Auburn at the 2015 NFL Combine

[FoundationEagle 637]

I'd rather have a guy who runs a 4.7 with great hands than a 4.3 freak that has the drops.

There is no shortage of guys who run 4.7 and never drop a ball. At the end of the day; athletes win you games in the NFL. A guy who runs 4.7 with great hands isn't going to score a 40+ yard touchdown for you. Don't discount the impact that a player like Coates, even with drops, makes in a football game. You have to scheme around a guy who can burn you deep at any moment. A threat like Coates also opens up things for other players on the field because he draws attention.

Now this whole argument would make sense if Sammy actually ran a 4.3....

[war eagle6 0]

All you guys that mention route running I say it may be two of you that actually know the difference at these particular guys route running skills....as far as hands go I didn't watch no more than 3 Alabama games because as far as evaluating Cooper I don't think his game against us really counts but the lsu game Cooper wasn't good at all. Actually many of you would have been ready to kick him off the team with the drops he had

That's what a good d with some good db's will do for you

[TitanTiger 20,499]

I'd rather have a guy who runs a 4.7 with great hands than a 4.3 freak that has the drops.

There is no shortage of guys who run 4.7 and never drop a ball. At the end of the day; athletes win you games in the NFL. A guy who runs 4.7 with great hands isn't going to score a 40+ yard touchdown for you. Don't discount the impact that a player like Coates, even with drops, makes in a football game. You have to scheme around a guy who can burn you deep at any moment. A threat like Coates also opens up things for other players on the field because he draws attention.

There is also no shortage of guys in the league who can run really fast and jump really high, yet aren't impact players. Sammie isn't a great route runner, either. 95 % of his big plays are just him running a go route and outrunning the guy. Can that continue in the NFL?? Couple that with suspect hands and there's alot of risk involved. There are plenty of great wide recievers who run in the 4.6, 4.7 area. Just off the top of my head I'm thinking of Roddy White, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Harrison, Kelvin Benjamin. Hell, JERRY RICE ran a 4.7. Just being able to outrun people isn't good enough. If that were the case, Darius Heyward-Bey would be on his way to Canton. Sammie may well turn out to be a great pro, but I'm just telling you if I'm a GM, I'm not drafting him in the early(first or second)rounds. Just my opinion.

My bet is, NFL scouts that get paid to do this disagree with you. He might not be a first rounder, but I bet you a sixer of your favorite beer (something you can find locally, not ship in from Germany) he goes before the 3rd round.

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,677]

Cooper is definitely the best WR in this draft and the best WR I've ever seen at Bama. He's much better than Julio to me. If he had Julio's size, it would even be close. He torched Vernon Hargreaves in Tuscaloosa, and Hargreaves may have been the best corner in the country the past 2 years. He'll also be the 1st corner off the board next year. Cooper has torched Auburn the last 3 years, and I'm ecstatic to see him go!

In Hargreaves defense, he plays the Richard Sherman role where he plays a lot of zone coverage and doesn't always cover the best receiver on the field

Cooper did abuse them tho

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,677]

Coates + Cooper = White

White can't touch Cooper's route running. I think its an interesting matchup; White is more physically impressive but Cooper is more polished and technical. There is a lot of Torry Holt in Cooper.

Cooper can't touch White's overall game. about the same hands, White might be slightly better, White is faster, stronger, and more agile in my mind. You can't go wrong with either

[mcgufcm 4,107]

The thing you get with Sammie is elite athleticism, work ethic, and a complete player. He is a phenomenal blocker on the edge. He will contribute on special teams. He only played WR for a limited number of years, and he works his ass off. You're buying a guy that, at worst, adds to the run game, takes the top of the defense on occasion, helps the locker room, and serves the community. That's the worst case scenario. Best case, he starts to snatch the ball with his hands and learns to high point a deep ball. If he does that, he'd be a steal in the second round.

[cole256 17,084]

Cooper against us was just run fast down field you will have little resistance. I'm positive I could go for 100 against us in that game easy

[war eagle6 0]

Yeah, but Hargreaves, in his defense while guarding cooper, was receiving push offs from mr cooper. The refs actually called one of them though. But he held his own with "mr unstoppable". Lol

[Dual-Threat Rigby 8,677]

Cooper against us was just run fast down field you will have little resistance. I'm positive I could go for 100 against us in that game easy

He didn't even have a guy around him for five yards most of the time

[cole256 17,084]

He would have killed us if everybody was playing tackle and he was playing two hand touch. He would have had the SAME numbers lol

[JamesG 0]

I'd rather have a guy who runs a 4.7 with great hands than a 4.3 freak that has the drops.

There is no shortage of guys who run 4.7 and never drop a ball. At the end of the day; athletes win you games in the NFL. A guy who runs 4.7 with great hands isn't going to score a 40+ yard touchdown for you. Don't discount the impact that a player like Coates, even with drops, makes in a football game. You have to scheme around a guy who can burn you deep at any moment. A threat like Coates also opens up things for other players on the field because he draws attention.

There is also no shortage of guys in the league who can run really fast and jump really high, yet aren't impact players. Sammie isn't a great route runner, either. 95 % of his big plays are just him running a go route and outrunning the guy. Can that continue in the NFL?? Couple that with suspect hands and there's alot of risk involved. There are plenty of great wide recievers who run in the 4.6, 4.7 area. Just off the top of my head I'm thinking of Roddy White, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Harrison, Kelvin Benjamin. Hell, JERRY RICE ran a 4.7. Just being able to outrun people isn't good enough. If that were the case, Darius Heyward-Bey would be on his way to Canton. Sammie may well turn out to be a great pro, but I'm just telling you if I'm a GM, I'm not drafting him in the early(first or second)rounds. Just my opinion.

My bet is, NFL scouts that get paid to do this disagree with you. He might not be a first rounder, but I bet you a sixer of your favorite beer (something you can find locally, not ship in from Germany) he goes before the 3rd round.

That was my opinion on where I would draft him, not a prediction. I actually agree with you. I think someone will take him mid to late second round.

[metafour 4,969]

White is faster

In a timed forty. In game situations, Cooper has consistently been more dangerous deep. Don't forget that prior to the Combine no one expected White to run as fast as he did; mostly because he doesn't really look like a "4.35" runner on the field.

[JamesG 0]

Btw I am floored Amari Cooper ran faster than Sammie.. I NEVER would've guessed that.

[jgarrett 0]

Fact: 40 time does not always equal game speed

[metafour 4,969]

There is also no shortage of guys in the league who can run really fast and jump really high, yet aren't impact players. Sammie isn't a great route runner, either. 95 % of his big plays are just him running a go route and outrunning the guy. Can that continue in the NFL?? Couple that with suspect hands and there's alot of risk involved. There are plenty of great wide recievers who run in the 4.6, 4.7 area. Just off the top of my head I'm thinking of Roddy White, Anquan Boldin, Marvin Harrison, Kelvin Benjamin. Hell, JERRY RICE ran a 4.7. Just being able to outrun people isn't good enough. If that were the case, Darius Heyward-Bey would be on his way to Canton. Sammie may well turn out to be a great pro, but I'm just telling you if I'm a GM, I'm not drafting him in the early(first or second)rounds. Just my opinion.

Roddy White ran a 4.46 at his Pro Day. Anquan Boldin was recovering from a leg injury and clearly wasn't 100% when he ran at the Combine. Harrison reportedly ran a 4.38. Kelvin Benjamin ran a 4.61, but he's also 6'5 240 with a giant reach which is why speed is less of a factor for him, because he possesses elite size. Its also interesting that you brought him up considering that he drops balls like no one's business, yet still went in the first round (because of the physical matchup nightmare he creates, like Coates). The Jerry Rice "4.7" is one of the most refuted "factual" stories in sports. There are people that have claimed to have timed him as fast as 4.4-4.5 with minimal training for the forty. The one thing I'll always say about Jerry Rice's supposed "4.7" forty: do you really believe that a receiver from Mississippi Valley State goes 16th overall while supposedly running a 4.7? Even back then teams knew about the importance of speed. I can't fathom a D1 AA receiver running a 4.7 being that coveted, no chance.

I'm well aware that being a good athlete doesn't automatically make you a great receiver. However; the draft has 7 rounds for a reason. If you want a 4.7 guy with great hands you can find him in the 5th round, the 6th round. There have also been slow, sure handed receivers who looked great in college but were average at best in the Pro's. Remember LSU's Josh Reed who set SEC records and won the Biletnikoff? He never topped 600 yards or 2 touchdowns in a single season in the NFL. I don't think you give Coates enough credit. He drops balls; but he's also put up dominating games against elite defensive competition (LSU two years in a row, Alabama this year, Ole Miss this year). He's more than just a guy who puts up a fast forty because he's shown in games that he can get open at will.

The point is that more often than not an elite player is going to be a guy that is an elite athlete, especially at the receiver position. That is why players like Coates are more desirable than a "4.7 guy who never drops anything". The 4.7 guy is almost certainly capped to being a supporting player at best, whereas an athlete like Coates has the upside of an elite receiver.

[RunInRed 16,434]

CAPs results updated in OP ...

[RunInRed 16,434]

Blackson 5.03 40 ...

[AUinGA44 265]

I will not be surprised to see Blackson have a much better NFL career than he had at Auburn. The tools have always been there but the light never full came on during his time at AU. He's got the potential to be pretty dang disruptive at a 3 technique or at nose guard.

[JamesG 0]

I will not be surprised to see Blackson have a much better NFL career than he had at Auburn. The tools have always been there but the light never full came on during his time at AU. He's got the potential to be pretty dang disruptive at a 3 technique or at nose guard.

I agree with this. Hopefully like Jay Ratliff.

[AUIH1 1,515]

I will not be surprised to see Blackson have a much better NFL career than he had at Auburn. The tools have always been there but the light never full came on during his time at AU. He's got the potential to be pretty dang disruptive at a 3 technique or at nose guard.

That would be great for Blackson, but an indictment on his DL coaching at AU.

wde

[cole256 17,084]

Him and Gabe will probably have better nfl careers

[AU64 10,122]

AU player's performance numbers...speed, strength, etc. are average at best...might explain some of the team results this past season. Good athletes no doubt but not elite.

[PoetTiger 1,899]

Neither had that mean streak like Fairley had, sometimes when a player gets thrown into the fray with grown men and competition for $$$ the mean and nasty light comes on....they have the tools just lacking the nastiness needed in d tackles

[AURex 2,016]

We may know pretty quickly if SC has what it takes at the professional level. Most pro QBs are, for the most part, accurate passers. They'll put the ball somewhere he *should* be able to get to it and catch it. If he can do that, he'll stick. If not, he won't. In the end, a tenth or two in speed will not be the deciding factor. He's fast enough. He's got the physical attributes. But he's not fully developed as a receiver and his hands will tell the tale.

[FoundationEagle 637]

I will not be surprised to see Blackson have a much better NFL career than he had at Auburn. The tools have always been there but the light never full came on during his time at AU. He's got the potential to be pretty dang disruptive at a 3 technique or at nose guard.

That would be great for Blackson, but an indictment on his DL coaching at AU.

wde

Are there any threads on this entire forum where you don't take shots at RG? Getting really old that every time I read a post, I know it was you that posted before I even look at the name. Cmon man....let it go for heavens sake