Greg Cosell on 2012 WR draft prospects, plus Fleener

For your edification, here are Greg Cosell's recent tweets on this year's wide receiver prospects, plus this thoughts on Coby Fleener and evolving NFL offensive philosophy. Some people don't take Cosell as the gospel, but he's very interesting and he gets the conversation going. Enjoy.

  1. Cosell on the prospects
  2. No WR in this draft as good as A. Johnson or C. Johnson when they came out. Blackmon/Floyd not in that category. Randle intrigues me most.
  3. Like WR Randle. Smooth, athletic, acceleration off the LOS. Belive he can win isolation routes on outside as "x". Similarities to H. Nicks.
  4. Asked re: Floyd. See some D. Bowe in him. Big WR with better quicks and movement the more I watched. Think I like Floyd more than Blackmon.
  5. Be interesting to see where Wright goes. Explosive vertically on film. Question is can align on the outside. Is he D. Jackson, or just slot?
  6. WR Hill difficult eval. Ran few routes at GT. Straight line WR who didn't play as fast on film as timed Combine 40. Minus lateral quicks.
  7. Asked re: Fleener. Efficient into routes from LOS position. Ability to attack vertical seams. Fluid rte runner. Reminded me of HOU Daniels.
  8. Watched 2 WR today I liked: Broyles + CAL Jones. Broyles will be excellent slot WR. Jones widest catching radius of any WR I evaluated.
  9. CAL Jones could play both outside + inside. Aligned at "x" primarily for CAL but abilty to make tough catches inside also projects to slot.
  10. Watched Broyles. Smooth rte runner with natural quicks. Balance + body control. NFL slot WR: lateral quicks, hands, run after catch.
  11. Sanu move receiver in Rutgers off. Strong hands. Ability to snatch ball. Between the numbers WR. Will not win isolation routes on outside.
  12. Criner tough film eval. Limited rts in ARZ O. Big linear WR with some build up speed but little suddenness or burst. Some run-after-catch.
  13. Both Arkansas WR, Adams + Wright project well in the slot. Both laterally explosive. Wright may have more vertical explosion. Both will play
  14. Asked about Wylie. Perfect NFL slot WR. Explosive short area burst. Excellent change of direction. Speed to get vertical. Run-after-catch.
  15. Asked re: McNutt. Long strider w/build up speed. Question will be play speed + explosion as vertical WR. Can he win isolation routes v man?
  16. No one talking about WF Givens. Quick acceleration on vertical rtes. Explosive. Just as fast vrtically as BU Wright. Inconsistent hands.
  17. Intriguing WR I watched was NV Matthews. Exclusive plus splits. Strong hands. A little stiff but sense of pace as rt runner. Run after catch
  18. Cosell on skill positions and schemes
  19. Game has changed. Teams looking to dictate matchups with receiver distribution + location more than a #1 WR. Very few A. + C. Johnsons.
  20. Defenses have not yet caught up with multiple WR + TE personnel. #3 + even #4 Wr still better than #3 + #4 corners. It's about matchups.
  21. Great point made re: WR who struggle to separate v. man. Dependent on scheme + QB. Why college production must be put in right context.
  22. 3 + 4 WR personnel, + more spread looks in NFL helps WR who can't consistently win isolation routes on outside. Game of matchups.
  23. Offenses now dictate favorable matchups re: use of personnel + formations. Garcon may not be true #1 but if matched on 3rd CB offense wins.
  24. So many WR in NFL helped by scheme, what we call receiver distribution + location (# of receivers to each side, + who those receivers are).
  25. Concern for tall linear straight line WR is can they win on outside v. man coverage. If not, they become function of scheme, personnel + QB.

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Grant Cohn

I write the Inside the 49ers blog for the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, and I am a regular contributor to CSNBayArea.com.

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