It\u2019s that time of year when anonymous scouts weigh in on the upcoming NFL Draft class. As you read through these, know that some of these scouts don\u2019t know what city the Rams play in. One mentioned \u201cSt. Louis.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, it\u2019s information, and the San Francisco 49ers are all but guaranteed to draft a wide receiver with one of their first three picks in the upcoming NFL Draft. The team has been linked to<\/a> Omar Cooper Jr., Denzel Boston, and KC Concepcion. We\u2019ll see what scouts have tos ay about that trio and more from Bob McGinn\u2019s annual rundown<\/a>.<\/p>\n Some quotes before we get into the individual prospects:<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s a decent amount of depth, but there\u2019s no real stud.\u201d – executive in personnel for an AFC team<\/p>\n \u201cYou just don\u2019t see first-rounders. They just don\u2019t jump out. Mike Evans is a blue player. None of these guys are really blue.\u201d – Scout<\/p>\n A lot of guys don\u2019t have the stats. But you watch all their targets and plays and you go, \u2018Gee, this guy just needs to get the ball more.\u2019 There\u2019s a lot of good receivers in this draft.\u201d – Scout<\/p>\n \u201cThese Denzel Boston\u2019s and KC Concepcion\u2019s and Anotion Williams\u2019s of the world, they\u2019re just guys. Even Makai Lemon, he\u2019s a little guy, a tough guy, but he\u2019s not a No. 1. After [Carnell] Tate, in other years, they would be second, third, and fourth rounders. There\u2019s nothing out there.\u201d – Scout<\/p>\n I agree with the final quote. Some of these players are being pushed up because of positional value and the lack of star power at prominent positions in the draft. I have a difficult time believing a player like Omar Cooper is a first-rounder in every draft. To me, there are four players worthy of being drafted in the 1st round at the position, and none of them are of the \u201csmall variety.\u201d<\/p>\n The first three receivers were Tate, Lemon, and Jordyn Tyson. We\u2019ll talk about the fourth wideout listed, which is Boston.<\/p>\n What scouts are saying about Denzel Boston<\/p>\n The first scout compared Boston to a receiver who didn\u2019t do much his first two seasons but has been north of 1,000 yards in each of the previous three years:<\/p>\n He reminds me of Nico Collins with the body when he came out. He\u2019s probably going to have the same kind of developmental process. He\u2019s more of a second or third round guy. He has length, size, and really good speed. I\u2019d estimate 4.45. He\u2019s a downfield threat for them. He was used so much down the field that you didn\u2019t see a lot of that. He\u2019s got good hands, but I don\u2019t think they\u2019re great. He\u2019s got work to do there, but there\u2019s only so much work you can do. Just like speed. If a guy doesn\u2019t have great hands, he\u2019s never going to be super consistent at the next level. He is explosive off the ball. You can feel it when he\u2019s in the game.<\/p>\n I\u2019d push back on Boston having just \u201cgood\u201d hands. He engulfs passes. The ball doesn\u2019t move when he catches it, and that\u2019s regardless of it being a contested situation. You can also tell how comfortable he is by consistently catching the ball away from his body, as well as protecting and shielding the ball from defenders. \u201cGood\u201d feels like you\u2019re selling Boston\u2019s hands short.<\/p>\n A second scout said Boston\u2019s a true X receiver with \u201cOK speed\u201d that\u2019s \u201creally more of a 50-50-let me outrebound the guy. Body position, basketball player type guy. He\u2019s a real starter.\u201d<\/p>\n A third scout said, \u201cHe\u2019s got a little bit of Mike Evans in him, but he\u2019s just not as fast down the field. He\u2019s got a lot of talent. He\u2019s big and strong, runs good routes, has great hands, separates, he\u2019s physically. He\u2019s probably like Tate in the speed department, but I like him as a receiver better than Tate. He knows how to get open, set guys up, stop and start, good route runner. He doesn\u2019t have the extra gear, but he\u2019s a really good possession receiver.\u201d<\/p>\n The primary critique for Boston would be the lack of a second gear. On shallow or crossing routes, he never pulls away from the defender. However, there\u2019s just too much to like about Boston\u2019s game to lower his NFL projection because he lacks top-end speed.<\/p>\n What scouts are saying about KC Concepcion<\/p>\n The former Texas A&M receiver is the fifth wideout on the list. Here\u2019s what the first scout had to say about him:<\/p>\n \u201cHe can play Z but he\u2019s really outstanding with the ball in his hands. He can motor. He was very productive at NC State and left for A&M. Made some big plays for them. He\u2019s super explosive. If he\u2019s your third receiver, you\u2019re really excited. If he\u2019s your 2, you\u2019re hoping he can grow into a good 2.\u201d<\/p>\n That quote brings us back to why some of these guys might get overdrafted. You\u2019re talking about taking a receiver in the 1st round who you\u2019re not viewing as a potential No. 1? That\u2019s an issue.<\/p>\n Concepcion is in the 40th percentile or worse for height, weight, wingspan, arm length, and hand size. That\u2019s a concern. The NFL is about winning in tight spaces. When you are on the smaller side, physicality is bound to get the best of you.<\/p>\n Another scout likened Concepcion to \u201ca gadget guy,\u201d which doesn\u2019t seem accurate based on how he runs routes. The same scout said:<\/p>\n \u201dIt\u2019s going to be a while before he\u2019s anything. Looks like a track guy. You can tell he can run when things are free. They scheme him up for his production. Doesn\u2019t catch the ball well. Lot of drops around a lot of bodies. Doesn\u2019t have catch radius. They do this slip-screen stuff with him and he has no run after the catch.\u201d<\/p>\n Those are valid takeaways. Concepion\u2019s landing spot will be critical for his success. While that\u2019s true for most prospects, a receiver early should transcend scheme.<\/p>\n What scouts are saying about Chris Bell<\/p>\n The sixth receiver on the list is a personal favorite and one who I think will outperform his draft status and won\u2019t be surprised if he ends up as the best in the class. Here is what scouts are saying about Chris Bell.<\/p>\n \u201cWith a different team and without an injury, he\u2019d be higher than where he\u2019s going to go, which is probably third round. He\u2019s really gifted. He\u2019s a big receiver. He was on his way to a really strong year when he got hurt. He\u2019s smarter than people think.\u201d<\/p>\n Bell played with one of the brightest college football minds in Jeff Brohm. While he played primarily on one side and the route tree wasn\u2019t expansive, Bell won in \u201cNFL ways.\u201d Even post ACL injury, falling to the third round would be surprising.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a second scout: \u201cHe is a good player. One of the things we\u2019re still checking out is, physically, I think he can play more than one spot. But, mentally, can he? He\u2019s got some physical run after the catch. Like when he\u2019s up and running, you see some speed. But he won\u2019t be able to run because of the injury. If healthy, I don\u2019t see him as a first-round player. But if the mental completely checks out, I think he\u2019s a second-round player.\u201d<\/p>\n You\u2019d have to ask the head coach why Bell only played on one side. That might just be the offense. It\u2019s also worth noting that Louisville played multiple quarterbacks, including a freshman.<\/p>\n A third scout was not a fan of Bell: \u201cI\u2019m not a fan. He doesn\u2019t separate. He\u2019s got some deep burst but underneath he doesn\u2019t separate. He\u2019s kind of hit or miss. He makes some plays. He can run after the catch when it\u2019s clean, and he\u2019s catching it on the move. He\u2019s not real athletic and he\u2019s not real fast. I thought he was overrated by people that liked him.\u201d<\/p>\n Oh boy. Watching Bell pull away from just about everybody guarding him and coming away thinking, \u201che\u2019s not that fast,\u201d makes me give you the side eye.<\/p>\n What scouts are saying about Omar Cooper<\/p>\n The seventh receiver is Chris Brazzell out of Tennessee. We\u2019ll skip to the eighth wideout, which is Omar Cooper.<\/p>\n \u201dHe\u2019s gotten a little play because he had the big catch. He\u2019s a tough guy. Kind of a possession guy. He had the big play against Penn State. Overall, kind of inconsistent making plays because he\u2019s always in traffic unless they scheme him to get open. He\u2019s more like your No. 3 special teams type. He\u2019s a lot better than Sarratt, but I don\u2019t get the hype. Nothing special as far as playmaking or explosiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n If you ignore social media highlights and watch Cooper on a down-to-down basis, you\u2019d likely come to the same conclusion as the scout above. Nothing about Cooper\u2019s game suggests he\u2019d be a No. 1 wide receiver. Indiana didn\u2019t use him like one. Why would the NFL?<\/p>\n For a player who runs as well as Cooper did, he sure does get hung up on quite a bit of his routes. Against the best defenses Indiana played, Cooper blended in. That\u2019s not what you want from a player you\u2019re taking in the first two rounds of the draft.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s another scout\u2019s take:<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a really good receiver without any outstanding traits, except he catches the hell out of the ball and helps your quarterback. He ran a lot faster at the combine than you would have thought on tape. I thought he was going to be end of Day 2 but now I could see him creeping up closer to the top of the third or maybe end of the second. He\u2019s really physical. He\u2019s really instinctive. He\u2019s got good run after the catch. He\u2019s just not a super high-end athlete, but he tested better than you would have guessed. After the top three, there\u2019s not a ton of high-end guys, so some of these guys might get pushed up in the draft.\u201d<\/p>\n When I watched Cooper, I had in my notes, \u201cnothing says draft earlier than the third round.\u201d<\/p>\n After Cooper, Zachariah Branch from Georgia was 9th, while Trey\u2019s brother, Bryce Lance, out of North Dakota State, was 10th. The rankings round out with Deion Burks and Antonio Williams, a couple of undersized wideouts who are likely more slot players.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s that time of year when anonymous scouts weigh in on the upcoming NFL Draft class. 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