Don't get me wrong--Weston's an awfully intriguing prospect. But to my mind, combine numbers just tell us how a player did what he did, which helps us understand whether he'll be able to do it as a pro. Weston didn't do a whole lot but run fast and be tall. Yeah, he's really fast and really tall, but everything I've seen and read about him suggests that he was a one-trick pony at UNI. And his numbers, impressive though they are, suggest that he doesn't have the kind of wiggle that so many great WRs rely on to refine their route-running. On top of that, we've already got a guy whose 40 and 20 splits were better than Weston's, so I'm not sure where he fits.
EDIT: By way of comparison, I like Dontario Drummond more for us as a late-round developmental guy.
No arguments that the Combine/Pro Day numbers don't necessarily translate to success/failure of a prospect. Just making a correlation, that's all — not implying causation as a result of it, either.
All that said: measurables do matter. Take David Bell as just one example: dude's been a remarkably consistent producer in the Big Ten since stepping on field as a freshman, and many of those skills should translate. But his timed speed and agility drills suggest that making an impact is a potentially a tough climb. There aren't many comps of someone his size (6'1", 212) at his speed (4.65 40-yd) with his 3-cone and short shuttle times (7.14 and 4.57 respectively) being successful in the NFL. You've got D'Wayne Bates and Anquan Boldin and...that's pretty much it. (Jarvis Landry gets an asterisk here too, though he's 5'11 1/2", 205.) Bell has a lot to overcome. I'd still bet on the production when Day 3 of the draft comes, mind you, but you're counting on him being an outlier.
thunderspirit wrote: ↑Mon Apr 25, 2022 11:44 am
No arguments that the Combine/Pro Day numbers don't necessarily translate to success/failure of a prospect. Just making a correlation, that's all — not implying causation as a result of it, either.
All that said: measurables do matter. Take David Bell as just one example: dude's been a remarkably consistent producer in the Big Ten since stepping on field as a freshman, and many of those skills should translate. But his timed speed and agility drills suggest that making an impact is a potentially a tough climb. There aren't many comps of someone his size (6'1", 212) at his speed (4.65 40-yd) with his 3-cone and short shuttle times (7.14 and 4.57 respectively) being successful in the NFL. You've got D'Wayne Bates and Anquan Boldin and...that's pretty much it. (Jarvis Landry gets an asterisk here too, though he's 5'11 1/2", 205.) Bell has a lot to overcome. I'd still bet on the production when Day 3 of the draft comes, mind you, but you're counting on him being an outlier.
Amen. From where I'm sitting, Bell was a great collegiate receiver who'll probably translate almost nothing to the NFL. Weston's a limited collegiate receiver who'll probably translate some of his long speed to the NFL, which isn't enough to get me excited. I just see them as two sides of the same coin. Everyone knew that Metcalf understood how to compensate for the combine-measurable quickness he gave away due to his frame. I don't see any of Metcalf's array of release moves in Weston, like at all. Or that he's remotely the hands catcher that Metcalf was.
I mean, John Ross had good hands and actually ran good routes at UW. From the little I've been able to see of him, he just can't get off the line cleanly as a pro, so he's never on time, anywhere. I fear the same for Weston, and I'm not even sure of his hands.
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