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David Deacon
I think taking a chance on a guy like Isabella in the 4th or 5th round is okay even though you should not expect him to a full time receiver. I am all in on Deadpool's positional bias of 6 feet for a WR but Isabella isn't anywhere close and his catch radius is Austin like. Austin was one of those terrible mistakes by Fisher/Snead. A small WR who wasn't a good route runner, had small hands, small catch radius but was fast as they come. Maybe the Robinson pick was worst but Austin is a close 2nd.
Anyway taking a gadget guy in round 4 and putting a package of plays for him where he can make an impact right away provided he can win a returner job on special teams makes a lot of sense. The guy would be active since he won the returners job and you get to use him as a surprise weapon with a limited package designed to get him the ball in space. I am not saying Isabella is that guy but a returner who can come in an contribute on offense would be nice. Currently Jo Jo Natson takes up a roster spot with no ability to play offense.
There's no comparison between Isabella and Austin beyond the height / stature differences. Yeah they both share the height, small hands, and small catch radius. Other than that, nothing.
Austin wasn't a WR in college. He never learned how to run routes or even catch the ball. He never learned how to create separation, etc. TA was really a RB and that was his best position in college.
Isabella, on the other hand, is very good at those things. He has elite burst and acceleration and he uses that to create space even against bigger, physical corners. And while Deadpool doesn't like his jittery moves at the line, he's used those very well to create separation. He will need to learn how to simplify his releases some of the time but that can easily be cleaned up.
But the biggest reason I like him is because he dominated at the Senior Bowl. That's why I think he could be on Snead's radar. He couldn't be covered. As Deadpool stated, his competition wasn't the highest at the FBSS level but that's why what he did at the Senior Bowl is so important. Look it up. The only player who could stay remotely close to him was Darnell Savage.
Further, you don't automatically become a gadget guy because you're under 6 feet. I get the bias but we gotta do better analysis than that. IMO, you'd be getting a guy in Isabella who could eventually replace Cooks or Kupp. He's got high football intelligence and just knows how to get open; he knows how to consistently find the open spaces in coverage....kind of like Kupp.
