any thoughts?

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUezmvDik4A

drops a lot. Even being the best player at senior week he continued to drop balls

I think drops are overrated. Brandon Marshall led the NFL in drops 2 straight years IIRC yet anyone on this board would gladly take him.

I think drops are overrated. Brandon Marshall led the NFL in drops 2 straight years IIRC yet anyone on this board would gladly take him.

 

 

Not everyone ;p

His build so reminds me of M Irvin. He has hands there is no doubt about that, but as the Play maker once said if you can catch the tough one you can catch anything thrown to you, its a mind thing. I would agree with that. If he is available in the 2nd round I would take him for sure. Then the first could go for corner or (cringe) OL

His build so reminds me of M Irvin. He has hands there is no doubt about that, but as the Play maker once said if you can catch the tough one you can catch anything thrown to you, its a mind thing. I would agree with that. If he is available in the 2nd round I would take him for sure. Then the first could go for corner or (cringe) OL

 

Agreed with drafting Hankerson. He'd be a steal as a late 2nd round pick.

 

As for your thoughts on the 1st round pick, I can't imagine we'd go for a corner. When you look at what's available via free agency, we ought to be able to sign an offensive lineman. I expect we'll use our first pick on a defensive tackle.

I think drops are overrated. Brandon Marshall led the NFL in drops 2 straight years IIRC yet anyone on this board would gladly take him.

 

For a big possession receiver who's impossible to bring down after the catch, I think you're right - a guy like that doesn't have to have the best hands in the world. In addition to Marshall, T.O. always had a ton of drops, even when he was in his prime. His catch rate usually hovered around 50%, but that never stopped him from being effective. Same thing with Randy Moss - because of his insane vertical speed, he was still a major threat even when he was only catching 4 or 5 out of every 10 passes.

 

To make up for iffy hands, though, I think you've got to get big chunks of yardage when you do catch it. Usually, that means a guy's either a deep threat like Moss or a beast after the catch like Marshall and T.O. I don't think Hankerson's in Marshall or T.O.'s league with the ball in his hands, and he's not a field-stretcher like Moss. He's got good speed and good physicality after the catch, but not outstanding like those guys. Without being really special in either category, I think he's going to need to get better with the drops if he's going to be a good starter. That said, he's apparently been working really hard (with Mark Duper training him) on his hands, and I always root for guys who have the work ethic and desire to improve.

 

My major problem with Hankerson is his route-running. I've seen multiple scouts say that he rounds off his routes, and doesn't have much suddenness or explosion when he's stemming a route and making his cut. You can get away with that in a West Coast offense, especially if you're a pretty good after-the-catch receiver, like Hankerson is. I could see him being a good starter for a short-passing WCO team like Cleveland; if they don't grab AJ Green in the 1st, Hankerson would be a nice consolation prize in the 2nd. But I don't think he'd be a great fit in Martz's offense, since it's so incredibly demanding as far as route-running goes.