Why did DPJ declare for the NFL a year early?
Truthfully, somebody probably put a bug in his ear about this being the right time.
I can't help but wonder if people are telling these kids that "it's now or never" for the NFL, when another year of development would give them FAR more stock in the future.
That's the case with Johnny Manzel. The guy just went in FAR too early, and wasn't ready for the speed and the head side of the game. Had he finished up at TA&M, I think he would have had a more decent career in football... maybe not a top level guy, but not a burnout either.
Manziel has maturity issues. I don’t think another year in college would have fixed that for him. He was a bad pick in the first round, but if he had worked hard he could have found a role in the NFL because the talent was there.
He also didn't have anything left to prove in college. He was all everything before he left. DPJ wasn't even the best receiver at Michigan
Received bad advice. When he declared he was going to the NFL I shook my head in disbelief and I wonder if he is now doing the same thing. Kids get bad advice all the time and it’s sad to see. One more year of developing in college and next year he’s probably a second round choice
He’s a very good athlete and teams often take a chance of good athletes who may not have been in the best position in college. Some mocks had him going in Day 2 but obviously his gamble didn’t pan out. It’s sucks but hopefully he ends up in a good position and carves out a role in a team that knows how to use him properly.
He was banking on his athleticism at the combine and in retrospect should have stayed in school.
Bad advice? Tough to say. I don’t know enough about next years WR class, but obviously this years class was loaded and dpj never seemed to play at his so called capable level.
I have no inside knowledge but he's a former #1 WR recruit and probably had eyes on the NFL from HS. I assume he heard some people tell him he wasn't on a ton of radars but also there were mock drafts with him in the 3rd round or earlier, and when you're inclined to make the jump anyway you bet on yourself. I don't blame him for leaving because I still thought he'd be gone by now, but he never really improved at UM. If you're inclined to believe it's due to coaching then you should get out. I tend to believe it's partly that and partly him just relying on athleticism and seemingly never refining his technique or route running.
I blame him for this: letting his ego get in the way of facts. Everyone and their mother knew this was a super-deep WR class, and he chose to roll the dice on that anyway. Just really bad strategy.
I don't doubt he feels shorted in terms of the number of balls coming his way ... and he was right. He also has had some injury issues ... that may not have only impacted his thinking (time to get out before getting sidelined again). Unfortunately for him, NFL teams do their homework on that too ... especially when trying to figure out the explanation behind why the #1 overall WR hasn't blown the doors off.
I can see how he could weigh all the considerations and convince himself it was time to go. But, sadly, sometimes you do that math in your own little echo chamber and it turns out that ignoring the big picture bites you in the butt.
Bummer. Really seems like a great guy. Wish he had not missed the forest for the trees on this one.
Blaming it on his "ego" with nothing else to back that up is a dick move. It's a business decision for these guys- do you think another year in school will do you good or do you go now? DPJ might've looked at another year in school with a new QB and decided it was time to take the leap. Maybe he was hearing he was a 3rd-4th round pick and that was good enough for him to go. Hard to say
That's exactly the point. Another year in school does you good when it gets you in a different cohort of competition ... a normalized group where you stand out, rather than in an exceptional group where you get lost in the pack. Which is very much what was predicted from the onset, held fairly constant through all the pre-draft eval and rankings and has now come home to roost.
It's exactly the business decision part of it that he muffed.
He had drop issues too. Classic case of an athletic freak / combine superstar that isn't as good at football things as track type things. NFL will usually take a flyer on guys like that in the hopes that something clicks because you can't teach athleticism.
Not even sure he is a combine superstar outside of his high and broad jump. His 4.48 40 time is pretty average for a WR prospect. That probably did not help him.
I think he was sick of poor QB play. Too bad the Browns QB play isn't much better.
Good news is dpj will probably be returning to Michigan... for med school... too bad won’t be playing football too
He has other goals besides football and with his background/interest in medicine he is no doubt well aware of the lingering harm playing football can have on the brain/body. So considering that he maybe wanted to expedite his pro football career. Yes he needs a lot of development but its not like he can't get that in the NFL. He has enough athleticism and untapped potential to get a fair shot in the league.
Yeah, I wondered about this after some of his big hits. It makes a lot of sense to get on with his NFL goals to get on to post-football life at a reasonable age. Unlike most CFB players who talk about med school, I think he actually has a decent shot a some sort of MD or allied health field.
Probably should have transferred his last year to Central or Western, then put up some bigger numbers to help his draft stock.
Is this a serious comment? Wtf?
See Thomas Rawls.
EDIT: More likely it is a sarcastic reference to Drake Harris (WMU) and Shane Morris (CMU).
I remember two things vividly about DPJ's Michigan career:
2017: Time after time running open downfield only to be overthrown on every single occasion...until finally Brandon Peters hit him in the Wisconsin game. Remember thinking that was the start of something.
2020: Taking a hand off against Alabama and looking like his speed setting was set to "Wilton Speight".
My guess is the injuries took their toll.
Totally agree with your 2017 because of course I had the same thought at that time. Great talent with upside. And then the upside didn't happen. Others probably know more about that than me.
Have you been to the DMV or Walmart? There are just a lot of stupid people in America that make bad decisions.
He declared because he believed in himself. You can't fault him for that.
However, think about it. There wasn't a single game at Michigan in three years where he was featured. I mean, considering his profile and physique coming out of high school, and the moves he displayed as a punt returner as a freshman, doesn't it seem odd that he was never "fed" in a game the past two years?
NFL teams notice stuff like that. He was, for all his measurables, never a "go-to" receiver. There's a reason for that, and it's not the coaching staff or the scheme or the quarterback. It was him.
So 100% on him, zero percent coaching? I can agree it may be mostly him but it's certainly not all on him considering they had a GA as the receivers coach.
Yet Ronnie Bell who was completely unheralded as a recruit and had the same coaching, QB and scheme could figure out how to get open. I think one of DPJ's issues is that he is fast but not necessarily quick and he lacks twitch and suddeness. As a result, he can't break free from press jams and good CBs can park themselves in his hip pocket. He probably could have used another year of college to work on that. Being a 6th round pick he won't have a lot runway to make it in the league. Going to Cleveland probably won't help his cause either. I wish him luck.
This seems dead on. DPJ wasn’t a bust, he had a lot of great moments at Michigan. However he never became the unstoppable force, lightning in a bottle guy who could score on any given play, uncoverable menace that you hope you are getting when you get the #1 WR in a class.
There were some circumstances that seemed to align against him, but still...it is disappointing that the 5 stars that we do land seem to only rarely become superstuds rather than good-n-solids
What I want to know is what the board told him his round projection would be and that usually is the biggest deciding factor for kids leaving early. If they gave him a round 2-3 grade I understand his wanting to jump now.
must be a bummer. but sometimes, even a sixth round pick out of UM can become a GOAT. good luck to him...
Seems like he would have done better than a 6th round pick next year.
He knew he'd be starting fresh with a new QB in 2020. Not like Patterson was all-world, but he probably figured better to go than try to establish rapport with a new guy.
To be drafted by the Browns in the 6th round
Wonderful. The Cleveland fans have such a magnificent track record of supporting former UM wideouts.
Now would be the time to jump if you are him.
He has never really produced, especially in light of his recruiting profile combined with his outstanding athleticism, and there is no reason to believe he will suddenly figure it out.
He still has crazy measurables, so maybe a team will fall in love him as a project player given his youth and aforementioned measurables.
He would have been the 3rd wide receiver on our depth chart next year, so the odds of him breaking out are lower than if he was the only guy or if Nico went pro instead.
Speaking of Nico, he literally does all of the things DPJ is supposed to do far better than DPJ does them. It would be one thing if all of our other receivers were a bunch of slot bugs, but there is a better version of DPJ already on the roster.
We will be starting a new QB next year as well, so if our QB play takes a step back his draft prospects are likely toast given all of the previous points.
Neg away, but I think one issue here may be socio-economic. DPJ doesn't need football, like some other players, given his parents are doctors and he has long expressed interest in going to Med school. Many other players with meh college football careers, and great combine numbers - like DPJ - have been taken high in the draft because of potential. DPJ seemed to have that same "physical freak", combine monster that was under-utilized or didn't blow up in college stature, that a lot of NFL teams have regarded highly and drafted in years past.
I think the NFL likes to own players (via their contracts) that they have the most leverage over, and guys with not many other options may be more attractive and seen as more likely to "go all out" and be single minded about succeeding at football. Even in college, DPJ seemed to be a well rounded guy with interests outside of football, often talking about non-football related topics in interviews, and he was never touted as a work out warrior or the last guy in the gym.
The NFL isn't looking to draft socially aware, well rounded student-athletes with other options besides the gridiron. Surely, if DPJ's production at UM was better it would have helped, but I think his personality and life options are also a deterrent for the NFL factory, specifically if they are drafting on potential.
This is an interesting take. Reminds me somewhat of Myron Rolle, the DB from Florida State who was also a Rhodes Scholar. Was also drafted in the 6th round. Never made it in the League but is now a neurosurgeon resident at Harvard / Mass General hospital. I'd say it worked out better for him in the long run.
You're actually not that far off from this. I thought he would go in the 4th, but the two things that I think soured teams was availability and sort of what you mentioned. He never practiced, was always injured and at some point, teams look at that as a kid not being "all-in" on football.
No knock on him as a human-- he's a great, smart kid but the NFL doesn't always want smart kids. They want to take malleable athletes that eat, breathe, and sleep football.
I think when you sit out of spring practice and very rarely practiced ultimately caused his slide.
Yeah, I think this also speaks to UM not being the football factory that SEC, OSU, Clemson have become. For better or worse, even our 5 stars Jabrill, Rashan, DPJ, Daxton etc seem to not fit the mold of SEC 100% football100% of the time. There is an article about UM recruiting which touches on this and how we basically eliminate 60% of elite prospects from day 1 due to these institutional culture choices. This doesn't mean our elite players can't or won't make the league or be great players, it just means that they, or their parents, are probably looking for a bit more out of their college experience.
I'm not against going full on football factory if that is what our athletic department and administration decide, but I can also see why many would be so against it. Clearly we have the $ and resources to do it, but it's a huge cultural change to which to commit. We are basically Notre Dame at this point - but it would be really nice to beat OSU once in a while. Notre Dame is lucky USC isn't currently running a successful football factory and get to beat their rival now and then.
Another interesting take. If he isn't 'all in' on football with varied interests, then why would he leave a year early? Just strange all around.
April 25th, 2020 at 10:06 PM ^
Some times it's best for all to move on. He's a heckuva an athlete, people really like the kid. But when you're labeled a 5-star and don't live up to the hype that blame can't all fall on the coaches. I'll say this-- he was given really bad advice from folks representing him. They assumed his testing numbers would get him drafted highly. From a scouting friend in the NFL I was told the not practicing, average production, and perceived lack of "all-in" on football dropped him below a lot of guys.
Listen, this was a super deep WR class, teams were looking for anything to drop kids down the board, and unfortunately for DPJ there were enough of them ahead of him that pushed him into the 6th. I feel bad for the kid, because he's a super kid, smart, and I thought he was going to be a star. Sometimes it doesn't work out like that. I'm rooting hard for him, and have no doubt that he can blow up in the NFL.
Yup. You talk to former NFLers and they tend to have a very plainspoken view about how they quickly realize "it's just a business." Many/most of the guys I've spoken with over the years have very little love for any of the management-types (though they have a deep brotherhood with their fellow players). They are fully aware of how much those businesses like to exert control over their key assets.
April 26th, 2020 at 12:34 AM ^
I think this comment is spot on. Seemed like DPJ played football at Michigan with other stuff on his mind, such as med school. I am not going to say that he wasn't "all in". I believe he loved playing for Michigan, he loved studying at Michigan, and loved his teammate brothers. But a guy with DPJ's recruiting ranking and physical abilities, to never really be a feature in the offense, was one of the biggest head scratchers in Michigan football history. He was one hell of a punt returner though.
I would love to know how his visits with teams went. I just think about a guy like Myron Rolle who I would say was probably more productive in college and he went in the 6th RD and the talk was he wasn't "all about football". There are teams who ding players for having interest other than football.
I would also say, I think he left early because like someone mentioned in the thread, he has never really been "featured" in the offense and he did not want to take the chance of coming back, new QB to work with and still not really get the targets (although you would think with the talent at WR we should be able to get all those guys the ball). That is on the QB play and the offensive design.
I work at a D2 school and the majority of football players think they’re playing professionally - can only imagine the mentality at the D1 level - I’m all for diligence but keep an objective mind and a sharp eye on who’s entering the draft each year at your position.
Went into the archives and found this article where he describes why he went to Michigan. https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/peoples-jones-describes-why-he-chose-michigan/
There are three things in there, so we can break down whether or not he was successful at what he wanted to accomplish.
1. Academics - He enrolled early, so I am assuming that he was able to graduate in three years (someone can probably validate that). Its been said in this post but he has aspirations of becoming a doctor after his playing career. Even as a 6th round pick if he can stay in the league for a couple of years he should be able to pay that expense out of pocket.
2. Play with the best, and develop into the best receiver I can be - Based on how the last three years have gone, we can say that he didn't "play with the best". As far as his development, who knows what he could've developed into at another school, but I can assume part of the development goal was to play in the NFL which he will now accomplish.
3. Be in a comfortable environment - basically wanted to stay close to home, which he obviously did.
So at the end of the day he was able to stay close to home, get a world class education, and develop into an NFL caliber receiver. It looks like he accomplished what he set out to do (although I'm sure he is disappointed in where he fell in the draft).
It may be hard to believe as a Michigan fan, but for many of these kids winning a national championship isn't the end goal. I thought it was really illuminating in Ace's conversation with Stu Douglass where he said his goal was always to win an NBA championship for the Pacers. For a lot of athletes (probably many) college athletics are just a means to an end.
Thank you for posting this. This sounds right. There wasn't much of a reason to come back. Maybe climb the ladder into the 3rd round but getting banged up and not being featured or go try the league now and move on.
Damn, I still relish his play in the Wisconsin game back in 2017.
It doesn’t help when your quarterback continually over throws you when you are open deep downfield. I know he had a few drops which I know hurt him. But our quarterback play has sucked for years. Let’s hope McCaffery or Milton can change that. I’m not holding my breath..
Bad QB, bad WRs, bad RBs, bad TEs, average OL, bad scheme
Did I miss anything
His parents want to retire and live off a 1st round NFL draft pick. Oops.