Receivers

JacketOff

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jacketup said:
I'm not as sold on Brown as other folks. He had 2 catches for 7 yards-total- against UGa and VT. Now, this is not all his fault. But it points out that he isn't big enough to out jump and out muscle DBs very often, which is important in the intermediate passing game. He depends on out running a DB, which is harder to do against quality teams. Brown will be more effective if we have 2 or 3 other guys that teams have to respect, and we can hopefully get him matched up on a safety from the slot that he can outrun. To go 4 wide we need better pass blocking, which hopefully we will see.
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Well, there aren’t very many slot type WRs out there who can make possessive plays across the middle of the field or while being challenged. Julian Edelman is an example of a guy who can do that, and he’s considered one of the best receivers in the NFL. AB is more like Taylor Gabriel that the Falcons has during their Super Bowl run. Very quick, and excels in the open field, but won’t be able to challenge DBs or LBs when he is actually covered. Those guys excel in getting over the top of safeties and getting lost in the flats. There aren’t many situations where a 7-15yd pass to AB would make sense. It helps a guy like that a ton when there are other elite receivers around you for you to get lost in coverage. Again, Gabriel had Julio and Sanu (2 top tier WRs) and a very good TE in Austin Hooper to take pressure off of him, which allowed to get lost in coverage. AB didn’t have that advantage last year. We’ll see how having a fuller group of receivers around him this year helps, and while his TD numbers might be down from last year, I’d expect his yards to go up a ton.
 

Deleted member 2897

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The Freshman this year coming in new are Ryan King, Avery Boyd, and Nate McCollum.
247 and Rivals both have King rated as the highest 3-star run on the ladder.
Rivals also has Nate McCollum as the highest 3-star, but 247 lists him as a 4-star. At 5'9", he's the Ahmarean Brown Pocket Rocket of the 2020 class.
Avery Boyd has been clocked at a sub-4.4 in the 40.
All 3 of these guys should be major contributors by 2021. The 4-game redshirt rule will help them get a chance this year.
Its hard to expect true freshmen to come in and contribute at the start, but all 3 of these guys are studs.

Ahmarean's shiftiness, top end speed, body control, and hands I found all amazing. The guy is incredible.

Ezzard was a 4-star receiver out of high school, but I don't know very much about him. He seems like he has good hands and is strong, but I don't think he's in the top half of receivers on our roster in terms of speed or shiftiness. I could be wrong. Reminds me actually of Malachi Carter - he's not going to blow many people away with his speed, but he's strong and has great hands.

Adonicas Sanders is a bit of an invisible guy still. In high school, he caught 20 touchdowns when playing with 4-star QB Dekeryon Joyner. He's got some of the Clinton Lynch body type, playmaker instincts.

Steve Dolphus is 6'5", but I think he's been beset by injuries nearly his entire time here.

That leaves Jalen Camp, one of the stronger guys on the roster actually.

It feels like we just need another year to percolate, get a rythym and trust going with our QBs, and we'll be a lot better.
 

lv20gt

Helluva Engineer
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5,588
jacketup said:
I'm not as sold on Brown as other folks. He had 2 catches for 7 yards-total- against UGa and VT. Now, this is not all his fault. But it points out that he isn't big enough to out jump and out muscle DBs very often, which is important in the intermediate passing game. He depends on out running a DB, which is harder to do against quality teams. Brown will be more effective if we have 2 or 3 other guys that teams have to respect, and we can hopefully get him matched up on a safety from the slot that he can outrun. To go 4 wide we need better pass blocking, which hopefully we will see.
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WRs aren't all the same, and don't serve the same purpose. Brown isn't intended to go up for jump balls or out muscle people. He's a burner used to exploit a speed advantage, and we need that. It won't be there against every team, but it's a weapon you want to have if that is the weakness other teams have. He showed flashes of being able to use his speed to create big play opportunities. Yes, we need some bigger WRs to step up and create more threats in the intermediate passing game and win some jump balls. We lacked that last year and I think there is a decent chance it's still a weakness this year. But I don't really see that as a criticism of Brown, but rather a commentary on the pieces we lacked last year.

BTW, Mason had just 37 yards against UGA and 5 against VT. It doesn't really change what he brought to us last year or what he brings to us next year.
 
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