/29/2017 08:04AM by max.
