'I was the best wide receiver in the draft.' Garrett opines

[top dawg]

By all accounts that I have seen, Keyarris Garrett is not a cocky young man, but he is confident in his ability.  He really believes that he was the "best wide receiver" in the 2016 draft, and he reiterated that point on Saturday to David Newton and others at the end of Carolina's rookie minicamp. Leading the nation in receiving yards is what Garrett seems to be hanging his helmet on (so to speak), but I personally don't believe that all of the 34 receivers that were drafted in front of him should have been, before Garrett was left hanging, based on his production alone.  This opinion is even further bolstered by the fact that a couple of his more notable games last season were against major college programs, not that his whole resume was not impressive. I mean you have a kid who was very productive once he got on the field in earnest in 2012, suffer a very serious injury, come back in 2014 at less than 100 percent with almost 700 yards, and then finish off his college career by leading the nation in receiving yards. That says something about his character, his drive and determination.  

Having a titanium rod in your leg, suffering an infection and even more surgeries, and then making up in your mind that you weren't going to give up bespeaks of motivation.

Quote

 

“Going through all those surgeries and all that, there were some times when I wanted to say, 'Man, forget this; it’s too much,'" Garrett told the Tulsa World prior to the draft. “I thought, ‘I don’t want to be another guy who had all that talent and didn’t do anything with it.’ I didn’t want to be that guy.

 

Garrett's injury may have been part of the determination as to why he was skipped over so many times in the draft, as well as his playing in a less heralded conference, but the biggest knock on him from what I could gather may have been his limited route tree at Tulsa. Of course that really wasn't his fault, and when the Panthers worked him out, they saw enough upside in his ability to intrigue them enough to want to see more.

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Proehl flew to Tulsa before the draft to give Garrett a personal workout. It was a cold day with winds swirling 30- to 40-miles per hour.

“That ball was dancing all over the place, and he was catching everything," Proehl said. “He ran good routes. He came off the ball. I liked him."

So there you have it: the college production and impressive workout by an obviously motivated young man who had been through some things only to overcome a few obstacles. But like Garrett needed any more motivation, the league basically snubbed the guy in the draft. To the Panthers' defense, it is my theory that if the team hadn't found itself in the position of having to replace Josh Norman, then the Panthers may have ultimately drafted Garrett. I mean even Proehl had a 5th round grade on the kid, but between the Norman situation, not having a 6th round pick, and the need to upgrade at TE and Beau Sandland being gift-wrapped there in the 7th, there was just no way to get Garrett in. To Proehl's and Gettleman's credit, they did lure Garrett to Charlotte immediately after the draft. And now Garrett is all about proving to everyone that he should have been drafted, and he envisions himself more than just a side note.

Quote

“My expectations?" Garrett said after Saturday’s final rookie camp session. “Just to prove to the coaches that I felt like I should have been drafted and I can help this team out -- a lot."

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcsouth/post/_/id/64518/panthers-undrafted-pickup-keyarris-garrett-i-was-the-best-wide-receiver-in-draft

 

[electro's horse]

BREAKING NEWS

[Rags]

I honestly love this chip on his shoulder. He's gonna bring 110%. Won't surprise me if he replaces Bersin.

[Cary Kollins]

has anyone said "he wasn't drafted for a reason" yet?

[Montsta]

10 minutes ago, Cary Kollins said:

has anyone said "he wasn't drafted for a reason" yet?

Best I can gather is that he's viewed as a major project who will already be 24 at the start of the season. Teams may have figured that he could be 27 by the time things click for him and not wanted to pull the trigger. 

I have no idea why else he'd go undrafted. 

[Moose Hoover]

I wonder if Ricky Proehl was a factor in him signing with us?

[Cary Kollins]

36 minutes ago, Montsta said:

Best I can gather is that he's viewed as a major project who will already be 24 at the start of the season. Teams may have figured that he could be 27 by the time things click for him and not wanted to pull the trigger. 

I have no idea why else he'd go undrafted. 

 

Sometimes guys just slip through for whatever reason.

Antonio Brown is arguably the best WR in the league and he nearly went undrafted (6th round).

Victor Cruz was once a top five WR, and he was undrafted.

Arian Foster was the best RB in the league at one point, undrafted.

Who knows, in a couple of years Garrett could be a top 5 WR. It's been done before.

[caatfan]

38 minutes ago, Montsta said:

Best I can gather is that he's viewed as a major project who will already be 24 at the start of the season. Teams may have figured that he could be 27 by the time things click for him and not wanted to pull the trigger. 

I have no idea why else he'd go undrafted. 

WEAKNESSES

 Long legs hinder get­-off against press. Takes awhile to get into his routes and is unable to sink hips and explode out of his breaks to create separation. Has extremely small hands for a receiver his size. Charged with 13 drops over last two years. Struggles mightily to finish contested catches. Routes are basic and somewhat sloppy underneath. Too often waits on throws rather than working back to them.

NFL COMPARISON

 Rodney Smith

BOTTOM LINE

 Garrett's production combined with his exceptional length should catch the eyes of NFL general managers right off the bat, but tape study exposes his issues with route quickness underneath and securing contested catches. Garrett probably won't post a blazing 40-yard dash at the combine, but he does have some vertical talent and will have to prove to teams that he can become a consistent finisher and a big-play threat in order to become an NFL contributor.

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/keyarris-garrett?id=2555399

6 minutes ago, Moose Hoover said:

I wonder if Ricky Proehl was a factor in him signing with us?

Absolutely. I see you haven't read the first post in the pinned thread.

[Moose Hoover]

Just now, caatfan said:

WEAKNESSES

 Long legs hinder get­-off against press. Takes awhile to get into his routes and is unable to sink hips and explode out of his breaks to create separation. Has extremely small hands for a receiver his size. Charged with 13 drops over last two years. Struggles mightily to finish contested catches. Routes are basic and somewhat sloppy underneath. Too often waits on throws rather than working back to them.

NFL COMPARISON

 Rodney Smith

BOTTOM LINE

 Garrett's production combined with his exceptional length should catch the eyes of NFL general managers right off the bat, but tape study exposes his issues with route quickness underneath and securing contested catches. Garrett probably won't post a blazing 40-yard dash at the combine, but he does have some vertical talent and will have to prove to teams that he can become a consistent finisher and a big-play threat in order to become an NFL contributor.

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/keyarris-garrett?id=2555399

Absolutely. I see you haven't read the first post in the pinned thread.

sarcasm, brochacho

[caatfan]

4 minutes ago, Moose Hoover said:

sarcasm, brochacho

Yeah that works so well on a forum, brochacho. 

[Moose Hoover]

9 minutes ago, caatfan said:

Yeah that works so well on a forum, brochacho. 

that's the beauty of it though...some are aware, and some are unaware. did you see what I said under there?

[top dawg]

1 hour ago, caatfan said:

WEAKNESSES

 Long legs hinder get­-off against press. Takes awhile to get into his routes and is unable to sink hips and explode out of his breaks to create separation. Has extremely small hands for a receiver his size. Charged with 13 drops over last two years. Struggles mightily to finish contested catches. Routes are basic and somewhat sloppy underneath. Too often waits on throws rather than working back to them.

NFL COMPARISON

 Rodney Smith

BOTTOM LINE

 Garrett's production combined with his exceptional length should catch the eyes of NFL general managers right off the bat, but tape study exposes his issues with route quickness underneath and securing contested catches. Garrett probably won't post a blazing 40-yard dash at the combine, but he does have some vertical talent and will have to prove to teams that he can become a consistent finisher and a big-play threat in order to become an NFL contributor.

http://www.nfl.com/combine/profiles/keyarris-garrett?id=2555399

OK, not trying to sound like a Garrett apologist, but you can pull the draft profiles of some of the top wide receivers in this year's draft from the same site and paint a picture as to why any one of them shouldn't have been drafted. But for draft projections and NFL comparisons (which ultimately mean nothing), there is always a reason why someone may not be drafted.

Corey Coleman:

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WEAKNESSES Does his best work from outside the numbers, but lacks desired NFL size to play outside. Allows cornerbacks to leverage him against the sideline on deep throws. Takes longer than expected to gear down for comeback routes after hitting top speed. Ran limited number of simple routes. Hands are a concern. Fails to catch away from his body. Dropped 10 passes for a drop rate of 11.9 percent. Loses focus and concentration on routes that work towards the middle of the field or when he senses defenders are closing in. Had sports hernia surgery that forced him to miss his bowl game.
DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 1 or 2
SOURCES TELL US "He's my top receiver. Now this is for what we do so he's going to be tops for me. He can do a lot of things and I'm not worried about those simple routes because he's got some gifts to work with. Like him a lot more than (Laquon) Treadwell or the Notre Dame guy (Will Fuller)" -- AFC wide receivers coach
NFL COMPARISON John Brown
BOTTOM LINE Dangerous vertical talent with the ability to get over the top of defenders who fail to recognize his blazing quickness off the line of scrimmage. Coleman can get instant separation to create favorable passing windows and is one of the top playmakers in this draft. Coleman's issues with drops near the middle of the field could be a concern if teams see him next as a slot receiver due to his lack of size. Regardless, he can line up outside and win and he offers immediate punt return help.

Josh Doctson

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WEAKNESSES Tall but needs to add more muscle to prepare for physical, press cornerbacks. Played in offense that created plenty of space to work in. Needs a greater commitment as a blocker. Was rarely pressed, but had issues coming out cleanly when he was. Doesn't look sudden or urgent in his routes and is upright into his breaks. Out-­breaking routes are rounded and obvious. Suffered a broken wrist in early November.
DRAFT PROJECTION Round 1
SOURCES TELL US "Pure technician. He's really good with those routes and he's the best at getting it up top. When he got hurt, TCU was done. They looked lost without him. He's a safe receiver for the first (round) and one of the only ones." -- AFC wide receivers coach
NFL COMPARISON Terrance Williams
BOTTOM LINE Highly productive receiver with good height but in need of more functional mass for the NFL game. Doctson must prove he can play against press coverage if he is to reach his potential, but his ability to go up and win when the ball is in the air will endear him to quarterbacks. Scouts don't expect to be wowed by his 40 ­time, but most believe he'll be a solid No. 2 receiver in the league.

Laquon Treadwell

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WEAKNESSES Doesn't have the cushion-­eating, vertical speed to scare cornerbacks. Cornerbacks will crowd his underneath routes from off­-man coverage. Benefitted with several easy catches in space against zone coverage. Struggled to free himself from press coverage against LSU's Tre'Davious White and may have separation issues in pros against quick cornerbacks. Takes time to gear down into breaks once he gets speed up. Could stand to be more physical in his release against press. Had more focus drops in 2015 than over previous two seasons. Suffered season-­ending injury in November of 2014 with broken fibula and dislocated ankle.
DRAFT PROJECTION Round 1
SOURCES TELL US "He's going to get beat up because he's slow but I like everything else he does. You would think scouts would learn about overestimating speed and underestimating tape. He'll go in the first but not sure how high." -- AFC Southeastern scout
NFL COMPARISON DeAndre Hopkins
BOTTOM LINE Like DeAndre Hopkins, both players should be defined by their talent, ball skills and consistency of production over pure speed numbers. Treadwell is at his best when he has a clean, two-­way go off the line of scrimmage and he could be a challenging size matchup from the slot. While Ole Miss used him underneath quite a bit, he runs quality downfield routes and has the ball skills needed to become a more vertical receiver than underneath, possession guy.

 

 

 

 

Will Fuller

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WEAKNESSES Undersized outside receiver with skinny legs who is unlikely to make a living in the middle of the field. Hands can be wretched at times (see Boston College game). Body catcher with focus issues and lack of hand strength. Logged nine drops in each of the last two seasons. Feast or famine target lacking frame and hands to be a volume receiver. Needs to improve route savvy for underneath and intermediate routes. Won't offer much at all as run blocker.
DRAFT PROJECTION Rounds 1 or 2
SOURCES TELL US "I hear the DeSean Jackson comparison and I can't get there. DeSean was faster, tougher and more reliable than Fuller. I'm not saying Fuller can't play, but I don't think he's DeSean." -- Former NFL receiver and current scout
NFL COMPARISON Ted Ginn, Jr.
BOTTOM LINE Fuller doesn't check all the boxes with his slight frame, below average hands and limitations with his game-­by­-game production, but he possesses the coveted ability to hit the big play and score touchdowns. My grade might be higher than some, but Fuller has the type of functional speed that can win deep and free teammates up in the intermediate passing game. Look for Fuller to come in and contribute early on as a third receiver.

 

These are the profiles on NFL.com from the supposed top talents in the draft. I haven't even got to the 30 other receivers who were drafted, many of whom had profiles that were more sketchy than Garrett's (depending upon what one was looking for).

Secondly, Lance Zierlein threw in Garrett's drops together from the '14 and '15 seasons. You could say that's "fair", but I don't agree. Garrett had come off of multiple surgeries in 2014 and had to get his head back into the game. He wasn't 100 percent physically, and obviously was having issues getting his head fully back into the game as well.  Once he was able to put the injury completely behind him, believe in himself again and focus fully on football, you clearly saw him bounce back in a remarkable way, with only three drops of 99 catchable passes in 2015.  

As for "struggling mightily to finish contested catches," I call, "Bullshit!" Others like PFF have noted his ability to "go up and win the ball downfield" as a positive, and you can see doing this more than once on cut-ups and highlights. 

Now, I'm not saying that Garrett is not a project, or is better than Coleman, Treadwell, Doctson or Fuller, but what I am saying is that a draft profile on NFL.com, or any other site really, does not answer the question as to why Garrett wasn't drafted. Other receivers that were drafted had his kinds of issues and more.

[bLACKpANTHER]

he kinda reminds me of Josh Norman coming in as a 5th round pick and barking back and forth with Smitty.. Norman didn't have any problem letting people know who he was.. I kinda feel the same way I did then - so maybe it's a good thing he has all the confidence in the world..

[top dawg]

1 hour ago, Montsta said:

Best I can gather is that he's viewed as a major project who will already be 24 at the start of the season. Teams may have figured that he could be 27 by the time things click for him and not wanted to pull the trigger. 

Kind of ironic, but some people probably thought the same way about Kelvin Benjamin, albeit he was a little younger.