Bleed Buffalo

Dwight Jones, North Carolina: Jones is arguably the most highly-touted receiver prospect in Mobile this week and has the potential to sneak into the first round with a strong showing. He hasn’t done much to impress thus far this week and has been knocked for his inability to run fluid routes and create separation from defenders. Nevertheless, the talent is there with Jones and his mixture of size and speed is just terrifying. Jones has the prototypical build of a game-changing receiver. At 6’4, 226 he’s built like Dez Bryant but also seems to have some of the same issues Bryant had coming out of Oklahoma State. His route running needs some serious polish and if the practices earlier in the week are any indication, he needs to learn how to use his frame to break press coverage and adjust to the ball when it’s in the air. Jones seems to be a bit of a project, not unlike his former counterpart in Hakeem Nicks when he was coming out of UNC, but a strong performance in Saturday’s game could be enough to garner some serious interest in the early rounds of April’s draft. .

T.J. Graham, NC State: Graham being number two on this list should tell you that there aren’t many early round receiver prospects present in Alabama this week. That’s no knock against Graham because he is an explosive player who has the potential to be a game breaker for any team that drafts him. Graham’s explosiveness was mostly on special teams however, and caught a career-best 46 passes in 2011 for the Wolf Pack. There’s no doubt he’s a burner and will likely record a top end 40-time at the combine but his future in the NFL will likely never take him out of the slot. At 5’11” 176 he will struggle against press coverage and won’t be a threat to go across the middle. Depending on where he falls (projected 2^nd to 3^rd) he would be a nice replacement for Roscoe Parrish when he almost definitely leaves via free agency this offseason, but it would be a shock to see the Bills take a chance on another gadget player.

Brian Quick, Appalachian St: Quick is an interesting prospect. His size (6’3”, 222) is ideal and he’s done nothing but produce since the second-half of his freshman year. He caught 71 balls for 1,096 yards and 11 touchdowns in 2011 and has the potential to be a solid receiver at the next level. He’s a solid route runner (Stevie Johnson comparison anyone?) but needs work at getting stronger against press coverage. His biggest knock is the lack of competition in the FCS. Quick is definitely a guy to keep your eye on, on Saturday and could be an intriguing pick on the second or third day of the draft for the Bills.

This entry was posted on January 27, 2012 at 1:02 pm and is filed under College Football, Draft Watch, NFL. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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