SI Lists DPJ and Black as "Other" Receivers to Watch
i hope it's simply because gattis OC game plan and execution is somewhat of an unknown before the start of the season and not based on the players' abilities.
It's because theybare too short and not fast enough. But they will get taller and faster after their senior year and use up all of their eligibility.
It's not too surprising. When's the last time Michigan produced a top-flight wide receiver? Not since Mario Manningham, more than a decade ago. (And no, Jehu Chesson and Amara Darboh and Junior Hemingway and Jeremy Gallon don't count.)
There's no recent evidence to suggest that Michigan is capable of developing wide receiver talent.
so having two players being on the 'other' list should be somewhat good based on recent track record?
or am i just trying to be too optimistic...
Yeah, I would say that's pretty good.
Yeah they only list 6 in that top list and 4 others to watch. having two in that top 10 is pretty darn good IMO.
Yeah they list ten guys, two from Michigan, and no other school has more than one. And three of those one dude schools were in the playoffs last year.
I honestly don't see how anyone takes this list as anything but positive. There can't be a ton of separation between the six "top tier" guys and the four "next tier" guys. As as mentioned down thread, we haven't exactly had a great recent history with the WR position - with devin being the exception.
This feels like all exciting upside to me, especially with rumored changes to offensive playcalling next season. Why is everyone so mad?
Cheers.
Well that didn't stop them from listing a receiver from TCU, and Colorado.
The TCU receiver had 1,061 yards.
The Colorado receiver had 1,011 yards.
The two leading guys from Michigan COMBINED for 1,248 yards and about the same number of total receptions as the Colorado guy.
They also ran pass happy offenses. They both threw the ball twice as much as Michigan last year, in shitty conferences.
Yep.
I don't really get your point.
SI polled some NFL scouts, and obviously the scouts weren't as interested in Michigan's receivers as they were in other guys. There are surely things they see on film (as evidenced by your post about scouts not just looking at numbers), and there is a deficiency in their statistical output. Right now the NFL isn't super-high on DPJ, Black, and Collins.
Oh well.
My point is, scouts don't care about what receivers a school has produced in the past. If you put up good to great numbers and you look good at the combine, you will get drafted appropriately. They mention Black, and DJP to keep an eye on, and Collins might end up being more productive than both. I just disagree with your "Michigan hasn't produced any receivers" notion.
I explained this below.
If Michigan had just recently sent DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins and Mike Williams to the NFL - some high draft picks and some of the top guys in the NFL right now - don't you think DPJ and Black and Collins might be getting more respect in NFL circles?
I sure do.
But no Michigan receivers are doing anything in the NFL right now. There are only two actually in the league (off the top of my head), and neither one has done anything (Chesson and Darboh). There's not even an old veteran guy like Toomer or Manningham or Avant to even stir up any thoughts that Michigan has just hit a lull in producing receivers. There's nada. Zippo. Zilch.
No I don't. If they were in a more pass friendly offense last year, and had better stats, they would, but the fact that we haven't been putting a ton of receivers in the league has nothing to do with it. Did it hurt Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones, N'Keal Harry, Lamar Jackson, or Dwayne Haskins? Production is the only thing that matters.
*sigh*
If production is the only thing that matters, then DPJ, Black, and Collins haven't produced.
So there's your answer.
Dude why are you so upset? I never asked a question. I just disagree with your premise. Moving on.
I'm not upset at all.
Why are you so upset?
Magnus, you are exposing a reality that most Michigan fans just want to burry their heads in the sand to...or bring out their rakes, torches and pitch forks.
Our talent, especially on the Offensive side of the ball, seems to be / has been quite low. Other than a very good TE or two, what has Michigan had to scare Defenses with? RB's that lack explosiveness or a real threat to take it to the house. WR's who seem ultra talented athletically, but don't seem to produce on the field to their abilities. QB's that aren't causing distress to DC's. Sending little to no offensive talent to the NFL that elevates Michigan's development and production of quality NFL players in the eyes of today's youth.
Don't know if it is lack of talent or Development or both, but Michigan
We are talking about very different things my friend. No one wants to burry the heads (bury). We are talking specifically about past talent (players) or lack thereof at certain positions from schools hurting the current players draft prospects. Outside of this current crop of receivers, when have we had receivers that were ultra talented that didn't produce on the field to their abilities.The past coaching staffs couldn't get players like that.
Wasn't Drake Harris an amazing athlete?
The 6'4' 175 lb receiver with bad hamstrings? Really?
The guy that had a basketball offer to MSU too...yeah him.
Doesn’t take away from your larger point, but Funchess, too.
Yeah, I always forget about Funchess, because I think of him as a quasi-tight end.
Here is a premise I am assuming you would agree with. If I am reading you correctly, you are very high on Black, DPJ and Collins and their skill set. Thus, it would follow that you think Harbaugh has done a horrible job in coaching with not putting his three most talented offensive players the ball regularly and putting his top three offensive players on the field at the same time.
Too short and too slow. I think they need to stay another year and get bigger and better.
what level of competition was Randy Moss and Jerry Rice playing against in college?
I think our standards should be higher than TCU and Colorado.
I don't know, I am pretty sure TCU has been the better program the last decade
They specifically mention they’re looking for potential high draft picks. Michigan’s last first rounder at WR was Braylon Edwards. I don’t think Magnus is stretching in saying we haven’t been known for developing top flight receivers.
What does one thing have to do with the other? Preston Wallace (sr), Andy Isabella (sr), Tylan Wallace (so), and Antoine Wesley (Jr) led NCAA in receiving last year. Have you heard of any of them outside of Wallace? I don't think the NFL says, well they haven't produced any quality receivers in 10 years so maybe we should look elsewhere for a receiver. DJ Metcalf only had 2 games of 100 or more yds receiving last year, and went 64 overall. Talent and potential trumps stats.
DK Metcalf was 6'13", 278 lbs., ran a 3.9 forty, and averaged 21.9 yards a catch.
Michigan's guys aren't freaks like that.
Also, yes, I've heard of those guys.
No, the NFL doesn't say that. They want freaks or highly productive guys, and they naturally keep an eye on programs that produce good receivers regularly.
And still, Michigan's guys aren't in that category.
I'm agreeing with you, Magnus. Although I don't think DPJ and Black are being overlooked because Michigan hasn't produced WR's in the last decade (though this point is true). I think they're being overlooked because Michigan's offense hasn't produced - neither passing nor running has any elements that stand out on a national basis. It's been just plain blah... It's been boring. What was promised wasn't delivered, what was delivered was blah. It was blah both statistically and excitemently.
Thanks, Pep...
The hope here is that this time around, Gattis, and the smoke he's surrounded by, are going to deliver the fire.
There's a lot that goes into this (not just what I said above), but let's reverse the situation a little bit.
Who's ON the list? Alabama's leading receiver, Jerry Jeudy, the same school where Julio Jones and Amari Cooper attended. Also Clemson's top draft-eligible receiver, Tee Higgins, the same school where DeAndre Hopkins and Sammy Watkins attended.
If you go to a school that produces top-flight guys, you're going to get a hard look in the draft.
Other guys on the list are guys who have elite measurables and/or guys who have a lot of production.
Also on the list are guys from Oklahoma State and Oklahoma, where not only do they put up crazy numbers, but they also get a TON of opportunities to read coverages, run routes, and catch the ball in game situations. Colleges don't recruit quarterbacks (often) who run the Wing T or the flex bone in high school, because they don't pass the ball much (and therefore don't have as much experience reading coverages, throwing routes, etc.). If you're a lineman in a single wing offense, you're probably not going to be recruited to start as a true freshman in a pass-happy Air Raid offense. It takes reps and development.
If the NFL and SI were going to look at every Power 5 player with 600+ receiving yards, then this would be a very long list. You might as well add JD Spielman, KJ Hamler, and KJ Hill to the list of wide receivers...and that's just in the Big Ten.
Damn that’s a tall young man - - I’ll have to look up some YouTube stuff to see him tower over the DB’s.
The reality is we haven't been known for developing any real Offensive NFL talent in a decade and a half. What QB have we sent to the NFL that is even 2nd string. No RB talent that has done much of anything. No WR's that have done much of anything. Injury bug has been unfair, but no TE's that have done much of anything.
Defensively, we have been respectable. Offensively, Harbaugh and his predecessors have been very disappointing.
I need your supervisor.
Not necessarily "top-flight," but Devin Funchess has done better than any of the other guys on your list and probably deserves to be mentioned here.
Forgot about Funchess! Good reminder. He has been the most productive offensive player from Michigan in a decade. Saying that just hurts.
Everybody ahead of them has lots of production in college. Black has been injured a majority of his career and DPJ doesn't even have 1,000 career receiving yards yet.
I think they'll be shooting up the draft boards, along with Collins, if the offense goes well. They've got the physical talent. But I don't think we should be surprised they're not listed as top NFL prospects by national writers that aren't recruitniks and probably don't pay too close of attention to recruiting rankings.
Not sure why anyone is surprised with this? With Michigan's ball control, run first, run play action pass on 3rd and long still offense, it is not like anyone has been lighting it up from a receiving standpoint - arguably the best & most productive "receiver" talent in the last 5-8 years was Butt going to the NFL.
That's the case for hope, however, for the Gattis-ification of the offense. Last year Higdon was 29th in rushing (by total yards), Shea Patterson was 56th in passing (by total yards), and Collins and Black clocked in at 151 and 161st in receiving ( by total yards).
While the offense was by no means awful last year and put up decent numbers against middling/bad teams, against good defenses we didnt have enough punch, and getting some top 20 caliber performances next year from our skill guys will probably be enough to get us over that hump. Given that we don't have an established RB, that's probably going to have to come from Shea and the WRs.
I get the hype behind DPJ and Black, but I think Collins is getting criminally underrated here. I have a feeling he will have the best year out of those 3 WRs.
Seriously Collins is a beast and match up nightmare. I might take him 1st of our three.
I would take him first out of the 3. He's the most complete receiver, has the best hands and measurables. I also think DPJ would be an amazing slot receiver.
Thought the same thing when I saw this.
DPJ was the No. 1 WR in HS and Black got off to such a great start as a true freshman, but Collins looked like the best of the three last year.
Size, hands, catch radius. He could lead the team in receiving touchdowns this year.
DPJ probably has the highest ceiling, but Collins feels like WR1.
Neither topped 40 receptions or 600 yards last year. They are in a class below those that got full descriptions on that article.
2018 Stat Line:
- Jeudy: 68 rec for 1315 yards, 19.3 avg, 14 TDs
- Shenault: 86 rec for 1011 yards,11.8 avg, 6 TDs
- Reagor: 72 rec for 1061 yards, 14.7 avg, 9 TDs
- Lamb: 65 rec for 1158, 17.8 avg, 11 TDs
- Wallace: 86 rec for 1491, 17.3 avg, 12 TDs
- Higgins: 59 rec for 936, 15.9 avg, 12 TDs
- C. Johnson: 68 rec for 985, 14.5 avg, 7 TDs
- T. Johnson: 78 rec for 1169, 15.0 avg, 12 TDs
- ----------------------------------------------------------------
- DPJ: 47 rec for 612 yards, 13.0 avg, 8 TDs
- Collins: 38 rec for 632 yards, 16.6 avg, 6 TDs
- Black: Basically a DNP in two seasons with 15 career receptions
Talent-wise our guys are as good as most any of these guys but Black needs to stay healthy and we have to throw more and throw in better situations. Two guys on this list have more catches last year than Collins and DPJ COMBINED and only one guy on here had less than 65 catches.