Lance's 2021 Prospects to Watch: WRs and CBs
WIDE RECEIVERS
Guys getting all the love: Chris Olave (Ohio State), John Metchie (Alabama), George Pickens (Georgia), Treylon Burks (Arkansas)
Guys to Watch
David Bell (Purdue): Rondale Moore got a lot of the attention from the Boilermakers, but Bell has been the better Receiver. He’s got much better size, no lengthy injury history, and with the pace he was on a season ago he would have hit 16 touchdowns. He’s not going to wow you with blazing speed and crazy deep threat ability because he’s more of Michael Thomas than a Tyreek Hill. But today’s NFL still needs guys like Thomas.
Garrett Wilson (Ohio State): Olave is getting all the attention because he’s been the far superior player, but I think Wilson has a much higher ceiling. He can cause his stock to skyrocket if he can show big improvement this year.
Jahan Dotson (Penn State): Last season was shockingly bad for the Nittany Lions, but Dotson’s growth was a definite bright spot. If he can take another leap this year I think we see him jump into the first-round discussion.
Justyn Ross (Clemson): Ross did not play at all last year because of a neck issue that required surgery. I was tempted to list him in the getting all the love section, but the injury definitely increases the risk of taking him, which could impact his stock. He can lower the concerns by coming out this season and dominating.
Romeo Doubs (Nevada): Having Carson Strong has certainly helped Doubs build a draft stock, but he also has two things going for him outside of his production: He’s listed at 6’2”, 200 pounds and he reportedly ran a 4.40 forty. Another strong season coupled with a good Combine will send his stock soaring.
Ty Fryfogle (Indiana): I, like most Indiana fans I’m sure, was very happy to see Fryfogle return to school. He had a great 2020 season that helped put him on the map. But he was just starting to find his footing last year and his return this year can show he’s still growing and boost his stock more. The best part of his game is that he has good size and he knows how to use it.
Reggie Roberson (SMU): Roberson is an interesting prospect. The talent is very obvious and the production has followed suit, but he’s also suffered season ending injuries in back to back years. He’ll have to stay healthy all season, or his stock will slide and he’ll become a late round flier that a team takes on a talented, injury-prone player.
Jaquarii Roberson (Wake Forest): PFF’s #2 Receiver for 2020 burst onto the scene from basically nowhere, and completely out of necessity after Sage Surrat opted out. He put up 926 yards and 8 touchdowns in 9 games. An encore presentation should send his draft stock through the roof.
Lujuan Winningham (Central Arkansas): COVID had a big impact on the top FCS prospects. The big names, like Trey Lance, were able to move on anyway and maintain their draft stock, but guys like Winningham had to return to school to try and build theirs back up. He’s got good size (6’3”) and had great production in 2019 with 814 yards (16.3 YPR) and 8 touchdowns. Since he’s going against FCS competition he’ll need to dominate more this year if he really wants to move up boards.
CORNERBACKS
Guys getting all the love: Derek Stingley Jr. (LSU), Kaiir Elam (Florida), Sevyn Banks (Ohio State), Josh Jobe (Alabama), Andrew Booth Jr. (Clemson), Ahmad Gardner (Cincinnati)
Guys to Watch:
Devin Taylor (Virginia Tech): He had a phenomenal career at Illinois State (8 interceptions and 39 deflections between 2018 and 2019), then COVID sort of forced his hand and he made the jump to the FBS where he wasn’t nearly as good. A second season with VA Tech, and a full spring and summer worth of work in the system should really help him out.
Chase Lucas (Arizona State): Last season AZ State only played four games, so you can’t really gauge him based on that. But the three seasons prior he put up 174 total tackles, 6 interceptions and 17 deflections and was the best player on that defense in my opinion.
Samuel Womack (Toledo): His 2019 season was great (59 tackles, 2 ints, 15 deflections), it launched him onto the watch list for analysts, but then Toledo only played five games in 2020. So, here we are, looking forward to seeing if he can replicate his performance and waiting to try and pick apart his game.
