Quote
baraw
It is great that he made those plays, but the difference between making the team or not is in the details. I would love for him to be awesome and a great find, but it bothers me that on both of his TD's he was not open at all. The redzone play I get that there is not a lot of room to work, but the long TD, he was blanketed and came down with a 50/50 ball. It was a pass that we all would celebrate, and then ask why the QB even threw it.
Again, I cannot say enough how much I hope that he is a hidden gem, but I would like to see him get open, rather than make contested catches draped by DBs that most likely will never play a down.
You bring up a good point, baraw.
Just what is the priority list for evaluation of a good WR?
Hands
Getting open and quickly.
Good route running to help their QB.
Reading D and making sight adjustments.
Blocking
Catching contested balls.
Speed
More or less in that order. Maybe #2 and #3 are interchangeable.
But #1 to me is always hands, preferably hands like vise grips or flypaper. Hands like OBJ are the goal. Without good hands nothing else really matters.
Check out McCutcheon’s college tape. He can get open and he has great hands. Not good, but great hands.