Scouting The Draft: DeVante Parker, WR, Louisville

Introduction

We've enjoyed our break from the draft to focus on free agency, now we're diving head first into the draft again, focusing on some of the prospects the Jets may be interested in.

In my mind, Parker is a first round talent without a shadow of a doubt and he probably should be a top 15 selection. If I said he finished his senior season with 43 catches, 855 yards and 5 touchdowns. You'd be quite impressed. If I said he did that while missing the first 7 games of the season, you should be considerably more impressed.

Production has been the name of the game for Parker in Louisville, he finished with 5 touchdowns this year, 12 touchdowns last year and 10 touchdowns the year before. He tied the school record for touchdown receptions too, not a bad resume for a player rated as the 26th best wide receiver prospect coming out of school in Kentucky.

Some has suggested the foot injury he experienced in 2014 has slowed him down, they could have a point, but his production was still there for having only appeared in 6 games and he still showed why he was so dangerous.

Measurables

Height: 6'3

Weight: 209lb's

Arms: 33 1/4

Hands: 9 1/4

40 Yards: 4.45

Bench: 17 Reps

Vertical: 36.5

Broad: 125.0

Statistics

Season	Receptions	Yards	Average	Long	Touchdowns
2014	43	855	19.9	71	5
2013	55	885	16.1	54	12
2012	40	744	18.6	75	10
2011	18	291	16.2	42	6

Positives

+ Production. He had an instant impact in his first year and he's carried that through his entire career.

+ Concentration: Always tracks the deep ball and keeps his eye on the catch.

+ Hands: He's been credited with only 3 drops in 3 years. 1 drop a year, that's elite.

+ Size: Has excellent height, and catching radius to bring in the difficult balls.

+ Red Zone: He has elite ability in the redzone to maintain body control and take difficult/important catches.

+ Form: If you watch him catching a football, that's how you would teach it to kids.

+ Understanding: He doesn't have elite speed, but he has a great feel for the position. He comes back when he needs to, he sits down in coverage when he needs to, and he uses a number of well coached moves to get himself open.

Negatives

- Had a bad foot injury in 2014 that kept him out for 7 games, worth keeping an eye on.

- Doesn't have elite speed, but that doesn't stop him from making big plays.

- Not a refined route runner, and rounds off his cuts too much.

- He's not overly physical, quite lean, does get moved around by good press coverage.

- Very poor run blocker, although the effort is there mostly

- Doesn't have elite acceleration off the line, against NFL competition he may struggle getting off the line.

Conclusion

I really like what I see from Parker and think he could be an elite receiver in the NFL. His catch radius and high pointing is just scary, he'll have a Kelvin Benjamin type impact in the red-zone for whatever team drafts him with his combination of size and concentration. I love that he just doesn't drop footballs, and that will really impress scouts. Do the Jets need to go wide receiver with the #6 overall, not really but if they think he's the best player available, you take him and don't look back. The New York Giants could be interested, the Cleveland Browns could be interested and if neither of those take him, he shouldn't get past the Texans at #16.

Draft Grade: 85

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