At this early stage, the 2013 class of receivers doesn’t look great. A lot can change over the course of a year but right now, there’s not a great deal to get excited about. I wanted to include some names in the top 40 watch list, but struggled to find clear-cut first round talents. Even so, this list isn’t about just identifying first rounders. It’s about highlighting players that are worth watching during the 2012 college season.
Wilson fits the criteria as a player who should really benefit from Mike Leach’s presence at Washington State. Whether he ever develops into a first round prospect remains to be seen, but he’ll probably get plenty of targets next season.
Don’t know if I see a legit number 1 in Wilson. He seems more like solid number 2 receiver to me. More of a complement than a focal point.
He seemed pretty good, i didn’t see alot of explosion with him though. He worked good on settling in zones and against man there were a few occasions where he got some good separation. I thought it was funny how he was the first read almost every time in the ASU game.
I’m definitely in agreement with you on the WR talent for 2013. Seems like if I was on record as wanting to pick “touchdown makers” for my team, I’d work on positioning myself for the two jewels of the 2014 draft:
1) DeAnthony Thomas
2) Marquise Lee
Assuming they declare, of course.
Isn’t Thomas a true soph? Pretty sure he’s not draft eligible. I think this is a fine WR class. Really like Keenan Allen and Robert Woods. Not super dynamic but really good players. Justin Hunter is an elite talent, capable of being a top 5 pick and an immediate feature player. Da’Rick Rodgers looks explosive as well although he’s more of a space player than a polished WR. Terrance Williams can be a starter even though he’s a pure body catcher. Haven’t watched Cobi Hamilton, Tavarres King, or Keenan Davis yet, but I’ve heard good things. In terms of seniors, yes it’s horrible. But most of these juniors look ready to declare and contribute.
Thomas and Lee are both true sophomores, he said the 2014 draft if they declare. I agree that all these juniors make this a fine class of WRs.
Yeah, I was talking about 2014. 🙂 But I don’t think 2013 is without good talent, but I think Thomas and Lee will be Top 5.
I think Wilson is worth a 1st rounder based on his deep ball talent alone. 6’4″, very long arms, jumps well, high points the ball, great hands, great body control. Oh, and he’s fast for his size too.
My only complaints about Wilson are how skinny he looks and the fact that WSU didn’t really use Wilson much outside of his vertical game. That 1-dimensional label plus a lack of a prototypical WR build could help Wilson slip on draft day. Which is good because the Seahawks will probably be picking in the 20s or 30s next year and they a WR just like Wilson to stretch the field (that is unless something amazing happens like Ricardo Lockette turning into Victor Cruz).
I’m counting on Lockette turning into Joey Galloway, but the role that you mention I think could also be filled by Durham? “6’4″, very long arms, jumps well, high points the ball, great hands, great body control, fast for his size too” that sounds like a description of Durham, plus Durham has ability to play the middle of the field a little too (at least in his Georgia tape he did). Anyway I personally don’t see WR as a need at all this year or next year. However I would like to see Lee or Thomas here in 2014.
It honestly wouldn’t shock me if Durham isn’t on this roster by the next draft. He’s been invisible. Wilson is much much much more talented. Comparing the two is like comparing Mike Williams to Megatron, IMO.
I’m with you on Durham being invisible so far. I definitely don’t think he would earn a roster spot at the expense of BMW like many think. I guess I just don’t see it with this guy though. And which Williams are you comparing to Megatron? USC top 10 pick guy? flame out of the league guy? resurect your career in dominating fashion guy?, disapear due to horrible QB play and injury guy? I just think Durham offers pretty much what Wilson offers and without the first round price tag. I think he looks like a third round talent at best.
The two games in that package don’t do much to highlight Wilson’s skill set. The two long TD’s were on busted coverage…on both plays the secondary bites on the play action (which is bizarre, because we don’t run the ball that much out here). I couldn’t find any videos, but he played really well against UNLV, SD State and Colorado.
The last regime used Wilson all over the place. Running deep outs, deep crosses, and he was involved in the screen game quite a bit. It’ll be interesting to see how he does with Leach. There’s been rumors that the two got off to a rocky start this spring.
I agree with Kip. He doesn’t have the size to be a number 1. Even if he gained another 20 pounds, he’s still weigh about 10 less than Randy Moss (not saying he’s the next Randy Moss…but their skill sets are similar).
Edit: The second TD was off a pump fake, but the fact remains the same…the secondary for ASU was a mess. They gave up 494 yards and 4 TD’s to our third-string, freshman QB!
For whatever it’s worth, Osweiler wasn’t overly impressive that night.
I agree with what Kip said about high pointing the ball. Another thing I noticed is that he runs routes pretty smoothly. I just don’t see enough explosion or ability to make a special play that you would expect from a #1 wide receiver. As of now I would rate him as a late 1st, early 2nd.
I look at Wilson as a top 20 pick at this point. I think he does profile as a #1 WR, hopefully he’s getting the guidance to put on some weight/strength to avoid getting man handled by NFL CBs. With his long strides I’d say he looks like a low 4.4 guy. With his height, speed, vert, hands, and body control he’s got all the skills. To me he’s a poor man’s Randy Moss but if that’s still too much praise he could be a rich man’s Malcolm Floyd with plus skills to be a #1 guy. The thing pushing him down is the other talented Juniors. Robert Woods reminds me of Steve Smith with a little Percy Harvin to his game. Keenan Allen (who’d I guess is closer to 6-1 then his listed 6-3) seems like a much more talented Victor Cruz with his coming in and out of breaks, hands catching, speed, and agility. As ba_Edwards said Justin Hunter may be the most talented of them all, he already runs his routes real well, catches everything, and with great speed. I see all 4 of these guys as sure fire first round picks who should all go in the top 20 if there’s no big drop off from them this season. I could see 1 or both of Da’Rick Rogers as a real high floor guy but as an upper echelon #2 WR or Terrance Williams as more of a boom or bust type sneaking into the first as well.
I’m a really big fan of Wilson, would love to see him as a seahawk. If he can add on 15-20 pounds I wouldn’t be surprised if he went in the top 15 picks. He’s tall, he’s got good speed, smooth runner and has great hands. He reminds me a little bit of a healthy Sidney Rice. For those that are saying him and Leach aren’t on the best of terms, they are fine. Leach basically said Wilson needs to work harder in practice and that he not as good as Crabtree was at tech at this point. Nothing to be worried about or anything bad
Go Cougs.
I’d be ecstatic if Wilson ended up a Seahawk. That’d be a dream come true! I love this guy’s game. He’s much more than just a vertical threat. As someone mentioned above, Paul Wulff and co. had him all over the place and all he did was make plays. He absolutely picks apart zone coverage, shows great awareness on where to sit down in the zone, and does an outstanding job of high pointing the ball and bringing it down. You don’t see too many receivers out there like him. If he bulks up and keeps his skill, he’s got definite first round potential, IMHO. Teams knew that he was going to be the featured threat on the Cougs offense week in and week out and all he did was continue to produce. He could explode in Leach’s offense, that could sway his draft status as well. He may not be a once in a lifetime talent, but he’s certainly capable of being a starter in the NFL, IMHO.
GO COUGS!