{"id":27817,"date":"2015-02-20T19:42:13","date_gmt":"2015-02-20T23:42:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.jetnation.com\/?p=27817"},"modified":"2022-04-01T03:05:26","modified_gmt":"2022-04-01T07:05:26","slug":"nfl-draft-thoughts-wide-receiver","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/2015\/02\/20\/nfl-draft-thoughts-wide-receiver\/","title":{"rendered":"Draft Thoughts: Wide Receiver"},"content":{"rendered":"

More often than not, attempting to project a\u00a0team’s draft strategy\u00a0before the start of free agency is\u00a0 a\u00a0fun, yet\u00a0impossible task.\u00a0\u00a0Clubs with\u00a0ample\u00a0cap\u00a0space and\u00a0multiple pressing needs are likely\u00a0to address roster deficiencies during the free agency period as they see fit.\u00a0 With the New York Jets\u00a0slated to be in better financial shape than most clubs,\u00a0many estimates putting them anywhere from $40-$50 million under the\u00a0cap<\/a>, the league’s new CBA forces them to spend aggressively which in turn\u00a0could allow them more flexibility on draft day.<\/p>\n

Should the Jets choose to add a wide receiver such as Randall Cobb, Michael Crabtree or Torrey Smith\u00a0in free agency,\u00a0the need to draft a one won’t be as glaring as it is now.\u00a0 However,\u00a0their lack of depth shouldn’t preclude them\u00a0from looking for a receiver in the middle or late rounds even with any free agent addition.<\/p>\n

Last season, the Pittsburgh Steelers\u00a0got one of the biggest steals in the draft when they selected Clemson’s Martavis Bryant\u00a0in the fourth round.\u00a0 An excellent\u00a0college receiver who some have speculated was overlooked due to the\u00a0amount of time defenses spent scheming to stop his teammate Sammy Watkins on the opposite side.<\/p>\n

It’s not an uncommon occurrence in the NFL for a receiver to blossom as a pro when given the opportunity\u00a0after playing second-fiddle to a more highly regarded teammate at the college level.\u00a0 The Jets once benefited from a similar situation when Laveranues Coles fell to the third round of the 2000 NFL draft and\u00a0logged a productive ten\u00a0year career\u00a0<\/a>while his college teammate Peter Warrick was the fourth overall selection for the Bengals, yet fizzled out of the league by 2006.<\/p>\n

Yesterday I broke down the top two wide receivers Kevin White and Amari Cooper<\/a><\/strong>. Should the Jets\u00a0opt to\u00a0draft another receiver\u00a0this season in\u00a0 hopes of finding another Coles or Bryant, here\u00a0are three\u00a0players who may be flying under the radar after spending their college careers in the shadow of their high-profile teammates.<\/p>\n

Mario Alford, West Virginia- <\/strong>Alford has spent each of the last two seasons playing alongside top-ten projected\u00a0wideout Kevin White.\u00a0 Analysts appear to be going back and forth\u00a0between White and Alabama WR Amari Cooper for the title of “best receiver” in the draft, but Alford’s production should garner some attention too.\u00a0 Some teams will undoubtedly be scared off by his size, but\u00a0the dynamic 5′ 8” WR will likely remind some fans of Tavon Austin who was a first round pick\u00a0of the St. Louis Rams (8th overall) two seasons ago.\u00a0 In 22 career games, Alford racked up 1,497 receiving yards on 92 receptions (16.3 avg) and also handled kick return duties.\u00a0 As a returner at West Virginia he averaged 26.3 yards per\u00a0attempt to go along with 2 touchdowns.<\/p>\n

Against upper-tier competition,\u00a0while facing no. 4 Oklahoma this past season,\u00a0Alford hauled in 7 passes for 101 yards, including at\u00a030-yard touchdown grab.\u00a0\u00a0Against Texas A&M in the 2014 liberty bowl the receiver was held to just three catches but made the most of it, averaging an impressive 16.3 YPC, aided by his 49-yard touchdown in the first half.\u00a0 Despite\u00a0his\u00a0speed and production, Alford is viewed as a later round pick if not an UDFA.\u00a0 Rumored to run the 40 in under 4.4, Alford will get his chance this week to earn some praise of his own as he hopes to move up NFL draft boards.<\/p>\n

\"DeAndrew<\/a>DeAndrew White, Alabama- <\/strong>Anybody sharing the huddle with Amari Cooper this past season was bound to be an afterthought in Alabama’s offense.\u00a0 Cooper lit up the stat sheet, leading\u00a0the nation with 124 receptions.\u00a0 White, a 6′ 182 lb target, did\u00a0flash some ability when given the opportunity in big spots.\u00a0 \u00a0In the SEC championship game against Missouri, White finished with 4 catches for 101 yards which included a 58-yard touchdown grab to give Alabama an early 14-0 lead.<\/p>\n

Despite limited opportunities,\u00a0he’s a player who has stepped up to make big plays on multiple occasions.\u00a0 Against Oklahoma in the 2013 Sugar Bowl, he torched the No. 11 Sooners’ secondary for 139 yards, 67 of which cam on a long TD strike.\u00a0 Like Alford, White is projected as a late round pick or to latch on as an UDFA.\u00a0\u00a0Some fans may remember White for this incredible 10-yard touchdown catch <\/a>that went viral in 2013.<\/p>\n

Cam Worthy, East Carolina- <\/strong>While projected third round receiver Justin Hardy out of Eastern Carolina isn’t getting nearly as much attention as the likes of Cooper and White, college football’s all-time leader in receptions with 387 was clearly the focal point of the Pirate’s passing attack.\u00a0 East Carolina’s number two option however,\u00a0could be one of the more intriguing prospects in the draft.<\/p>\n

At 6′ 2”\/200, Cam Worthy possesses good size and hands but was a virtual unknown coming in to this season.\u00a0 As a JUCO transfer, Worhty played just two games at Eastern Carolina as a Junior, registering 2 catches for 36 yards.\u00a0 As\u00a0 senior however, the big man appeared to have come in to his own.\u00a0 Worthy registered five 100+ yard receiving games and had a career day against No. 17 Virginia Tech.\u00a0 Against the Hokies,\u00a0 Worthy posted an eye-popping 224 yards on just six catches, an average of 37.3 yards per catch.\u00a0 Worthy also put up big numbers in this year’s Birmingham Bowl against the University of Florida, as he finished the day with 8 catches for 130 yards and a touchdown.\u00a0 A raw prospect with only one full season of playing time\u00a0in a major conference, Worthy’s big play ability is likely what landed him at this week’s combine as team executives get a closer look.<\/p>\n

You can continue the draft conversation about NY Jets wide receivers<\/a><\/strong> in our forums.<\/em><\/p>\n

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More often than not, attempting to project a\u00a0team’s draft strategy\u00a0before the start of free agency is\u00a0 a\u00a0fun, yet\u00a0impossible task.\u00a0\u00a0Clubs with\u00a0ample\u00a0cap\u00a0space and\u00a0multiple pressing needs are likely\u00a0to address roster deficiencies during the free agency period as they see fit.\u00a0 With the New York Jets\u00a0slated to be in better financial shape than most clubs,\u00a0many estimates putting them anywhere […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":27821,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1337,213],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-27817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-home-slider","8":"category-jet-news"},"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/02\/DeAndrew-White.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/peLffi-7eF","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27817","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/38"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27817"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27817\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27823,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27817\/revisions\/27823"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27821"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27817"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27817"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/miletestsite.com\/jets\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27817"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}