Mixed feelings about Massaquoi
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During the draft process, a few of the veteran SEC watchers on this board expressed reservations about Massaquoi, particularly his inconsistent hands. After watching a couple more Georgia games, I've come to share those concerns. Seeing Massaquoi fumble on back to back drives in the Kentucky game really scared me, as did the drops and missed opportunities I saw in the other games.
Of all the Browns' picks, Massaquoi probably should be the most controversial one, yet he's the one who's been discussed the least on this board. To get the discussion started, here's a scouting report on the Georgia receiver.
Scouting Report
GENERAL REPORT: GRADE: 6.34
Body Structure: Massaquoi has a tall, smooth muscle toned frame, with good upper body development. He has thin thighs and calves and needs to improve his lower body strength. He can add more bulk without the increased weight affecting his adequate quickness.
Athletic Ability: Massaquoi has good overall athletic ability, with adequate playing speed. He is best when used on controlled routes, where he shows better short-area quickness. He is a long strider with good, but inconsistent foot work and body control for route running. He does shows functional flexibility adjusting to the off-target tosses. He has decent acceleration off the line, but would be even more effective if he can concentrate on staying lower in his pads (gets too erect in his stance and drops his hands, leaving his chest exposed for the jam). When he does sink his weight, he does a decent job of throttling down and escaping the defender. GRADE: 6.1
Football Sense: Massaquoi has no trouble digesting a complicated playbook and has garnered several academic awards. He plays with good field awareness, but it is inconsistent as he is prone to long stretches where he looks lost on the field. His concentration lapses led to a few benchings, as he frustrated the staff with the high amount of balls he dropped his first three years. He is a good mentor for the younger players, but must remain more focused. When his head is in the game, he shows good awareness to adjust on the move and find spots underneath to uncover. GRADE: 6.0
Character: Massaquoi is well-respected by teammates and staff. He does very well in school and has no known off-field issues. The coaches cite his enthusiasm for teaching A.J. Green for the rapid development of that freshman as a receiving partner in 2008. GRADE: 7.6
Competitiveness: Massaquoi has decent toughness and assertiveness on the field, and he does not seem to mind going over the middle to get to the tough throws. He will never be a team's go-to player due to concentration lapses, but does well playing in a supportive role. He is a good presence in the locker room and a respected leader that the younger players look up to. He will challenge teammates to perform at a high level and will not hesitate to sacrifice himself when called upon to block and play on the back side. He will also compete after contact, but you would like to see him become more aggressive fighting for jump balls (needs to time his leaps better). GRADE: 6.1
Work Habits: Massaquoi is the type of player who will do the little extra things on his own to get better. He has tremendous talent, but has yet to show consistency in his play. He is a coachable team player who can be considered leadership material. He is not the type who will let a bad play linger, but the inconsistency in his game is frustrating. GRADE: 5.9
ATHLETIC REPORT: GRADE: 5.94
Release: Massaquoi has just adequate speed, and while he can challenge college cornerbacks on deep patterns he won't fool the savvy and much quicker NFL types. He might be better served in the slot and on controlled routes. He has the size and upper body strength to negotiate a clean release vs. the press. He is a long strider, but smoothly increases his acceleration, showing enough quickness with adequate moves and good size to beat second-level defenders, making him a better fit for a West Coast Offense. GRADE: 6.1
Acceleration: Massaquoi has just adequate speed to get deep, needing room to build his downfield acceleration. He flashes the ability to adjust to the ball and does a good job of catching, throttling down and executing head and shoulder fakes to escape the slower defenders. He does a good job of adjusting to the ball in flight and to uncover on short tosses, where he tends to run crisper routes in attempts to separate. He has the size to compete in traffic and very good leaping ability, but must work on his timing, as he does not always get to the ball at its high point. GRADE: 6.0
Quickness: While he has adequate timed speed, Massaquoi does not show great quickness for his position, especially when he fails to sink his pads and run too upright. He has only adequate initial movement on the ball, but will accelerate once he gets into his routes. He uses his long stride to gain advantage on second-level defenders and shows good vision to locate the cutbacks. He is quick to get his head turned around to look the ball in, showing natural hands and body control, but does use his body as a crutch too often when catching. GRADE: 5.7
Route Running: Massaquoi runs decent patterns, showing enough quickness to get in and out of his break point, but still needs to show better crispness (takes soft angles) on long patterns. He knows how to vary his speed working in a crowd, as he has the nimble feet to stop and go. His body control is good, but inconsistent, as he can come in and out of his cuts to separate, but only when he sinks his hips. What he does best is find the soft spots and settle in them, but as for being a deep threat, he just lacks the elite speed to be featured there. GRADE: 6.3
Separation Ability: Massaquoi shows enough quickness on his breaks to get open in the second level, especially when throttling down. He has good vision and some nice head and shoulder fakes to get the defensive back to come out of his backpedal too early. His best asset is his ability to stay in control while making adjustments in his routes. GRADE: 6.6
Ball Concentration: Massaquoi shows good hand/eye coordination and he is conscious of the sticks to make proper body adjustments, but has too many concentration lapses that led to him dropping more passes than he caught during his first three seasons, which led to a few benchings. It is not like he is timid, as he will not hesitate to operate in traffic, but he needs to become aggressive competing for jump balls and stay in focus better. When his head is in the game, he does a good job of working back when the pocket is pressured and is quite effective at scooping up low throws. GRADE: 5.3
Ball Adjustment: Massaquoi adjusts well to the ball in flight. He does a good job of seeing the ball in when working in tight spots, as he shows good extend-ability to get to the off-target throws, but he will also revert to using his body to absorb the ball in, and those double catches result in a high amount of bobbled balls. He is best when working in the short-to-intermediate area and on control routes, as he seems more comfortable adjusting to the ball underneath. GRADE: 6.3
Leaping Ability: Massaquoi does a good job of going up for the ball when uncontested, but his timing on his leaps needs work. He won't shy away from contact, but will stand around some when he should be elevating to high point the ball (with a 36.5-inch vertical jump, he should be coming down with more balls than he has). Still, he is willing to sacrifice his body when working over the middle. GRADE: 5.5
Hands: Massaquoi has natural hands and is able to catch away from his framework, but when he tries to absorb the ball into his body, it becomes an adventure and the results are usually not good. He needs to look the pass in before turning and heading upfield, as he seems to be more conscious of escaping from the defender rather than knowing he has a ball in hands to get yardage. He is not fumble prone, despite two big turnovers vs. Kentucky in 2008. He also must be more active with his hands to beat the press, as he will drop them when he gets too erect in his stance, letting defenders attack his jersey. GRADE: 6.2
Run After the Catch: Massaquoi has enough moves to adjust and elude the defender after catching the ball in the short area, but lacks the second gear to separate and take the ball to the house. He shows adequate leg strength to break tackles, but must develop better awareness for knowing when to turn to head upfield (very effective on slants, but is not good going up the seam, as you just don't see much wiggle and he needs to do that to get to it when on the move). GRADE: 6.1
Blocking Ability: Massaquoi has adequate strength for blocking, using his size more to position and pester, but he needs to show more aggression. If a defender tags him with a good punch, he will go down on the spot. GRADE: 5.2
Compares To: KEARY COLBERT, Detroit -- Massaquoi had a banner senior season, but the memory lingers of all those balls he dropped or left on the ground throughout his career. If you have a quarterback like Matthew Stafford, one of the few power arms in the college game, you would hope that Massaquoi would have had eye-opening numbers. He has adequate quickness, lots of concentration lapses and while he is a smart player with good work ethic, a position coach has to be wondering if it will be worth the frustrating performances sandwiched around a good one. Just take a look at his game-by-game log as evidence of his inconsistency.
OVERALL GRADE: 6.00
--Report by Dave-Te' Thomas
MoMass seems to be a high character player with a good deal of upside, but I have a hard time seeing him be able to contribute early on. If injuries or an Edwards trade force him onto the field this year, I fear he'll implode in a way that'll permanently turn the fans against him.
Imagine if he fumbled twice against the Steelers or dropped a crucial 3rd down pass against another division rival: it'd earn him a lot of haters. And considering tha Massoquoi battled confidence issues early in his college career, I'd imagine that getting greeted by a chorus of boos during his rookie season would only increase the chances this guy turns into a 2nd round bust.
Aloysius said:
During the draft process, a few of the veteran SEC watchers on this board expressed reservations about Massaquoi, particularly his inconsistent hands. After watching a couple more Georgia games, I've come to share those concerns. Seeing Massaquoi fumble on back to back drives in the Kentucky game really scared me, as did the drops and missed opportunities I saw in the other games.I remembered piggybackign onto your concerns about his hands. I did so NOT because of alot of observation. I based it on the local radio sports talk shows that talk exclusively about the SEC. They are negative about him based upon his EXPECTATIONS coming out of high school and the concentration lapses showing up as dropped catchable passes.
Now that he is a Cleveland Brown, I kind of LIKE knowing he was an elite football player coming out of high school from a talent potential thing.
I ENJOYED Braylon Edwards when he was on TOP of his game in 2007 and then I saw another side of him in 2008. I think WR is a position where success breeds success. Last year, we didn't line up anything decent at thew 2nd WR position if we're being honest and it caused ALOT of attention and extra hits on Braylon. Guys have good years and guys have bad years. There's Randy Moss in Oakland and there's Randy Moss in New England just like there was Edwards in 2007 vrs Edwards in 2008. Same applie to Mo Mass.
A WR Corps of Braylon Edwards, Brian Robiskie, Mo Mass, David Patten, Mike Furrey and Josh Cribbs shows me some exciting potential. This quietly looks deep and very competitive. The best part? I didn't even have to include Stallworth.
- Tom F.
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Massaquoi is somewhat simular to Edwards in that he tends to let the ball get to his body too much. Watching Edwards in practice he catches almost everything with his hands but when the pressure is on in game situations he reverts back to catching the ball against his body. I especially hate to see him jump to catch balls in his gut that are chest high.
Massaquoi seemed to do that in his earlier years but changed to catching the ball with his hands last year. I hope that is a possitive sign.
Some of it might be confidence. Once Edwards started dropping balls, he lost confidence. If he started a game with a few nice catches, he seemed like the 2007 Edwards. Some of it might be him being tenitive over the middle also. My hope is Massaquoi has the guts to go over the middle and make the tough catches and the confidence to catch the ball with his hands and not revert to catching it against his body. He has the size, speed and is athletic enough to be a #1. He just needs to prove he can be consistent catching the ball and he is tough enough to hang with the big time CBs.
This kid pushing for playing time could be a big plus for this team.
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Massaquoi is somewhat simular to Edwards in that he tends to let the ball get to his body too much. Watching Edwards in practice he catches almost everything with his hands but when the pressure is on in game situations he reverts back to catching the ball against his body. I especially hate to see him jump to catch balls in his gut that are chest high.
Massaquoi seemed to do that in his earlier years but changed to catching the ball with his hands last year. I hope that is a possitive sign.
Some of it might be confidence. Once Edwards started dropping balls, he lost confidence. If he started a game with a few nice catches, he seemed like the 2007 Edwards. Some of it might be him being tenitive over the middle also. My hope is Massaquoi has the guts to go over the middle and make the tough catches and the confidence to catch the ball with his hands and not revert to catching it against his body. He has the size, speed and is athletic enough to be a #1. He just needs to prove he can be consistent catching the ball and he is tough enough to hang with the big time CBs.
This kid pushing for playing time could be a big plus for this team.
Massaquoi is somewhat simular to Edwards in that he tends to let the ball get to his body too much. Watching Edwards in practice he catches almost everything with his hands but when the pressure is on in game situations he reverts back to catching the ball against his body. I especially hate to see him jump to catch balls in his gut that are chest high.
Massaquoi seemed to do that in his earlier years but changed to catching the ball with his hands last year. I hope that is a possitive sign.
Some of it might be confidence. Once Edwards started dropping balls, he lost confidence. If he started a game with a few nice catches, he seemed like the 2007 Edwards. Some of it might be him being tenitive over the middle also. My hope is Massaquoi has the guts to go over the middle and make the tough catches and the confidence to catch the ball with his hands and not revert to catching it against his body. He has the size, speed and is athletic enough to be a #1. He just needs to prove he can be consistent catching the ball and he is tough enough to hang with the big time CBs.
This kid pushing for playing time could be a big plus for this team.
That was a very astute post Ytown, good observations. Rutigliano also brought up some good points about Edwards' struggles last year saying he wasn't seeing the ball correctly. He was not picking the ball up until the last second and in doing that was using his body more. When the pressure is on and you locate the ball late, the first inclination is to body catch it. It also was his a way of tightening up to absorb a blow.
Braylons is maddening to me, the guy is as talented a receiver as ANYBODY I've ever seen. In practice he catches everything with his hands, it's all in his head come game time. One thing is for sure, he shouldn't come in being a diva this year after being knocked down a peg or ten. Last year he and Michael Phelps were all the rage and buddies, now both have been humbled but in Edwards' case there is a lot of money and endorsements on the line for him to show up this year.
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Massaquoi is somewhat simular to Edwards in that he tends to let the ball get to his body too much. Watching Edwards in practice he catches almost everything with his hands but when the pressure is on in game situations he reverts back to catching the ball against his body. I especially hate to see him jump to catch balls in his gut that are chest high.
Massaquoi seemed to do that in his earlier years but changed to catching the ball with his hands last year. I hope that is a possitive sign.
Some of it might be confidence. Once Edwards started dropping balls, he lost confidence. If he started a game with a few nice catches, he seemed like the 2007 Edwards. Some of it might be him being tenitive over the middle also. My hope is Massaquoi has the guts to go over the middle and make the tough catches and the confidence to catch the ball with his hands and not revert to catching it against his body. He has the size, speed and is athletic enough to be a #1. He just needs to prove he can be consistent catching the ball and he is tough enough to hang with the big time CBs.
This kid pushing for playing time could be a big plus for this team.
That was a very astute post Ytown, good observations. Rutigliano also brought up some good points about Edwards' struggles last year saying he wasn't seeing the ball correctly. He was not picking the ball up until the last second and in doing that was using his body more. When the pressure is on and you locate the ball late, the first inclination is to body catch it. It also was his a way of tightening up to absorb a blow.
Braylons is maddening to me, the guy is as talented a receiver as ANYBODY I've ever seen. In practice he catches everything with his hands, it's all in his head come game time. One thing is for sure, he shouldn't come in being a diva this year after being knocked down a peg or ten. Last year he and Michael Phelps were all the rage and buddies, now both have been humbled but in Edwards' case there is a lot of money and endorsements on the line for him to show up this year.
That was a very astute post Ytown, good observations. Rutigliano also brought up some good points about Edwards' struggles last year saying he wasn't seeing the ball correctly. He was not picking the ball up until the last second and in doing that was using his body more. When the pressure is on and you locate the ball late, the first inclination is to body catch it. It also was his a way of tightening up to absorb a blow.
Braylons is maddening to me, the guy is as talented a receiver as ANYBODY I've ever seen. In practice he catches everything with his hands, it's all in his head come game time. One thing is for sure, he shouldn't come in being a diva this year after being knocked down a peg or ten. Last year he and Michael Phelps were all the rage and buddies, now both have been humbled but in Edwards' case there is a lot of money and endorsements on the line for him to show up this year.
What Rutigiano said make a lot of sense if the receiver is looking to see who is going to hit him after he comes out of his break or before he catches the ball. Might be something to do with toughness. His best catches are when he is covered and doesn't have time to think, just react and he makes great acrobatic catches. Sometimes on balls that are poorly thrown by the QB. The biggest problem is when he runs a slant or curl in and knows he is going to get hit. Could be, like Sam says, it's because he is looking to see if someone is about to take his head off or if he has an opening for some YAC.
The solution might be to have a Patton, Furrey or Robo go over the middle and run the slants and keep Edwards runing outs and go routes. Almost like they were doing in 2007 with Winslow and JJ making the 3rd down tough catches inside and Edwards making his catches out of traffic.
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That was a very astute post Ytown, good observations. Rutigliano also brought up some good points about Edwards' struggles last year saying he wasn't seeing the ball correctly. He was not picking the ball up until the last second and in doing that was using his body more. When the pressure is on and you locate the ball late, the first inclination is to body catch it. It also was his a way of tightening up to absorb a blow.
Braylons is maddening to me, the guy is as talented a receiver as ANYBODY I've ever seen. In practice he catches everything with his hands, it's all in his head come game time. One thing is for sure, he shouldn't come in being a diva this year after being knocked down a peg or ten. Last year he and Michael Phelps were all the rage and buddies, now both have been humbled but in Edwards' case there is a lot of money and endorsements on the line for him to show up this year.
What Rutigiano said make a lot of sense if the receiver is looking to see who is going to hit him after he comes out of his break or before he catches the ball. Might be something to do with toughness. His best catches are when he is covered and doesn't have time to think, just react and he makes great acrobatic catches. Sometimes on balls that are poorly thrown by the QB. The biggest problem is when he runs a slant or curl in and knows he is going to get hit. Could be, like Sam says, it's because he is looking to see if someone is about to take his head off or if he has an opening for some YAC.
The solution might be to have a Patton, Furrey or Robo go over the middle and run the slants and keep Edwards runing outs and go routes. Almost like they were doing in 2007 with Winslow and JJ making the 3rd down tough catches inside and Edwards making his catches out of traffic.
The solution might be to have a Patton, Furrey or Robo go over the middle and run the slants and keep Edwards runing outs and go routes. Almost like they were doing in 2007 with Winslow and JJ making the 3rd down tough catches inside and Edwards making his catches out of traffic.
That's a BIG part of it. BUT, you still need THREATS that can put 6 points on the board if you put too much company around Edwards.
Not for nothing BUT I've been DREAMING of seeing Josh Cribbs transcending into the slot Receiver we've been missing here. Think about what we like so much about him and it's seeing him with the ball in the open field against people that aren't in good position to make the tackle. If we want to carve out somebody's middle, I can't think of a better candidate who has also been known for putting 6 points on the board. I think Josh in the slot is a much more effective way to get him in open field mismatches than have him taking snaps from Center.
- Tom F.
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The solution might be to have a Patton, Furrey or Robo go over the middle and run the slants and keep Edwards runing outs and go routes. Almost like they were doing in 2007 with Winslow and JJ making the 3rd down tough catches inside and Edwards making his catches out of traffic.
That's a BIG part of it. BUT, you still need THREATS that can put 6 points on the board if you put too much company around Edwards.
Not for nothing BUT I've been DREAMING of seeing Josh Cribbs transcending into the slot Receiver we've been missing here. Think about what we like so much about him and it's seeing him with the ball in the open field against people that aren't in good position to make the tackle. If we want to carve out somebody's middle, I can't think of a better candidate who has also been known for putting 6 points on the board. I think Josh in the slot is a much more effective way to get him in open field mismatches than have him taking snaps from Center.
- Tom F.
That's a BIG part of it. BUT, you still need THREATS that can put 6 points on the board if you put too much company around Edwards.
Not for nothing BUT I've been DREAMING of seeing Josh Cribbs transcending into the slot Receiver we've been missing here. Think about what we like so much about him and it's seeing him with the ball in the open field against people that aren't in good position to make the tackle. If we want to carve out somebody's middle, I can't think of a better candidate who has also been known for putting 6 points on the board. I think Josh in the slot is a much more effective way to get him in open field mismatches than have him taking snaps from Center.
- Tom F.
From what is being said, Mangini doesn't regard Cribbs very highly as a slot receiver. He does love him as a slash guy as much as he liked Brad Smith last year in NY. I wouldn't be surprised to see Cribbs as more of a 3rd down back where he could go in motion out of the backfield, be a solid blitz blocker and also be able to take a handoff, direct snap or even throw the ball.
Cribbs does not want to give up being captain of the special teams and doesn't want off any of the coverage units. He also will be tried at some DB during camp. Should be very interesting with him.
I can see BQ standing there in a shotgun formation reading the defense on 3rd and 4, Edwards and Robo split wide, Furrey in the slot and Cribbs standing next to him. The defense will have a big problem figuring out what they are going to do. That sure would keep them honest.
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@shepwrite said:
Not to fall back on the company line, but I read a few scouting reports from various draftnicks and saw the love on NFL network, because he came so far between his sophomore and senior seasons, to the point that he was voted "permanent captain" by his team.Then he was reported to have fantastic workouts where he "caught everything in sight" and exploded out of his cuts, so he started rising. Specifically, OBR said Browns' scouts called his workout "amazing."
THEN, he was fantastic at the rookie mini-camp. Evidence would seem to be that he's a great pick, unless we're concerned about a time warp or something.
I think the thing forgotten here is all draft picks are a crap shoot...just because one is drafted in the 1st rnd as we know does not guarantee a homerun hit...things good and bad are constantly said about draftees...I just prefer to let time and experiance determine the outcome...Mike Furrey to me is a great example of hard work and dedication...let the chips fall where they May
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Flugs I think you hit it on the head... Last year Edwards was asked to do things and play a role that he's not best in... Once the drops started it became a head thing.... It's just like hitting in baseball, once a few players start delivering game changing hits, the entire team seems to feed of it and it becomes contageous... Once a wide receiver starts dropping passes in crutial times during the game, it becomes a head thing... All wide receivers are somewhat diva's in my opinion...
Since Massaquoi is intelligent he should be coachable and hopefully his drops will be of a minimum once this staff gets a hold of him... But the penchant for dropping balls has me worried I'll admit....
T.Dawg
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No doubt the only thing that matters is here and now and what he does in the future.
What he did in college or in draft workouts doesn't matter anymore.
With that said..... I propose a toast: May he catch them all!
Cheers!
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@shepwrite said:
D-Bull, not to be repetitive... but the reason Massoquai rose is that he DIDN'T have the dropsies his senior year or in workouts. He had reduced him during his junior year, too. It seems to be something he worked hard to overcome. I can't see why he'd revert to his sophomore year.Some tape I've seen on him has shown that he wasn't letting the ball get to his chest last year. He was catching most throws with his hands and not worrying so much about YAC. I think Georgia should have used him more last year. But, that's good for us hopefully.
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The Edwards comparison is an interesting one, but I've never seen MoMass make the unbelievable catches that Braylon made all through '07. As ballpeen said, Massquoi used to drop perfect throws, and now he catches most of them. But whenever there was a difficult catch to make - on an underthrown pass, on a fade route - it seemed like the ball hit the ground (or ended up in the DB's hands).
MoMass still seemed to be body catching some throws last year, and the two fumbles in the Kentucky game made me wonder if the guy's always going to be a hard hit away from dropping the football. He was a big time riser close to the draft because he looked great in workouts (no contact), and he impressed during minicamp (no contact), but I'm not going to be sold on him until he shows he consistently plays that well in pads.
Some draftnicks, including the OBR's Sobo, had Massaquoi graded out as a 4th round talent. Though he sometimes looked like an elite receiver (the Georgia Tech game, parts of the Kentucky game), MoMass more often looked like a mid-round receiver. Hopefully, the Browns redshirt him and somehow get him to more regularly play up to his potential.
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Hopefully, the Browns redshirt him and somehow get him to more regularly play up to his potential.
I think that is essentially what is going to happen.
We may not expose him to the waiver wire to get him on the practice squad, but I doubt he sees any serious playing time over Edwards, Patton, Robiskie, etc., unless we start to see guys get racked up.
I doubt he gets much over 20 chances this year, and most of that late, assuming we are out of the running.
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Well, one thing you won't see Massaquoi doing after a practice this year is clowning around in his bare feet with a teammate. One thing you will see him doing is taking time to do some extra work on his route timing, footwork, etc.
The point being that this is a football player not a self-proclaimed celebrity who happens to play football. There are no questions about this kid's character so let's move on to the football side of this discussion.
This kid's dimensions reflect those of a current #1 NFL receiver. Are his hands a concern? Absolutely. But here's why I am more encouraged about his shortcomings than those of someone like Edwards. When Massaquoi makes a mistake, he won't follow it with an excuse. He'll follow it by learning how to get better and he'll follow it by making the next play.
For the record, I think Braylon will play very well this year, but he's got to get into the right frame of mind. Being surrounded by WR additions that, albeit are younger, will train and prepare like true professionals will certainly help.
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Yeah, Massaquoi's character is solid. And if he's not forced onto the field too soon, he could develop into a nice receiver for us.
I'm a big fan of sure-handed receivers, so guys like Crabtree, Nicks, and Robiskie appealed to me. Fortunately, we got the only one of those who didn't have any character red flags.
And it was smart to plan in advance for Braylon's exit. If Rucker develops into a solid receiving option, we'll be even better positioned going into next offseason. Though Massaquoi scares me a little bit, I'd rather roll the dice with him than use our 1st round pick next year on another receiver.
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Don't forget Furrey....he is a solid hands guy who isn't a egg head in the clubhouse or out in public.
I think he has a chance to be our leading receivers as far as total catches. We are probably going to be in a fair number of 3rd a 6, so his number is going to be called often.
QB's like throwing to guys who usually catch the ball and somehow manage to get open.
I could see him nearing 90 receptions.
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We may disagree who gets more shots, but we agree both are going to get plenty of opportunities.
I do think Patton may start ahead of Robo...at least in the early going.....but he is getting a bit old, so he just may not have it anymore.
We should have some nice receiver options.
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Assuming health here, this is what I envision:
WR Edwards---They'll keep him a lot more vertical this year stretching the defense.
WR Robiskie---He'll start day one, that's why they picked him. He will be the tactician and chains mover on the intermediate and slant route stuff, but don't discount him getting deep.
Slot---This will be a good camp battle between Furrey and Patten. I like both of them, but Patten is more athletic and can also get deep from time to time. For those who discount Patten, he is a nice player when healthy and a great team guy.
4th and 5th WR---The loser of Furrey/Patten for slot, with MoMas and Cribbs fighting for the 5th spot. This depends on how they plan on using Cribbs this year, if it's more out of the backfield or out wide. Barring injury, MoMas gets his redshirt season much like Sweed did last year. He will never go to the practice squad though, but it's possible for the Leggett's of the world to push in camp.
Rucker also may be utilized in bigger packages at slot in an attempt to create size mismatches.
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Nice post, and it could very easily work out that way.
The point is it looks like we have some viable options and it could work out any number of ways.....or a little of all as the season transpires.
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@shepwrite said:
Massoquai will be the slot or the 4th. I really don't think they'd draft him in the middle of round 2 to be on the practice squad.I don't think we'll end up keeping both Furrey and Patten. At their ages, you start, you're the slot, or you're gone because you aren't a developmental guy.
I see Edwards and Robiskie starting and either Furrey or Patten in the slot with Massoquai pushing them... perhaps aside, eventually.
Fifth slot has to be filled by someone younger... probably between Hubbard and Steptoe.
Edwards
Robiskie
Furrey
Massoquai
Hubbard (just a feeling)
I think you bring them all to camp and they compete. The NFL is a game that makes teams deal with injuries. So, I believe we open the season with both Patton and Furrey. Hubbard is eligable for the practice squad and I can see someone on the PUP. Let's hope for a year of good health, but you do need depth and have to have a plan B.
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