Kiper: Denard #1 or #2 Draft Option..at WR
According to Mel Kiper:
Mel Kiper on Denard Robinson's draft stock: "He's either the No. 2 or No.1 most highly rated WR option & he hasnt even played the position"
Don't really know how to take this, but interesting nonetheless.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:20 PM ^
ever heard of chris johnson?
January 19th, 2012 at 2:27 PM ^
A guy who can get to 30 consistently or quick or make one or two cuts and be gone a handful of times a year has become a big deal.
I would at least like to see him sneak onto the field and return a kick in a late season game (Ohio or a bowl game) after being used back there as a decoy in a few confernece games.
Gorges is going to have fun with this news.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:36 PM ^
In the NFL he should also be used as a 3rd down back like sproles from NO. His experiene at QB should help him identify the blitz pick up while using his speed to catch a few passes out of the backfield and quickly pick up the first down/occasionally break off a TD.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:03 PM ^
If this happens, he needs to send a cut of his check to Devin Hester. After he started returning kicks abound for TDs, everyone wanted their own. See: Miami Dolphins and Ted Ginn.
Don't get me wrong...Denard is my favorite athlete in all of sports. But he is just that.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:04 PM ^
Based on Denard's career so far, I can't really argue with Kiper on this one. He simply hasn't demonstrated the level of consistency necessary to prove he can succeed as an NFL quarterback. There should be a place in the league for him just due to his sheer athleticism, but not as a QB.
But hopefully Denard takes this as motivation and proves us all wrong.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:04 PM ^
It makes a lot of sense when you think about the fact that it doesn't make sense.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:05 PM ^
...can he catch?
January 19th, 2012 at 2:10 PM ^
Who cares he's fast as hell. The only way he goes #2 at WR is if Usain Bolt joins the draft.
January 19th, 2012 at 3:02 PM ^
The crazy thing is, I wouldn't be that shocked to see Denard being able to hang with Bolt for 20-30m (which is about what matters in football anyway). Sure, Bolt would destroy Denard after that, but I still wouldn't be surprised to see their "football speed" be more similar than people might think.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:07 PM ^
I don't really know why people are getting so riled up about this. It's a huge compliment regarding the fact that Denard will probably be the best athlete in the draft next year. He still has a lot left to prove if he wants to reach his goal of being a QB, but is a good enough football player to go in the 1st round regardless of how well he does in achieving that goal. I still think with Denard's work ethic and what he showed in the last few games of the regular season that he could surprise a lot of people next year, but I also think it's most likely that he'll wind up as a Reggie Bush/Jahvid Best type of guy in the NFL.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:11 PM ^
Denard is such a freak athlete that he's going to be drafted high, maybe without a set position. The Bears drafted Devin Hester as a 1st rounder, he played mostly DB in College, and returned kicks. That worked out very well for the Bears (except for the part where they paid him like a #1 receiver.... See Ya Angelo!) There's a long history of former QBs succeeding in the NFL elsewhere - look at Randle El, Brad Smith, Etc. Denard is faster than those guys, it'll be interesting to see what the team that drafts him decides to do.
IMO Denard should go to the combine as a QB. Set all kinds of records for QBs. Work out as a QB. And make it clear to teams that he'd "like to be a QB, but isn't adverse to finding other ways onto the field as well" or something like that.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:32 PM ^
January 19th, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^
In other words, he should be the anti-Terrelle Pryor, which he already kinda is.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^
and I like the idea of him catching a few more passes, but deep balls, next year.
He will be a return man in the NFL and possibly a slot receiver, but a guy who can play some QB in a pinch. I see him as a late econd rounder and a fan favorite wherever he goes.
Did we ever hear what the NFL advisors told him? Im not sure he'd want to make that public but it would cool to know.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:18 PM ^
January 19th, 2012 at 2:24 PM ^
One of these guys went #1 in the draft the other still has one more year in college.
6' 195#
Career Passing: 338 Cmp, 580 Att, 4931 Yds, 40 TD
Career Rushing: 546 Att, 3229 Yds, 5.9 Avg, 35 TD
Career Punting: 2 Punts, 41 Yds, 20.5 Avg
Career Scoring: 35 TD, 210 Pts
6' 215#
Career Passing: 192 Cmp, 342 Att, 3299 Yds, 21 TD
Career Rushing: 212 Att, 1202 Yds, 5.7 Avg, 16 TD
Career Scoring: 8 TD, 48 Pts
I'm saying that with another year and growth in the west coast and his accuracy improves who knows.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:31 PM ^
the top stats are definitely Robinson. Who is the bottom? (Michael) Vick?
January 19th, 2012 at 2:39 PM ^
Used this argument yesterday to say that Denard still has a decent chance of going as a QB.
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<br>He argued that dual threat didn't matter to Atlanta so then I compared Vicks final college QB stats to Case McCoy (not Colt) and they had fairly equal numbers and Case is no where near NFL ready.
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<br>Either way, Vicks stats were really mediocre so I guess Atlanta just took him on faith...
January 19th, 2012 at 2:43 PM ^
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/denard-robinson-1.html
| Passing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| 2009 | Michigan | Big Ten | FR | QB | 14 | 31 | 45.2 | 188 | 6.1 | 1.5 | 2 | 4 | 91.6 |
| 2010 | Michigan | Big Ten | SO | QB | 182 | 291 | 62.5 | 2570 | 8.8 | 8.4 | 18 | 11 | 149.6 |
| 2011 | Michigan | Big Ten | JR | QB | 142 | 258 | 55.0 | 2173 | 8.4 | 7.4 | 20 | 15 | 139.7 |
| Career | Michigan | 338 | 580 | 58.3 | 4931 | 8.5 | 7.6 | 40 | 30 | 142.1 | |||
| Rushing | Receiving | Scrimmage | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
| 2009 | Michigan | Big Ten | FR | QB | 69 | 351 | 5.1 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 69 | 351 | 5.1 | 5 | |
| 2010 | Michigan | Big Ten | SO | QB | 256 | 1702 | 6.6 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 256 | 1702 | 6.6 | 14 | |
| 2011 | Michigan | Big Ten | JR | QB | 221 | 1176 | 5.3 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 221 | 1176 | 5.3 | 16 | |
| Career | Michigan | 546 | 3229 | 5.9 | 35 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 546 | 3229 | 5.9 | 35 | ||||
http://www.sports-reference.com/cfb/players/michael-vick-1.html
| Passing | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year 5 | School | Conf | Class | Pos | Cmp | Att | Pct | Yds | Y/A | AY/A | TD | Int | Rate |
| 1999 | Virginia Tech | Big East | QB | 105 | 181 | 58.0 | 2065 | 11.4 | 11.6 | 13 | 5 | 172.0 | |
| 2000 | Virginia Tech | Big East | SO | QB | 87 | 161 | 54.0 | 1234 | 7.7 | 7.0 | 8 | 6 | 127.4 |
| Career | Virginia Tech | 192 | 342 | 56.1 | 3299 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 21 | 11 | 151.0 | |||
| Year | School | Conf | Class | Pos | Att | Yds | Avg | TD | Rec | Yds | Avg | TD | Plays | Yds | Avg | TD |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Virginia Tech | Big East | QB | 108 | 585 | 5.4 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 585 | 5.4 | 8 | ||
| 2000 | Virginia Tech | Big East | SO | QB | 104 | 617 | 5.9 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 104 | 617 | 5.9 | 8 | |
| Career | Virginia Tech | 212 | 1202 | 5.7 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 212 | 1202 | 5.7 | 16 |
January 19th, 2012 at 2:32 PM ^
Career Scoring jacked up? These kind of stats just speak more to longevity at a glance. A lot more to the story as we all know.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:42 PM ^
I love Denard and all but he also has had roughly double the interceptions Vick has had. Also: Vick has shown a tremendous ability to scramble while Denard has shown little to no ability to scramble. (almost a steadfast resistance)
January 19th, 2012 at 2:20 PM ^
Denard actually has some zip on his balls. With another off-season and more work with Borges, I could see him raising his QB stock significantly if next year is a break-out year as a passer (in which case, his deity status will be official). He could use a bit more height, but so could Drew Brees. Someone will find a spot for him as a returner, if nothing else, but I'd be disappointed if that's all that he does. As far as #1 or 2 WR, yes, Kiper still has a job because he is completely unaccountable for the accuracy of his predictions.
More relevantly, none of this is relevant yet. Kiper needs a hobby.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:26 PM ^
he wont get a chance at qb in the nfl unless he improves to drew brees accuracy. all the successful dual threats in the nfl are a lot more accurate than denard. besides tebow. but tebow is big and can take the abuse. i can see him as a kick/punt returner. or a 3rd down back like a darren sproles. i just hope he wins us a BIG 10 championship.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:38 PM ^
January 19th, 2012 at 2:40 PM ^
Does anyone actually know if Denard can do that thing where receivers reach out to those balls flying in the air and grab them? I might have heard somewhere that that's an important thing for a receiver to do.
January 19th, 2012 at 2:52 PM ^
Denard Robibson is going to fall in line with a whole line of others that have played qb in college and made great 'playmakers' at the next level . . . get him in space or out on the edge! BOOM!
January 19th, 2012 at 2:56 PM ^
Yeah. So many of Denard's big throws have been, let's face it, jump-ball prayers. Obviously, there's a skill to that. Up to a point. It will be interesting to see which way the wind blows when Junior isn't around to make miracle catches.
January 19th, 2012 at 3:13 PM ^
Davis was alive he would go number 1 in the draft.
January 19th, 2012 at 3:28 PM ^
Millen would draft him
January 19th, 2012 at 3:29 PM ^
Robert Woods called and wants his 2012 Biletnikoff Award back. You can keep the O'Brien though.
January 19th, 2012 at 3:38 PM ^
Good for Denard. He's going to make a lot of money in the NFL.
I could see him being a first round pick. He's definitely got value as a kick returner and he could line up in the backfield as a rb, as a wildcat qb. He is going to be a great NFL player however he plays.
January 19th, 2012 at 3:43 PM ^
Has anyone actually ever doubled checked all of these so-called draft niks and signing board experts? I suspect they'll turn out pretty much like the so-called football gambling experts who offer their "lock of the century this week" and end up fifty/fifty about their predictions. Just look at the rosters of the NFL teams which played last week: Tim Tebow was a hugely rated and recruited high school football player and he fulfilled that promise in college and made it to start as a pro - a statistically improbable event for most high school players, even all stars. Tom Brady was almost a transfer. Joe Placco ended up at Delaware and not one of the other bigger name places which he had an interest in. Alex Smith for all of his hype coming out of college was a regular on the biggest NFL busts until he finally met a coaching staff which could work with what he had.
I hope all of the UM players who want a pro career find a place and do well - whether as a superstar QB or as special teams regular. For those whose pro dreams don't work out, I hope that their UM days and degree will help them become productive members of society.
January 19th, 2012 at 4:00 PM ^
January 19th, 2012 at 4:19 PM ^
So if you're Denard, do you go to Coach Hoke and ask to get reps at WR, maybe look for a Percy Harvin role?
January 19th, 2012 at 4:20 PM ^
I wouldn't put anything past this guy succeeding at any position in the NFL
January 19th, 2012 at 4:41 PM ^
I think Denard could be a top bobsledder. Why not?
January 19th, 2012 at 4:59 PM ^
January 19th, 2012 at 5:00 PM ^
...and to be fair, I would like to see his senior season first, but it is nice to see that Dilithium is at least highly thought of as an athlete by the traditional NFL draft pundits.
As for being a WR in the NFL, it's hard to say because we're trying to infer his capability at the position based on his athleticism and his performance as a QB. I don't know if that necessarily translates to being one of the top receivers in the draft. A team would be taking a bit of a risk, I think, in drafting him as their go-to WR just based on that. I could definitely see him in a specialist or situational role in that regard though (KR, option plays, etc..), at least based on three years of watching him play.
Regardless, I think he'll make it in some capacity and I would wish him nothing but success wherever he went. He's been a pleasure to watch at the Big House.
January 19th, 2012 at 5:13 PM ^
I would love to see Denard in the NFL at any position. I think he's earned it. However, unless he wins a super bowl with an heroic catch in the endzone to clinch the win (not ruling it out) his legacy in my mind will always be dilithium-infused super quarterback of the Michigan Wolverines. Hard to see anything changing that.