Scouting The Draft: Tre McBride, WR, William & Mary

Introduction

Tre McBride was a player brought to my attention last year, he was coming off a strong 63 reception, 801 yard, 5 touchdown season as a Junior. As someone who watched  McBride closely put it to me in an email "If he had a better supporting cast, he'd be a 1,500 yard, 10 touchdown guy every year". Now I managed to watch a few games of Tre McBride this year and last year and came away extremely impressed with a receiver who's currently excelling at the east-west shrine game.

Playing at WIlliam & Mary the competition level he faced will obviously come into question, however count those guys out at your peril, especially receivers who make the jump to the next level easier than a lot of other positions. In a recent article, an area scout was quoted calling McBride "Soft", well at the same time there wee numerous reports and videos showing McBride competing and coming down with contested passes against FBS defenders, something doesn't add up and maybe just maybe there is some deception coming in from certain teams and scouts going on record anonymously..

One thing you should know about McBride is that he is an upstanding young man. He plays the trumpet, he was an honour roll student and finished in the top 5% of his class in High School, he carried that over to William and Mary where his effort in the classroom is rewarded both in his education and his play on the field. Not many scouting reports focus on the personality of a young man, unless it's in a negative light, but I like to point out the positives.

Measurables

Height: 6'2

Weight: 205

Class: Senior

Projected 40: 4.4

Stats

Positives

• Size. At 6'2 and 205lb's he possesses ideal size for a receiver and that shows in his play.
• Hands: When I saw him, I came away impressed with his catching radius, high pointing the ball, catching away from the body and securing the football quickly.
• Competitive: Whoever described him as "soft", I just don't see it. He goes up to compete for every ball and he snatches a lot of them away from DB's.
• First step: He has very good initial quickness off the line and that helps force separation immediately. He didn't struggle when stepping up against FBS competition at the East/West shrine either.
• Adjustments: This is an area where he really excels. He comes back for footballs and makes excellent adjustments on badly thrown passes, maintaining balance and control while tracking the ball.
• Route running: He's not polished in this area but he sets his routes up well with faints and dips, gets in and out of his breaks quickly enough and forces separation.
  
• Versatility: As well as being the leading receiver on the William & Mary team, McBride also returned kicks to a high level giving him a lot of all purpose yards and extra value to any team drafting him.

Negatives

• Competition: I really don't like using this but it's note-worthy for any small school prospect. The players he was playing against were not FBS level the majority of the time. However it's also worth noting that the players he was playing with weren't either.
  
• Refinement: He does everything quite well but he can improve in nearly every areas. Especially being more physical at the line against coverages and making his cuts a little sharper.
• Should have been more of a red-zone threat than he evidently was in school.
  
• You don't expect a small school wide receiver to be a good blocker, but you'd like to see a little more effort in this area. Easy to correct with work and commitment.

Conclusion

I think that Tre McBride is better than a lot of FBS receivers getting hype right now. He's not an Amari Cooper or a first round talent but there is so much to like in this small school prospect. You see some Pierre Garcon in him, you see a little John Brown in him, but most of all you see the talent. Some are saying he'll be a 5th round selection, I'll personally be amazed if he makes it out of the 3rd round. He will be a steal for someone and with his hard working persona and a committed coaching staff, he can be a very good receiver at the next level.

You know I like to highlight a small school guy that I think the Jets should go all out for. This year Tre McBride is my guy. He has all the receiver traits you can't teach and his negatives can be corrected by high level coaching. If he finds the right situation, where he'll see the field a lot, then he can provide the same output that John Brown did this year in Arizona (48 receptions, 698 yards, 5 touchdowns).

I really want the Jets to target this receiver in the 3rd or 4th round.

Draft Grade: 72

90-100 = Exceptional Talent

80-90 = Impact Player

70-80 = NFL Starter

60-70 = Solid NFL Potential

50-60 = Draftable - Lot of work needed

50 = Undraftable - Long Shot To Stick

Highlights